Some players from the BC Lions were in Fort St. James recently to speak to high school age students as part of a motivational speaking tour.
Geroy Simon, Sean Gore and Jerome Dennis were here for the night of April 16 and the day of April 17, and they were looking for somewhere to work out, Simon Tweeting “Good morning world! Woke up and still Fort St James! Anyone know if there’s a gym here?”
While his inquiry did not get any local response, the three athletes went out and found one themselves, arriving at Momentum Underground Fitness for a morning class, and working out in the gym between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m..
While Scott Croucher, owner/operator of the Momentum Underground, took it in stride and said his regular classes kept their cool while the professional athletes were doing their thing, maybe it did give gym patrons a little extra inspiration to work harder.
Croucher admitted he isn’t a football expert, but he did chat with them about the gym a little.
Later on, at Fort St. James Secondary School, the three athletes talked to the entire school about their lives and tried to inspire the students. There were also some fun fitness-based activities for the students.
The players later had a smaller, more intimate session at the Enterprise Centre, where Monica Grill said they had the students “in the palm of their hand.”
She was truly impressed with their talk and said it had a real impact on the students, two of the athletes having come from relatively difficult circumstances, one had even been in trouble with the law but has since turned his life around.
The talks were part of “Lions Pride” a program “inspiring youth to be active, make positive choices and excel.”