The Huron Expositor, 1979-04-19, Page 1345
Johnny Nielsen works out
:Mark Underwood
lying"
Editor's note: As part of their
participation in a reeent,inter
,national meet, SDHSI„coach
Terry Johnston asked athle-
tes Johnny Nielsen and Mark
Underwood to tell the public
about their trip. The boys'
story follows, .
f3Y 30HNNY NIEGSEN
AND MARK UNDERWOOD
We left SIMS at 1:00to
begin our, trip tq the • States
With star; :coach, Johnston
driving we made our way
across the '13luewater Bridge
and eventually to Toledo,
Ohio, where Mr. Johns-
:tort's uncle jived. We worked
out at a local high school and
organized Ourselves for the
night at Mr, .tohnsteti's Un-
edea` place. tater that night
we managed to beat our
coach and his cousin rather
decisively at a pool' hall
'which housedat least 20,
tables. After- the genie, Mr.
Johnston was .stricken• with
In ice cream attack, so we'
raided art ice cream parlours
Ind ate the ice deem while
Watching the hockey game.
That night we were away
Itched by a.severe thunder,
Storm: snSeaforth wasn't the
only ;place with rain. The
neat morning we left for
Colunibusy (thio, a drive of 3
hours, Here We Stayed at one
of Mt": Johnston's cousin's
house. 'Luckily, • his cousin :,
having once coached Univer-
sity football, showed ,us the
Ohio State University Cam.
pus. We stood at centre
field kg a 86,000 seat football.
stadium, as well as exploring
a near -by sports centre,
which • had 20 raquetball
courts, 2 swimming' pools, 6
basketball courts, weight-
lifting rootns, gymnastics
facilities and much more.
-.....That -,,„..night we _v_cnt..10
pin bowling. Mr. Johnston,
made up for losing at pool by
easily beatingthe rest of 'us.
As in Seaforth, it had rained
all day,and we were concer-
ned about it raining the day
Of the meet.
However, on Saturday
morning, there wasn't a
cloud in the sky, so we were
in good' spirits on our trip to
mansfield.
Upon arrivingthere we
signed in to our respective
events and started cornpeti=
. tion at 40:00 a.m; Mark
" broke his :perso• nal best in
the long jump at am feet.
while John heaved the 'shot
put to an. impressive 5th
place: After Johnny had
received his medal, it started`
to rain in torrents, just fn'
time to get, the both of us
soaked.
Qn our homeward jour-
hey+ We elntcpni:.ttered a,flood-:..
ed' river which flowed right
across the 'road. We drove
straight through ,the l'4 feet
of grater and continued unin-
terrupted to Sarnia; After
enjoying Our best meal at one
of Sarnia's restattrants, we
hea ded towards Seaforth
and arrived home at 11 .
o'clock Saturday night,
Special thanks to Mr. John-
ston who somehow put up
with us for all that tithe,
mina
test
(ER'
Org;ilniz tional oet ng
Mon. Al lr'il 23 $ P' n
•$eafoir It t mntaelty 4;114
ALL CRESTED PERSONS ARE URGED`
TO ATTEND
THE PROUD FAMILY—Lloyd Eisler Jr.'s family are admiring the
certificate of henor presented tip Lloyd by Mayor John Sinnamon at the
Appreciation Night held'for the, skater last week, The rest of the family
includes mother Bel EIS*, father 'Lloyd Sr. and sister Mary Jane,
it's not als glamour!'
S..,eaf':.::. r-tF'
ho n.�t.. r
skating pair
Anyone who thinks the world of figure
skating is all 'glamour and applause might
be a bit disillusioned if they talked to Lloyd
Eilser Jr. of Egmondville and his partner,
Lorri Baler .of Mitchell.
As the two • skaters, recent bronze,
medallists in the world junior, pairs .figure
skating competition in Augsburg,. West
Germany,, told the audience ' at the Lloyd
Eisler night, held` at the town 'hall last.
Wednesday, there's some good hard
training before the • lskaters can perform
their flawless lifts -aid. spins.
