Ryan Cochrane remembers being inspired by not only watching Olympic gold medalist Simon Whitfield, but by having the chance to meet him as well, “I will always remember meeting Olympic Champion Simon Whitfield when I was in Elementary School, and am amazed by the lasting impression he had upon me in life, both in and out of sport,” said Ryan Cochrane.
Cochrane now hopes to inspire a number of young people through the Classroom Champions program, “I am very excited and humbled to be given the opportunity to hopefully have the same type of impact on kids across the country. I’m eager to meet each and every student, and begin our journey through those important sporting values.”
Classroom Champions is a program that connects Olympians and Paralympians with students from kindergarden to grade eight. Students receive video lessons from the athletes as well as having involvement in live video chats with the mentor athletes.
The program was piloted in 2009-10 involving eight cities in the United States and Canada. It officially got off the ground in 2011-12 and has now grown to where this year 2,500 students in 70 classrooms will be involved in the program, in Canada alone.
“We’ve seen an increase in Athlete Mentors involved in this year’s program. They’ll mentor more than 2,500 students in 70 schools and engage more than 15,000 students across Canada,” said Classroom Champions’ President and CEO Steve Mesler.
“Our Olympians and Paralympians are making a real difference in our schools, and enjoying the experience to boot!”
Competing for the United States Mesler took gold in the bobsled at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
Some of the areas that are touched on by the athletes include:
Goal Setting
Inspiration
Fair Play
Community
Steps to Success
Taking Care of Yourself
Friendship
Leadership
We are Champions
(you can see an example of the video lessons given by clicking on the hyperlink)
As part of the program participating schools are given the new technological equipment which allows them to incorporate digital engagement into their curriculum.
The organization doesn’t just leave it to chance that they are making a difference, they measure their impact through teacher feedback, teacher surveys and students surveys.
Last year 100% of the teachers surveyed felt that the program created stronger student engagement in the classroom. 86% of students surveyed felt that the program helped them believe that they could make a difference in the community while 84% felt that the program helped them in their performance in the classroom.
Cochrane is the only Canadian swimmer involved in the program.
You can visit the Classroom Champions website to learn more about the program.