Marcella enjoys thrill of competition

Megan Marcella, the 2003 co-winner of the Britt Jessup female athlete of the year, was totally surprised at her selection.

“With so many good athletes in North Bay, being selected means so much to me and it is very rewarding,” stated the diminutive young female athlete.

Sport has provided her with the opportunity to develop self confidence and self discipline and has allowed her to enjoy the thrill of competition which, in her opinion, is more important than the individual awards.

She feels that her participation in sport and the teachings that sport has provided her, have helped her with her approach to school and to life.

Marcella credits the support given to her by her parents as having a big influence on her ability to participate.

A very impressive aspect of her accomplishments is the fact that she has been able to compete in both traditional and nontraditional sports.

She has excelled in sports such as weightlifting and women’s hockey, which only a short time ago would not have seen the growth the both enjoy through female participation.

Marcella has played baseball for the past 10 years on male teams.

In all of the sports that she has participated in, she has risen to the occasion at all times and has never backed down from a challenge.

Her rise to prominence first occurred in weightlifting where she originally became involved in order to build strength for other sports she was involved with at the time.

Coach Larry Sheppard quickly saw her ability and set Megan up on a rigid training program which led to her becoming an accomplished lifter.

Her participation in baseball came about by her desire to play a summer sport with her neighbourhood friends who mostly were male.

“We always had a lot of fun playing ball so it just seemed natural to play on a team with my friends,” she said.

“It is a pleasure to coach someone like Megan as she continually wants to learn new aspects of the game and her work ethic is tremendous,” her baseball coach Dave Saad said.

As she ponders her future, it is her hope to work in a profession that will allow her to pass on the training and experiences that she has had in her life.

When asked to sum up what sport has taught her, Marcella was quick to say, “Never give up, accept the challenge and most importantly, have fun.”

She will receive her award at the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and award night at the Best Western April 17.

Marcella’s performances in weightlifting, women’s hockey, baseball and soccer follow:

Weightlifting
2003 Canadian junior bronze medalist 58kg
2003 Ontario senior champion 58kg
2003 Ontario junior champion 58kg
2003 Ontario trials champion 58kg
2002 Canadian junior silver Medalist 53kg
2002 Ontario junior champion 53kg
2002 North American under 16 silver medalist 53kg
2001 Ontario junior champion 53kg
Collingwood open champion 53kg

Hockey
2003 Provincial champions midget BB
2003 Oshawa midget A silver medalist
2003 OVDGHA midget BB champions
2002 Ice Breakers Cup midget A champions
2002 Hamilton midget A champions
2002 Leaside Midget A champions
2002 North Bay Midget BB champions
2001 North Bay bantam B silver medalist
2001 Hamilton bantam B silver medalist
2001 Leaside bantam B silver medalist
2001 Barrie bantam B champions
2000 Durham West bantam B champions
2000 Whitby peewee B champions
2000 Sudbury peewee B champions
2000 Durham West peewee B champions
2000 North Bay peewee B Silver medalist
1999 Sudbury atom B silver medalist
1998 Sudbury atom B bronze medalist

Baseball
2003 provincial intact champions
2003 senior league silver medalist
2002 midget house champions
2001 midget house champions
2000 bantam house champions
1999 peewee house finalists
1998 senior girls 3-pitch champions (King George)
1997 mosquito division champions
1997 Mosquito league champions
1996 Mosquito finalists
1995 Rookie ball
1994 Rookie ball

Soccer
Under 19 house league champions
Nipissing District Association: West Ferris Trojans semifinalists.
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PHOTO: Megan Marcella works out at the Athletes Centre at the YMCA prior to the Canadian junior weightlifting championships.