What started in May with 15 kids has grown in leaps and bounds to become a Coast-wide athletic development program keen on creating opportunities for all athletes at many levels.

The Sunshine Coast Spirit of Excellence (SCSOE) was created to offer young athletes of all levels of ability, who seek the best development programs, to achieve goals for higher levels of play for sport and life.

The programs include mind, body and spirit development presented by professional sport instructors. The year-round training concentrates on the well-rounded athlete for multi-sport skills, individual sport skills, fitness, speed, agility, nutrition, leadership and life skills development through clinics, seasonal camps and weekly programs. The mission of these programs is to increase the community spirit on the Sunshine Coast through sport excellence

“We did a couple of smaller clinics for baseball and hockey, and then in July and August, we did a few summer outdoor adventure camps,” said SCSOE owner Birgit Breuer. “Everything so far has been very well received by the athletes and the parents. We’re looking at filling in the gaps and adding on to some degree a different kind of training that is currently being offered by the different sports associations on the Coast.

“There is definitely a need for more training. I think I’m complementing not competing with the other leagues and associations.”

Breuer studied for her sports diploma at the Olympic Centre Munich and Sports Medicine at Munich University of Technology. She also holds a teaching degree for Physical Education and Foreign Languages. She was raised in the German Alps where she enjoyed skiing, track and field, handball, volleyball, hang gliding, scuba diving and many other sports.

After being accepted at the Olympic Centre she taught a great variety of sports at schools and bigger sports organizations.

She has lived on the Coast since 2003 with her husband Don and their family. She has since volunteered her time to coach Special Olympics, track and field, soccer, Destination Imagination, cross country skiing and volleyball.

“SC Spirit of Excellence will be the platform to share the expertise and talent of a great variety of local seasoned or junior coaches with our youth,” she said. “My dream for this program is to offer a wide variety of sporting options for youth at very affordable prices. I want to introduce as many sports to young people as possible. It helps them to be more rounded athletes and more rounded people in general.”

On Tuesday, a new youth soccer program for ages eight to 14 starts from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Cedar Grove Elementary School. TJ (Tannaysia) Coady is the head instructor. She is just starting her second year with the B.C. Premier Soccer League as a striker for Mountain United FC.

“My kids took a camp with her this summer and absolutely loved her youthful, fun teaching style, impressive demos and drills and fun games that she brings from her own training,” Breuer said. “She is just one of the many dedicated coaches we have here on the Coast who are helping me with this program.”

Also starting next week, on Oct. 3, is volleyball with Jan Richey from 3 to 4:30 p.m. also at Cedar Grove.

More volleyball is planned for November, as are badminton and alpine skiing at Cypress Mountain.

To find out more about the SCSOE, check out their website at www.scsoe.ca. There you will find details about all their programs, coaches and registration fees.