Active Champions

Amy Vermeulen

What Activities Keep You Fit and Active?

There are a number of activities that keep me fit, actually. My main ones include: soccer, running, yoga, biking, and hockey. I enjoy the great outdoors as well, and find time to hike trails or tackle the Grouse Grind during the summer. Not only that, but during the winter I'll occasionally trek it up to Cypress and attempt to snowshoe or cross country ski. To be honest, I enjoy playing a TON of different sports: basketball, racquetball, badminton, tennis. At this point in my life soccer is the main one that I'm focusing on though, and will hopefully have more time in the future for the others.

What Motivated You to Become Active?
It didn't take much at all to motivate me to become active. I was involved in a number of sports as a child, as one would be growing up with three other siblings in a small town, so as I grew up, staying active became more of a lifestyle. It made me feel good to accomplish goals and notice improvement, so with that came the motivation to strive to be the best that I can be in any sport or activity that I attempted. Not only that, but I enjoyed the social atmosphere of being on a team and the friendships that came with it.

How Do You Motivate Yourself to Stay Fit?
I find motivation from a number of things in my life. One of these is simply knowing the feeling that comes after accomplishing a goal, and continuing to strive for that whatever activity it may be. Seeing myself improve makes me realize how much I can actually accomplish, and allows me transfer that confidence into everyday life. Staying fit gives me the energy to not only keep enjoying the sports and activities that I love, but also enough energy to be social and enjoy everyday to the fullest.

What Are the Benefits of Being Fit for You?
The benefits of being fit for me are numerous. Staying fit allows me to keep playing my main sport (soccer) to my maximum potential, which therefore allows me to keep striving to be the best that I can be in order to accomplish my goals. Personally, I am very competitive. Not only on the soccer field against opponents, but also with myself when it comes to specific challenges or obstacles that I come across. Staying fit allows me to take those challenges on, and be ready for whatever happens next.

Who Are / Were Your Role Models?
When I was younger my role models always seemed to be people that came into my life and made a difference. They weren't high profile professional athletes, but were simply teachers, coaches, and family members that brought out the best in me and saw my potential. I looked up to them, and was inspired by their positive outlook on sport, and on life in general. These were the people that always did things to the best of their ability, and always did so with a smile on their face.

Hobbies / Interests?
I'm actually a pretty big nerd, and enjoy simple things like playing Scrabble, going for coffee, going to the beach (when it's not the Vancouver rainy season), and basically anything that incorporates my friends and family joining me.

Thrills?
One of the biggest soccer thrills of my life was the U-19 World Cup in Edmonton in 2002. Playing for team Canada at such a young age in front of our home country is still, to this day, a highlight of my life that I will never forget. Another thrill was playing both soccer and hockey at the University of Wisconsin for four years. I gained so much as both a person, and a player, and will always look back on those years as some of the best. By far the biggest thrill of my athletic career was being an alternate for the 2008 Olympic soccer team. To go to Beijing and represent Canada, even as an alternate, amongst the best athletes in the world felt like the biggest accomplishment of my life.

Favourite Things?
My favourite things... I'll start with food: sushi, coffee, tuna snacks, and smoothies. I also love my green bike, as taped up and clunky as it is, it seems to somehow get me around Vancouver pretty nicely. Being from Saskatchewan, it's in my nature to be a Saskatchewan Roughriders fan so I would say they're up there as one of my favourites as well. My other favourite things include my family and my friends... because everything just seems to be better when they're around me.

Favourite Quotes?
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those that mind don't matter, and those that matter don't mind"
-Dr. Seuss

"Everything can be taken from a man or a women but one thing: the last of human freedoms, to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way"
-Victor Frankl

To View Examples of Active Champions in Vancouver go to: www.activecommunitiesvancouver.ca Click on Active Champions