The picture just keeps getting brighter for 12-year-old Rain Thomas, who can now add the 2016 Premier’s Award for Aboriginal Youth Excellence in Sport to her resume.
Earlier this year, the young Tseshaht member, who lives in Vancouver and trains at the FCB Escola Soccer Academy, travelled to Barcelona to compete in an elite youth tournament.
http://www.hashilthsa.com/news/2016-01-28/tseshaht-soccer-star-selected-elite-tournament-barcelona
Rain will receive her award at a ceremony on Nov. 17 at the Vancouver Friendship Centre.
The award recognizes athletes who have achieved excellence on the playing field, who are recognized for their leadership abilities, who are committed to pursuing higher education and who serve as role models both on and off the field.
Her mother, Nicky McConnell, said what makes the award so amazing is the fact that athletes are eligible up to the age of 25.
“And she is only 12,” McConnell said. “This ceremony is for the recipients from the Vancouver Coastal Region. I believe there are four females and four males.”
Rain now competes at the U-13 level. In January, Ha-Shilth-Sa listed her punishing training and playing schedule, which had her on the field seven days a week, playing for both the FCB Escola and Vancouver Metro squads, as well as one day a week playing the Brazilian indoor game known as Futsal.
“She has Fridays off [now]. Which she didn’t last year,” McConnell said, adding, “It’s completely her doing. I give her the option, and every single time, it’s ‘yes.’”
Rain also continues to maintain an “A” average at Southlands Elementary in Vancouver. It’s a long way from Port Alberni, where her mother and father, Ivan Thomas, a member of Tseshaht First Nation, grew up.
“She is tied to her culture, because her dad is an artist,” McConnell said. “This past summer, she even worked at her grandmother’s art gallery, the Wickanninish Gallery on Granville Island.”
The Vancouver Friendship Centre is located at 1607 East Hastings Street in Vancouver. The award ceremony takes place at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 17.
