Mindset
Life Has a Way of Finding Us
“Some men see things and say, why? I dream things that never were and say, why not?“
– George Bernard Shaw
This week I’ve found myself reflecting on a career born more of faith than foresight.
In 1983, when I came to Montreal to attend Concordia University, I had no idea what an Athletic Therapist was. I came to play football. That was the plan. The dream.
There was a program called Exercise Science that seemed practical enough. My father wanted me to earn a university degree. He gently steered me away from becoming a radio DJ. I suppose he was right.
Somewhere along the way, I discovered Athletic Therapy. Or perhaps it discovered me. It offered a way to stay connected to sport, to serve athletes, and to stay immersed in an environment I loved.
After certification, my first mentor hired me into his clinic. He didn’t just give me a job. He gave me a start. I didn’t realize then how much mentorship would shape my life.
Around the same time, my love of lifting weights led me toward strength and conditioning. One afternoon at the YMCA, I came across the journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The next day I registered for the exam. It felt impulsive at the time. In hindsight, it was pivotal.
I never imagined I would return to Concordia as Assistant Athletic Therapist and Strength Coach. For eight years I had the privilege of helping build a performance culture for varsity teams and walking alongside athletes chasing their goals. Somewhere in there, I was invited to teach.
Teaching changed me.
Standing in front of students forced me to ask better questions. Why does this work? Why are we doing it this way? Teaching ignited a lifelong curiosity that would shape every chapter that followed.
The work at Concordia quietly prepared me for the National Hockey League. I could not have predicted moving to New York City and working with the Islanders and Rangers. I could not have foreseen sharing space with leaders and legends, or witnessing young players at the beginning of extraordinary careers.
Returning home to work with the Montreal Canadiens felt surreal. The men I once watched as a boy were now colleagues. The players I helped were beginning stories that would inspire a generation.
Then came Olympic sport.
A chance opportunity to help a mogul skier named Jennifer Heil manage back pain opened a door I never knew existed. Her gold medal in 2006 did more than crown a champion. It led to B2Ten and a new chapter helping Canadian athletes pursue Olympic dreams.
Over the years I have found myself in places I could never have scripted. At the bottom of the Streif in Kitzbühel, watching Erik Guay race after overcoming back pain. On the Olympic pool deck as Alexandre Despatie competed in his fourth Games after battling a stubborn patellar tendon. In rinks, on mountains, beside athletes chasing something extraordinary.
This past week, I watched a young man I’ve worked with for seventeen years win his fourth Olympic medal at four separate Games. I met him as a boy. Now he is a veteran champion. Moments like that remind me how quickly time passes and how privileged we are to walk alongside someone’s journey.
None of it was planned the way it unfolded.
If there is a thread through all of it, it is this: say yes to opportunity. Stay curious. Serve the person in front of you. Keep asking why. And trust that if you do those things long enough, the road will take you somewhere meaningful.
We should make plans. But we should also leave room for life to surprise us.
Looking back, I see less of a career built by design and more of a life shaped by faith, mentors, relationships, and a willingness to step forward when doors opened.
Life has a way of finding us.
