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Burgeoning track star gets help far from home

BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW [email protected] It was Greater Sudbury that brought Chelsey Wilson and her father, Ralph, closer together.
BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW

It was Greater Sudbury that brought Chelsey Wilson and her father, Ralph, closer together.

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Talented sprinter Chelsey Wilson's dedication has impressed David Case, who has come out of retirement from coaching to assist the teenager. Wilson is one of the country's top young runners.
Chelsey, a sprinter from Pictou, Nova Scotia, was in Sudbury last summer competing in the Royal Canadian Legion Track and Field Championships.
Chelsey, 18, and her coach ran into former Olympic coach David Case in a local shopping mall.

The three talked about sports and running. Chelsey got a pile of tips from Case, and then got his email address so she could get further advice if she wanted.

Chelsey got back home, implemented Case's tips into her techniques and saw an immediate improvement.

Chelsey had always been a good runner in the 100-metre dash, but never really dominated.

It all changed with advice from Case.

"I only really started getting serious about running after I met Dave," said Chelsey. "I got workouts from Case and my times dropped dramatically. I always had good coaching, but I just needed that extra step of intense coaching."

The coaching tips from Case thousands of kilometres away here in Sudbury, submitted through emails and phone calls, made Chelsey go from a
good sprinter to being ranked number one in Nova Scotia at the high school level.

Case, who has an impressive coaching resume, was happily retired and said he enjoyed staying out of the limelight.

Chelsey's eagerness to get more and more advices eventually overwhelmed Case, who felt compelled to come out of his self-imposed retirement. "I have coached many people, but Chelsey has 'it'," said Case. "'It' is comprised of many things, but if you don't have 'it', you will not succeed. There's not a lot of people that want to commit like Chelsey.

"I asked her to give me 40 push-ups and 80 crunches, both in a minute. Three weeks later she gave me 60 push-ups and 110 crunches in a minute for both. That told me I was dealing with someone serious."

Realizing the coaching was paying off big time, Chelsey stepped up her commitment to training, which meant more hours at the track.

She also realized she needed someone to also step up and help her with raining back home.

Enter Chelsey's dad, Ralph, who has since dedicated all his free time to help with Chelsey's renewed passion.

Chelsey and her father were in Sudbury this past week for an intense coaching session with Case in order to prepare for the Nova Scotia provincial
high school championships and the Canada Games Trials.

Father and daughter are now traveling side-by-side, spending every second together, and the experience is forging a strong bond.

"It's a lot of work, but it's well worth it," said Ralph. "I didn't get to spend a lot of time with Chelsey before, but now, with this, I do. We have a great working relationship and it's just great to spend so much time with Chelsey."

Chelsey's dominating performances of late, including a second place finish in the 100 metres at the recent Hamilton Spectator Indoor Games, one of the country's most historic track meets, has her talents in high demand.

Chelsey is going to York University this fall to study kinesiology and enhance her promising track career.

Chelsey has her sights already set on the Canada Games, and eventually the 2008 Olympics.

"My times have shown I am ready for this challenge," said Chelsey. "I have been working hard at this for over a year. It has been tough at times, getting coaching through emails, but I am focused, know what to do, and I feel I can make the Canada Games and then the Olympics. It's what I want."

As for Case, even though he was happily retired, he couldn't ignore Chelsey's drive to be the best.

"When I met Chelsey, she was probably using 40 percent of her talent," said Case. "One of the reasons I wanted to help her was because of her
tenacity. It's nice to coach someone again that gets 'it'."




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