Greenwood coach named area’s best

[attach]4486[/attach]Greenwood Grizzlies coach Anthony Costa used to be the one getting trained.

A nationally ranked competitive swimmer from elementary school to university he’s also played soccer throughout his life, Costa says he’s inspired by the philosophy of a coach he learned from.

“I see sport as a way to challenge yourself and test yourself,” he says. “For me it was certainly a way to put myself into stressful situations and learn how to deal with them.”

His dedication had the Greenwood College School teacher recognized as the central region Coach of the Year at the Town Crier’s Athlete of the Year Awards.

Costa has coached U16 soccer, U20 soccer, U16 hockey, junior and senior swimming, U16 and senior rugby, junior and senior tennis, and this year, Greenwood’s first ever U20 baseball team.

In the six years he’s taught at Greenwood, Costa has helped a number of students achieve their personal best in swimming and reach the OFSAA level of competition.

The soccer team has been to several playoff finals under his leadership. He also ran an inter-school exchange with a school in British Columbia.

Over the summer, Costa is travelling with a group of Greenwood students to Africa to build parts of a school to increase awareness about the importance of education.

“He is a true leader when it comes to coaching and instilling the love of the game in all of his athletes,” said Heather Maxted, Greenwood’s acting athletic director, in her nomination.

Costa says he enjoys the opportunity to work with students outside of the classroom, often finding he has a smile on “It’s very rewarding,” he said. “In phys-ed I truly feel like I’m teaching the whole person as opposed to just the mind.”

That means imparting leadership and communication skills, he says, and it has an overall benefit for his students.

“In a life sense it’s preparing kids with perseverance and resilience, ready and willing to take on those challenges that they think maybe are daunting,” he said.

It’s that wholesome approach that drew Costa to Greenwood in the first place.

“Over the last six years I have become someone I like being and that’s attributed to the great people I get to work with,” he said.