For example. Lorri started taking figure
skating lessons when she was six and a half
years old, and Lloyd started when he was
eight and then "just kept going and here 1
am today,"
In addition to the hours they spend
rehearsing on the ice, the two also follow a
stiff, regimen: of off -the -ice exercises. They
run, liftweights,- do calisthentics and ,run
up. and down stairs to strengthen their leg
muscles. Lorri told'the atklience sheecan
run 6,000 stair , steps in a 40 -minute
session..
The pair also, sacrifice some. •of their
social life and classroom 'time in order to
Practise up to seven •hours • "a' day 'tight
before important competitons.
The secret it ' keeping up their grades. is e
learning to budget their •time, . as well as
helpful teachers and fellow ' .students
willing to take notes when they're away,
according ;to Lorri. •
�"I h� skaters were presented with certifi.'
nates of honor by Seaforth mayor John
Sinnamon, who congratulated. them • on
bringing honor to their hom 'etowns.
After the presentation, audience mem-
hers asked the skaters a number of
gi;x'stionsabout their training;' upcoming
competitions and their future ambitions.
, Loyd `and Lord started skating together
as 1 uple in 19''1 under th' coaching of
Kerry. Leith a former professional baseball
pi:+er, oldie a'r sto►i Figure ,sating Club,
In response to a question by Mayor
$innamon. Lloyd • Eisler said Canadian
Skaters are slowly advancing in, their -
competitions against the: world's best`• -in
inter„t atiional figure skating meets
Lloyd and Lorri, who will compete as .
senior .skaters in next year's Canadian
'figure Skating etiampionships,• which will
be held in 'Kitchener, can still 'compete as
junior skaters internationally untilthey are
18 years. of age,
The couple would like to compete in the
1980. Oly.itpics although Lorri . admits
'' Wc're going, .to have to. itnprove.a' lot"
since they would be competing.. against.
senior -level. Competitors. If they . don't
make that competition, there is the 1984
Olympics t� look forward to. Lloyd'said'he
hopes to someday skate with a.professional
show likes the ice Capades and Lorri also
plans:turning pro in the future.
;The skaters said they were treated very'.
°well both by the German audiences and by
Other skaters at the international competi-
tion in Augsburg;
• What was :the main difference between
the world competition sand the Canadian.
one?
"It's :kind of scary when you hear them
announce your .name. from Canada!" said
Lorri.
Fri., • , April
Sat.-, April
Sun., April
Tues., ' April
Fri,',
Sun.;
Tues., '
Fri,,
Sat,
•Sun.,
Tues.,.
'Fri.,
at
Seaforth Community Centre
1979' SCHEDULE
20'` • Sun.,: • June , 3
21 Tues:; June 5
22 ' Thurs.,, June 7
24 Sura.., June 10
April 27 ' Tues., ' June. 12
April 29 Thurs., June 14
1 Tues., June 26
Fri., June 29
Sat„ June 30'
Suri., July 1
Tues., ..July 3
Fri,,-, July- ' 6
Sun., July 8
Tues., July 10
Fri., July 13
Tues,` --July 17,,..
Fri., July 20
Sun., July 22
Tues., July 24
Fri., July 27
ay 4
May 5
May 6
May 8
May 11
.:Sun., May 13
Tues., May 15
Sun., May
-Tues.;: May2
Thurs 'May 24
Tues., May 29
Fr,r. . June. 1`
Sun.,; July 29.
Tues., July 31
Fri.,, .. Aug. . 3'
Sun., Aug. 5
Tues„ Aug. 7
Fri,, Aug. 10
Sun., Aug. 12
Tues., Aug. 14-
• Fri., Aug: 17'
Sun., Aug. 19
Tues., Aug. 21
Fri., ' Aug. 24
Sun., Aug. 26
Tues,, Aug. 28
Fri., "Aug. 31
--Sept.-2-2.-
Tues., Sept. 4
Fri., 'Sept. 7
Tues•., Sept. 11..
Fri., Sept. 14
Time: 8-10:30 p.m.
a .perr, f'tr all ales''
Except Tueitalay evenings open 10 Asters, 14 Si' under only
Hours will be: 9 pidti '1'aeetdayg,
:REGULAR ADMISSION $1Ot1. SKATE RENTAL 50c
TUESDAY ADMISSION 750 SKATE RENTAL 506—
ALSO S7` _.. ...
