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www.LamontLeader.com Vol. 17, No. 38, Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Bruderheim serviceman soldiers-on to Florida for Warrior Games
BY JANA SEMENIUK Bruderheim resident Kelly Potts, 52, is busy packing this week for a trip to Florida where he will be participating on a Canadian team of injured and disabled military members and veterans in an international sporting event aimed at changing their lives. “It gives you hope,” said Potts. “I would never have been able to be part of Team Canada, and here I am a part of Team Canada. “ Potts, who has spent the past 30 years with the Canadian Navy, said he was thrilled when he got the email that he had been selected to compete on Team Canada in the Warrior Games, an annual event which began in 2010, and is organized by the United States Department of Defence. It will take place Aug. 19 – 28 at the ESPN Wild World of Sports Complex in Orlando Florida with opening ceremonies headlined by three-time Grammy winner Darius Rucker. Team Canada is managed through the Canadian Armed Forces’ Soldier On program which supports the recovery of ill and injured military members and veterans, through sport and recreational opportunities. According to the Warrior Games website, Team Canada consists of 40 serving members and veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces, joining nearly 300 athletes from across the globe representing the U.S. military and ally nations participating in the event. Potts said that he had no idea how joining Soldier On would come to change his life. He developed issues with his feet and shoulders from years in the Canadian Navy and felt the organization might be a good fit for him when he wanted to learn how to golf in 2016. However, Potts soon found himself fac-
ing another health challenge in 2017 while deployed in Latvia; he was diagnosed with bladder cancer only two weeks away from the end of his deployment. “They asked me if I wanted to go home,” he said. “If it had been in the middle of a tour I would have. But it literally was December 28 when I found out that I had it, and I was going home January 13.”
Potts made the decision in 2019 to have his bladder removed and a urostomy put in. While he healed and today is cancer free, he has continued to improve his mental and physical health by participating in activities with Soldier On. “It’s just really awesome. To be around people, and you think that you got it bad. And then they're in a wheelchair and they're worse off than you,”
Bruderheim resident and Canadian military member Kelly Potts practices cycling in preparation for the Warrior Games in Florida Aug. 19-28. Photo Jana Semeniuk
he said. “Its just their injuries are different. But they do it. People go with no bottom of their leg, or missing an arm and they participate in whatever they can do.” In addition to physical limitations, the group also helps its members cope with mental health trauma. Potts said he has been deployed six times and witnessed some very traumatic events that have stayed with him over the years. He said that he, along with other members, found strength and motivation from being a part of the group. “It is inspiring. That's what it's meant to be. There’s been guys opening up telling us stuff they've never told anybody since they came back from war,” he said. “They tell us about their struggles with mental health and we're there to support them and tell them, you know we have similar injuries and we found it tough too but we're always here. You can talk to us, you know our numbers now. So, give us a call anytime.” Meanwhile, Potts and the other competitors participated in a five-day training camp in Edmonton last month to help prepare for the games and since then, Potts has been training on his own focusing on cycling around town. “I want to get through the cycling. I'm pretty sure I can get through the rest. I just want to get through the cycling, and not falling down, and being able to unclip my shoe from my pedal,” he said. Potts will be competing in four of the 14 scheduled events: professional cycling, discus, shotput, and air rifle. While he said he is nervous and excited to be a part of the annual event, he is hoping to eventually go further and participate in the International Invictus Games, founded by Prince Harry in 2014.