He may be fresh out of his gi, but Zad Mangat’s having no problems finding a footing within kickboxing circles.

The 16-year-old Fitness Kickboxing Canada protégé defied the odds, acquiring the National Kickboxing Title in the 63 kg Intermediate division on Feb. 25 in Burlington during his first kickboxing bout.

“We had high hopes for him because he’s so talented,” Fitness Kickboxing Canada president Ross O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell wasn’t sure how well the former national karate champion would transition to the full contact style of kickboxing.  

“Before the fight, I said, ‘Remember, this is not light contact. Do not be nice.’”
During preparation for the bout, Mangat was assigned the same dressing room as his opponent, who chose to warm up and attempt to intimidate the first timer.
“He was making all these noises, trying to make me nervous,”?he said. “I didn’t really care. I was just sitting down, relaxing, while he was using all his energy.”

O’Donnell and Mangat quietly observed his opponent’s technique and knew how to handle  him once the fighters hit the mat.
“Our opportunity between rounds is one minute,” O’Donnell said. “We try to use that for rest. (We) focus on one thing we need to do and one thing we need to stay away from.”

For example, O’Donnell advised Mangat to change his game plan in each of the three rounds. After Mangat knocked his opponent’s confidence down a notch in the first round by connecting with front kicks, Ross moved the fight lower to attack the competitor’s legs.

“I?landed a couple pretty good on the chin, which shocked him,”?Mangat said. “I?caught him with a front (kick) to the face, which totally dropped his confidence.”

In the third round, O’Donnell threw the final wrench into the competitor’s game by advising Mangat to deliver flash kicks  — a combination of faking a leg kick, but connecting with the head.

“The guy had no idea where we were coming from,” O’Donnell said. “He tapped him with some really good ones.”

With the recent win behind him, Mangat is confident in continuing to pursue his efforts in all areas of martial arts.

“Their goal is to go to the UFC, my goal is to get them there,”?O’Donnell said.

Three other fighters from the Orangeville club are joining Mangat in the Ontario Winter?Games held in Collingwood this weekend (March 8-11) — Darren Miller, Carter Park and Riley Hurst.

GUELPH — Hana Stone and Rowan McSherry have very little time to relax. Both are full-time skiers and full-time students, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

The grade seven students at John McCrae Public School have spent the last month training rigorously to compete in the upcoming Ontario Winter Games, spending more time on the hill than in the classroom.

“We have very little free time,” McSherry said, but added he likes it this way.

He and Stone have been teammates and classmates for the past four years and have developed a sibling-like relationship. As members of the K1 ski program (ages 11 and 12) with Chicopee Racing, they are around each other for several hours every day.

“We’re probably the most competitive people on the team with each other,” McSherry said. The two compete with each other, both on and off the hill, spending part of the time bickering like brother and sister, but most of the time pushing each other to improve.

“I’m very competitive,” Stone said.

“I’m more competitive,” McSherry said.

Over the last month, they have been spending roughly two days a week at school and four days a week on the slopes, either in Collingwood or at Chicopee Resort in Kitchener. On Sunday, their day off, they hit the books and catch up on their studies.

“They miss a lot of school,” said Susan Stone, Hana’s mother. “They’re only young once.”

Although her daughter’s level of commitment to skiing doesn’t bother her, she still expects Hana to maintain good grades.

Both students said they are achieving a mark of at least 80 per cent in their courses. Their mothers say as long as their school marks stay high, the students can continue their hectic skiing schedule.

McSherry said students who miss a lot of school while taking part in higher level sports tend to get good marks anyways, if not just out of necessity. “We all know that if we don’t do well in school, we don’t do sports.”

Outside of the motivation to maintain good grades, Joanne Willoughby, McSherry’s mother said their busy schedule also teaches them life skills. “It’s great for their self esteem, it’s good for their organizational skills,” she said.

Their competitive skiing has also taken them on the road. In November last year, the two Guelph students went to Colorado for ski training. Before their school Christmas break they traveled to Quebec to ski Mont Tremblant.

Hana said her teachers are no longer surprised when she and McSherry approach them with big smiles and glints of an upcoming ski trip in their eyes. The teachers respond by handing over several days’ worth of assignments and wishing them well.

The students said one of the negative things about their commitment to skiing is the lack of social life it allows them.

“I haven’t hung out with my friends all winter,” Hana said. “It’s a little depressing, but when you’re on the ski hill it’s worth it because it’s so much fun.”

McSherry said although it is difficult to keep up with friends at school, the relationships made on the ski team are just as important.

“We have our related family, and we have our ski family,” he said.

This year’s winter games will taking place from March 8 to 11 across the Georgian Bay area. Hana and McSherry will be competing in the paneled slalom, the slalom and the giant slalom.

The Ontario Winter Games will put a local volleyball player in the provincial spotlight.

Collingwood Collegiate Institute student Carter McDonald will be among about 2,200 youth athletes to participate in the 26-sport Games, set to hit the region Thursday.

The 15-year-old will compete with the Region Five Ontario Volleyball Team, after trying out earlier this year.

"I wasn't really expecting anything," said McDonald, who was brought on as an alternate and given a position when a spot opened up.

"The thing that makes (McDonald) unique is he made the team and he's not a club player," said Peter Millsap, Collingwood Black Diamonds house league club coach, adding the area's team is a house league team which plays and practices less than a club team in the usual sense.

He says McDonald came on the regional scene "unannounced" and opened their eyes with his serve.

"He's got a great jump-serve," said Millsap. "They couldn't help but notice that skill."

Millsap says the Games are a great opportunity for players to get noticed by scouts, both from the provincial team and Canadian universities.

Especially for McDonald, he says, because they wouldn't have seen him at a club tournament, and thinks he will likely be advised join a club team.

CCI junior coach Derek Nischan says he picked McDonald out at a Grade 8 tournament, and after participating in a summer program (the Collingwood Cubs), McDonald joined the CCI team.

"He went from a kid with some talent to an athlete with a starting role," said Nischan.

"I had lots of fun learning from the Grade 10s," said McDonald, who was team captain this year.

Nischan says on top of McDonald's natural, athletic ability, he is also very easy to coach.

McDonald has been playing volleyball for four years and says the Games give players an opportunity to develop their skills.

After being off from a two-week injury, McDonald has been working on setting and passing, which he says are key to the game.

He says he is extremely excited and a little nervous.

Nischan points out McDonald is one of the top three junior volleyball players in the county.

Nischan says McDonald is enjoyable to watch on the court, "always working hard," and "never wanting to let the ball drop."

He says McDonald's energy is infectious ¬-when a team sees its captain scrambling to keep the ball in play, his teammates hustle too.

Millsap says the league and the school's coaching staff (Millsap also coached Carter on the junior CCI team) are very proud of him.

Millsap and Nischan both point out Carter is an honour-roll student, who does a wonderful job balancing work, with music, and a variety of sports.

Source: Rainy River Record