Norman Wells soccer player makes Team NT, on hook for paying expenses to attend training in Yellowknife

A young athlete from Norman Wells, N.W.T., earned a dream opportunity — but he's on the hook for making it become a reality. 

Shamar Bennett, described as a 17-year-old with a "heart of gold" by his school principal, was selected to play on the male soccer team representing the territory as part of Team NT at the Canada Summer Games next year. 

The teenager lobbied his community for financial support getting to Yellowknife for the initial selection camp in June, but has since learned he also has to cover his own travel for at least six more training camps in the hub city. 

"I'm the only one [on the team] outside of Yellowknife," said Bennett.

His mom, Keisha Campbell, pegs the cost of airfare and accommodations for her son and a chaperone at nearly $2,500 for each three-to-four-day trip. A return flight costs $900 per person, and a hotel costs $170 per night, she said.

"We didn't know, initially, the cost it would be," Campbell explained. 

"We [thought] maybe there would be special funding for him."

Sports funding limited, says NWT Soccer

Lyric Sandhals, executive director of the Northwest Territories Soccer Association (NWT Soccer) said the organization doesn't have enough funding to cover individual players' expenses. 

"Every year it's so different, you could have a whole team of 18 players from 18 different communities," she explained. "There's no way we could cover all the travel costs for all those players." The association allocates a certain amount of funding for the male and female soccer teams that go to the Canada Summer Games, said Sandhals, but it's up to the team manager and coaching staff to decide how it'll be used. 

Usually it covers things like coaching expenses, travel to competition and uniforms, she said. 

The N.W.T. government said in a statement that approximately $170,000 in funding will be available for this year's Canada Summer Games. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) is in charge of distributing the money to territorial sports organizations such as NWT Soccer.

"There are different pockets of money in different communities or different regions that sometimes the players can tap into, sometimes different bands offer financial support," Sandhals explained, adding that players and their families also receive fundraising guidance from the team manager through meetings and email.

"I just wish we had more money to support the athletes," she added.

Practicing 'tough' as only player in Norman Wells

Despite the challenges that lie ahead, Bennett is industrious in his effort to play the sport.

"I've been playing soccer since as long as I can remember, really." 

He compares soccer in Jamaica, where he grew up, to hockey in Canada. 

In Norman Wells, where he's lived for the past two years though, he's the only one that plays — making it "pretty tough" to practice. 

"I just go to the gym and run around, keep active really … I get a ball sometimes and I dribble by myself, kick it by myself." 

The young athlete said he always wanted to try out for the team, and jumped at the opportunity when he saw the selection camp promoted on Facebook earlier this year. 

"I spoke to my teacher, Ms. Brown, and I spoke to my principal, Mr. Duclos, and I started to tell my friends because my idea was, if there's more people, then we can get more interest from the teachers." 

Michael Duclos, the principal at Mackenzie Mountain School, said he helped Bennett write letters to organizations in Norman Wells for funding to get to the selection camp. 

"Almost all of them were successful, which was great," said Duclos, adding he had assumed Bennett would get financial support for travel after landing a spot on the team. 

"I think giving opportunities to our kids who aren't in the major centres is super important because …. there are a lot of really amazing athletes that we have in our communities and it's really nice to see them shine," he said. 

Mother 'blown away' by community support

Duclos described Bennett as someone who is "genuine" and who cares about his community.

"He's the kid that will see you carrying boxes in from your truck and he'll go and grab boxes without you asking. He's always looking to help out."

Bennett said his teacher helped him organize a Chase the Ace fundraiser that saw an outpouring of community support on Friday. It raised $1,200, of which he gets half. 

"It's a good start," said Bennett. 

He's currently raising money for a training camp in October. He missed one of the sessions this past weekend, he said, because he didn't have enough money to get to Yellowknife but also because of the presence of COVID-19 in both locations. 

Campbell, Bennett's mom, said she was "blown away" by the fundraiser's success.

"Everybody wants to be a part of it because they're so excited that a youth from Norman Wells is going to be a part of the N.W.T. Team for 2022. Everybody is just so proud." 

Campbell said she's confident her son will be able to get to the rest of the training camp opportunities before the games next August, and her and her husband will provide the support that they can. 

"I'm just hopeful that he will really excel in his soccer career."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.