Mother-son team on mission to raise sport’s profile at Games
Once a year, Dylan Sparks, 17, and his mom, Tracey Rice, 39, review their memory jar.
They reminisce over newspaper clippings, personal bests at the gym and “things that were out of the norm for us,” Rice explains.
But they never imagined a scrap of paper scrawled with “Off to Toronto we go!” would wind up in the jar.
The mother-son team is in town as a powerlifting athlete-coach duo at the Parapan Am Games on Sunday.
Both are new to the sport — Sparks started lifting in 2014 and Rice took on the role of coach just months ago.
“I didn’t know I would get to this point this fast,” Sparks said ahead of this weekend’s competition. “Before last year I didn’t really hear of the Pan Am Games or anything like that.”
It’s no surprise Sparks hadn’t considered the Parapan Ams an option, since Canada doesn’t rank on the world stage for para-powerlifiting. The Canadian record lift in Sparks’ 59-kilogram weight class is 70 kilograms; he’s the record-holder.
“It’s been kind of success after success for him, because there’s no one that he’s up against at this point,” Rice said. “So every time he sets a new weight on that bar he’s actually just going against himself.”
Sparks will attempt to break his previous best on his first lift with a 72.5-kg attempt on Sunday.
Cuba’s Cesar Rubio won gold in the 48-56 kg class at the 2011Guadalajara Parapans with a 169.96-kg lift.
Knowing gold is a long-shot, Sparks comes into these Games seeking a different colour: white, the colour of the lights the judges use to evaluate technique. A white light means a technically perfect lift.
“He wants three white lights,” Rice said.
Para-powerlifting’s relative obscurity in Canada translates to scant funding. Rice pays for training out of pocket, with some support from the community.
“It’s a lot of letter writing and a lot of advocating,” she said. “No one knows the sport even exists for him.”
Sparks didn’t know the sport existed until he started weight training to help with his wheelchair basketball career.
Living in Grand Prairie, Alta., a town of 55,000, finding the right equipment and mentors for his lifting career is the hard part.
That’s why Rice has had to step up for her son as a coach after her son’s previous coach failed to match the family’s dedication.
Rice is no stranger to the weight room.
She started training 10 years ago, taking up bodybuilding and fitness competitions in 2007.
“I just remember thinking, ‘Good Lord this kid’s going to get big. He’s going to be a man. How am I going to lift him?’ ”
She tries to keep her roles separate, but sometimes being a mother helps with being a coach, she said.
“He still does what I tell him to do.”