As a child, Sean McBeath saw the Hometown Hero posters on the wall of his school and the Leisure Centre, and he once told his father "I want to be on that wall someday."
2011 is his year to join those ranks. He's one of many athletic stars from Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows who have benefited from community sports and local coaches to go on to compete on the world stage.
Even though he's from the "small town" of Maple Ridge, the Hometown Hero program inspired Sean to realize that he could go far and be successful. "Your geography doesn't limit your success in life," the 22-year-old said.
Sean started playing soccer with Golden Ears United Soccer Club at a young age. In 1999, his mother signed him up for recreational paddling in anticipation of a family canoe trip. That is what got him on to the water in a serious way.
After juggling paddling and soccer—and spending some time on the ice with the Ridge Meadows Racers—Sean had to make a choice, and that choice turned out to paddling with the Ridge Canoe and Kayak Club. Sean's first coach in paddling, Paul Lovatt, was "amazing" and his "crazy work ethic" inspired Sean to work harder and reach for greater heights.
While Paul was tough and sometimes a bit intimidating, he was someone Sean could confide in both on and off the water.
"Even my school success, I like to think Paul is the reason I work so hard," Sean said.
To succeed in paddling at a national and international level meant practicing six days a week in addition to running, weights, and strength training.
In 2003, he was a multiple medalist at the Western Canada Summer Games. As part of the junior national team, Sean won two bronzes and one silver medal at the Pan Am Championships in New Mexico in 2006. He was a bronze medalist at both the 2005 and 2009 Canada Summer Games.
As a dual Canadian-Japanese citizen, Sean won gold in the 1,000-metre, the 500-metre, and the 200-metre events, in the 2007 junior national team trials in Japan.
Sean attended Laity View Elementary and then Maple Ridge Secondary schools. Through Grades 10 to 12, Sean travelled a lot for his paddling and spent a few months at a time in Florida training, but the staff at school helped him make sure he didn't fall behind in his studies. "The overwhelming majority of all my teachers and principals and vice-principals were extremely supportive," he said.
Upon graduation, Sean was offered scholarships to several universities, but decided to study at McGill in Montreal for two years, later transferring to UBC where he is currently studying engineering and pre-medicine.
It wasn't enough for Sean to compete nationally and internationally in paddling—he also wanted to give back and has made it possible for people with disabilities to enjoy the sport that he loves.
In 2011, Sean founded Vancouver's first and only adaptive paddling program which allows teens and adults with multiple sclerosis, autism, down syndrome, spina bifida, and other disabilities to enjoy the sport that's given him so much enjoyment and opportunity over the years.
After successfully starting the Vancouver program, he was asked by Ridge Canoe and Kayak Club to start up and run their adaptive paddling.
"It's the least really that I can do," Sean said.