A STARTING THIS YEAR PARENTS & CHILDREN SKATING
WATCH 'FOR DATES. •
New Skateit0 Pent -whew Sound System
Also 'Skates To Buy
psave this s'g1-`use
for handy re erdfc
• THE HURON EXPOS( '
portant,.
Pau Eftt •
WE.-c,1,tI',er huther pra
"Have' to workon technique and
improving, my strength" ate the words! of
Johnny. Nielsen, and the thouhts. of his
friend Mark Underwood, as. the two•
prepare fur'the up'eo ning, track .04 field'•
season,
Johnny is well know by shot put
enthusiasts in. Ontario as a high schpol
student who escells in the sport. Last yea
be was rated number one in: the province
in the junior division of school s nsored
athletics. This year, after moving u o the
senior 'level., he 'is still: expected to 'plts:ee
near the top,
Mark's ability is ip jumping. He does a
lot of long jumping, although he prefers "
the triple jump. He admits.that his
technique "has been off and: ion," but he
feels that he has a Chance 410 be *medal
contention" this year.
Already the pair has been tea track meet.
this season, held in Mansfield, Ohio.
,Johnny placed fifth in the she t put with a
throw of 17.3 metres, However, the
competition was so close that the winning
throw was a mere 0.35m longer - than.\
Johnny's. (That's about 13% inches!)..
Mark's best jump was about 20',4 feet, but,
this is unofficial as the winos had to be at
least 21, feet to be measured, This seemed
to be a .common problem among most of
the jumpers at the meet, as only one out of .
the 30 competing against Mark managed to '
make better than 21 feet,
The biggest problem facing Mark and
Johnny right now is lack of practise.
Johnny•had only thro wn the shot outdoors
once previous to Mansfield, and it wasn't
until this week that he was able to throw
the discus; because of the poor weather
recently. Johnny had to be content working
out indoors, especially weight -lifting.. Mark:_ ..
was unable to jump in the outside 'pits 'for
the same. reason;
The ;Hain .importance of meets such as
Mansfield is that many olf the American
universities send their scouts to them. Any
athlete showing potential in any event is
usuallyoffereiseveral.*seholarships,, of at
least te chance to attend special twoweek
training, courses with university coaches,.
Johnny was opceoftered g chance to 444 4,4„11-,
camp in Indiana, but he turned it down Ifs'
. another offer of this type comes alongthis
summer, he says thathe will probably take
it,
A big part of any athelte's;success is due
to his, coach. • Johnny'seoaeh is Seaforth.,
,:District high, School's_ hysical edttcatian;
B P
teacher Terry Johnston He does most of
OW arranging, for Lbe two athletes to attend
-all t,e-'r-different meets, as well as,
accompanying them on the trips,. .. '
It was- Johnston's aid and encourage,
tment that allowed Johnny to compete on
levels higieer than just Huron County.
;Helping with; the coaching of Mark is:
another SDHS, teacher, Doug Proctor, He
has been able to help. Mark with training,
since he attended an atheltics camp at
tMcMaster University in Hamilton.
• Both Johnny and Mark intendto:
compete this coming summer in meets.
which .aren't run by the school .system...
Johnny says that if he improves to the level
that he wishes to, he willenter the
Canadian Junior Championships. The. top
two iia this go on to an international
competition held in France.
Johnston feels that Johnny has a."really
good chance towin the Canadian (Junior):
Championship" in shot put. His main,
opposition will be from a thrower from
Toronto, who won themeet in Mansfield. H
and Johnny are considered -by Johnston to
be the "two premier throwers in Ontario," .'
Johnston thinks that Mark.will do very
well at the: Huron4 erth track meet, but.
will find it tough at WOSSA; although. he
should be able to place well enough there
and at the Regional competitions to get to
OFFSSA (Ontario Federation of Secondary
School Athletics,)
"They (Johnny and Mark) :will have'a`
successful sseason,". says Johnston, "if
they each rtaeet their, own •personal objec-
tives."
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