BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
For Karen Vos getting involved means staying involved. Her years of dedication and commitment to the Laurentian University basketball program have made her the 2002-2003 Special Voyageur Award recipient.
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Ever since she first came to Sudbury in 1995 as a bright- eyed teenager filled with high expectations from Charlottetown, Karen Vos has exemplified what it takes to be a Laurentian athlete. |
?She puts her heart and soul into everything she does,? said Peter Hellstrom, athletics director at Laurentian University.
Vos was proud to receive the prestigious award.
?I was touched because my former coach Peter Ennis won the award and to be classified with him is quite an honour,? said Vos. ?It grabs you right at the heart.?
Vos came to Sudbury and Laurentian from Prince Edward Island in 1995 to begin her university playing career and made an immediate impact claiming a spot on the national all-rookie team for the 1995-96 season.
She played several more seasons on numerous outstanding teams.
Vos, 26, has been the assistant coach to the Lady Vees for the past three years, worked with the Laurentian Alumni Association, helped promote the Peter Ennis Memorial Dinner, worked at the Laurentian Summer Basketball Camps and maintained a high level of participation in the Lady Vees basketball program.
Vos credits her dedication to the late Ennis, who led the Lady Vees to an incredible 18 successive trips to the national championships during his outstanding run as head coach.
?He has been my motivation because he taught me Laurentian was the best basketball program in the country and I wanted to maintain that athletic standard,? said Vos. ?I am a competitive person and I wanted Laurentian to be the best.?
Ever since she first came to Sudbury in 1995 as a bright- eyed teenager filled with high expectations from Charlottetown, P.E.I., Vos has exemplified what it takes to be a Laurentian athlete.
?She is a true Voyageur,? said Hellstrom.
Vos began her career in sports in Grade 5 on an all-boys baseball team on the tiny Atlantic coast island. A teammate?s dad saw her playing and convinced Vos and her parents to give basketball a shot. She traveled to Birchwood Junior High School to work on her skills and found out she could play the game.
?A friend of my family would drive me to the high school at 5:30 in the morning and then back to elementary school for my classes,? said Vos.
Her interest to play for Laurentian came out of a chance meeting with coach Ennis. Vos was playing for the Prince Edward Island provincial team at the junior nationals at the University of Waterloo in 1993 against Manitoba.
Ennis was in the stands that day thinking he would be taking in a later game between Ontario and British Columbia.
?During that game I shot the lights out and Peter began recruiting me in Grade 12,? said Vos. ?Peter sold Sudbury and Laurentian to me and more importantly to my parents.?
Vos enjoyed a great deal of success with Laurentian over the years including making the national all-rookie team and being part of teams which won two provincial titles and qualified for nationals four times.
But the one moment in her career that stands out above all others occurred in her third year in the provincial championship game against hated rival University of Western Ontario.
The Voyageurs were losing the game and as the minutes ticked down, team captain Joy McNichol called a time out and huddled the team together.
?The sweat was pouring down her face, veins were popping out of her head and she said ?give me the ball because I am not losing to Western in my last year?,? said Vos. ?We got her the ball and she lead us to victory.?
Vos only had five points in the game, but they were vital to the big victory.
?I made some crucial foul shots in the final minute to seal the game,? said a modest Vos.
The intensity shown by McNichol in the pressure-filled game had a lasting impression on Vos.
?That drove me to lead the team in later years.?
Vos has always been a helping person willing to give her time. After her second year at Laurentian she went home to Charlottetown to work with a young girl at the Inter City Life Skills Camp.
?The girl was age nine and naughty and nobody could handle her,? said Vos. ?I did and it was tough, but at the end of summer the counsellor saw a big difference.
?The girl didn?t want me to go and she drew a picture of us. It was a sentimental send off.?
Vos graduated from Laurentian in 2000 with an Honours Degree in Economics. She currently works for MCTV as an account executive. Her next goal is to learn how to play the fiddle.
?I don?t think there is a more beautiful instrument than the fiddle and you can play so much on it.?
If she puts the same dedication and commitment into becoming a musician that she has put into Laurentian University athletics, odds are strong Vos will be fiddling wonderful tunes in the very near future.
