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Moresports Personality Profiles

Jacob: A Resume of Play
By Kimberly Daum

Jacob Callas

Jacob "The Moose" Callas has an athletic resume to rival someone two or three times his age of 10 years. He participates in school sports, league sports, and MoreSports East Central Hub in a variety of athletics including: badminton, ball hockey, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, volleyball, track and field, and cross country running.

"I'm sort of a long distance runner but I can do well in the short ones," Jacob says. "And, I play winter and spring hockey leagues, three-on-three summer hockey, and winter rep hockey leagues."

"This is his first day off the entire month," his dad, George, adds.

That's why the Grade Four lad with the million-watt smile and dazzling dimple had a hard time fitting a MoreSports interview into his schedule. But you can tell that hectic pace is all in a day's play for Jacob.

"The best thing about MoreSports," Jacob says, "is that you can learn a lot of stuff during the programs, you can make a lot of new friends, and you can have lots of fun. The programs from school are usually shorter and they're usually not as, sort of like, fun because if you're at a really good level at one sport and you don't really have that many people at your level it's not really that much fun."

All of which is to say that the more kids who share a common interest, the more focused instruction they get, the more kids who will develop skills, and the more kids who know the games so it's more fun to play with them. And though it sounds like a lot more work to get there Jacob doesn't see it that way.

"I don't think there is a hardest thing about MoreSports," he says. For Jacob more is more and more sports is better.

But he is worried about something else.

"Now mom broke her ankle so I'm going to be staying home a lot," he says.

Jacob's mom, Cyndie, injured herself playing baseball with the Vancouver Women's Fastball League two days ago, and that means Jacob's routine is affected.

"Jacob and I go out to the park and do some hitting, throwing, pitching and grounders," she explains. So Jacob's going to miss that support from his mom, but he knows her ankle needs to heal properly so that it doesn't affect her athletic schedule in October.

Cyndie's going to the World Fastball Masters in Australia, "or the Olympics for old people as Jacob puts it," she says.

Jacob's dad George, another old person, could pass for a relative of Mark Messier, the former Edmonton Oilers great and Vancouver Canucks Captain. He plays goal in league hockey year-round but he "didn't play much organized sports as a kid" though he did play highschool sports.

George is a self-described "warehouse flunkie," and Cyndie is an employment and assistance worker for the Ministry of Housing and Social Development.

Jacob's 21-year-old sister Paige played baseball, volleyball and basketball "before she met boys." Jacob's grand-father and great-grandfather on his mother's side were both black belts in Karate, and his paternal grand-father played soccer.

"Uncle Randy is another hockey player, a goalie. I usually hear that goalies are really good in shape like Roberto Luongo," Jacob says.

Jacob revels in his athletic heritage and is proactive about putting more sports into his life.

"I like sports a lot," he says, "so I just decided maybe I should give MoreSports a try. There's a guy named Michael (Henderson) from Gladstone School and he comes to our school (Selkirk Elementary) and told us about all the programs so that's how I found out."

"I didn't know MoreSports existed until I saw Jacob's (MoreSports) t-shirt," George says. "And I said, "Hey, what's that t-shirt about?"

"You know Jacob did actually come to me with it," Cyndie says. "He's in after school care because George and I work full time. He got involved in MoreSports because that's the kind of kid he is. When he got involved in (MoreSports) basketball and meeting instructors, doing some of the drills, he really enjoyed it. MoreSports is a nice introduction for kids. It's a way for them to get exposure."

Cyndie sees the need for MoreSports programs everyday on the frontlines, working with those who rely on the Ministry for financial support. She says every neighbourhood has a population of citizens, such as single-parents for example, who face barriers when trying to access sports activities for their kids. That's why she thinks anything that brings added attention to MoreSports and how its programs can support those families is important.

"Jacob used to have a friend who had anger issues. He has a single mom, there were financial barriers. We'd take him and his younger brother and expose them to sports. Had (his mother) known about MoreSports that would have helped him. There are kids that have so much potential but they can't develop their own skills without the opportunity. It's not just the sports; it's the social skills, and fair play and good sportsmanship that they develop."

"And I just think it's a really good opportunity for kids that don't have the chance to get involved without it," Cyndie adds.

Jacob's parents give rides to a lot of his peers to help support other kids in their pursuits. And Jacob does his part to encourage his schoolmates and friends to participate as well.

"If you can't pay for the sports you should maybe try talking to one of the instructors about MoreSports," Jacob says.

"If the person is interested in MoreSports, and they have a favorite sport, I would try encouraging them because when you play sports you're not always bored at home, and it can keep you away from bad things from like drugs. And when you're in a really good situation where you're a good player you can maybe get drafted one day, like in the NHL."

Jacob has a little experience with being drafted, from his Trout Lake team onto Vancouver's Little League Baseball All Stars Team, for example.

Hockey and baseball are Jacob's favorite sports, but when it comes to hockey it wasn't always that way. In fact, when he had a school assignment to write "Five Things I Remember About My Life" he had this to say:

I remember when I started hockey I hated it.

My sister shopping; she buys a lot of purses and bags.

My mom likes baseball, and she hits really well and throws really well.

My dad plays hockey and he is really good in it.

I like the big TV so that I can play video games and not have to stare at a really small screen.

"It's always been important to me with both of my kids that if you do a sport you put an honest effort into it and you finish the program. George put Jacob into power skating, about the third session he said he hated it, that we were forcing him to skate," Cyndie laughs. "All we asked of him was that he finish the program and by the sixth session he loved it."

"Jacob is athletic but when he starts something he's a tad bit apprehensive," George adds.

I asked Jacob if he agreed with his dad: "Are you a little bit shy?"

"Sometimes a little shy. I was shy once," he says.

"He used to be shy," says Cyndie, "but with sports and MoreSports and intramural sports he's not so apprehensive anymore when it comes to meeting people."

Jacob is a kid with a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and drive so I asked him if he thinks he'll ever become a YELL coach for MoreSports' kids.

"If I get really good in highschool," he says, "I will."

If Jacob's resume is any indication, the YELL coordinator should take this as a heads up to keep a space open for him. Because as his mom said, "That's just the kind of kid he is."