Shamar Bennett’s journey to the 2022 Canada Summer Games has been a long one supported by a variety of people and organizations.
The soccer player for Team Northwest Territories had come to terms that his mother Keisha Campbell and stepfather Courtney Hyatt were not able to travel with him from up north to Niagara due to prior commitments.
But he received the surprise of a lifetime about an hour and a half before his game against Team Ontario Sunday at Youngs Sportsplex in Welland.
He was told media personnel for the territory would be conducting an interview with him about his hard work getting to the Games.
A couple of minutes into it, when the interviewer asked about how proud he thinks his parents are of him for making the team, he was then told to turn around.
They were standing behind him ready to embrace with a round of hugs and affection.
“Shocked,” was the one word the 18-year-old used when interviewed by The Tribune about his reaction, adding he expected they would be watching the game online.
Campbell and Hyatt were flown to Toronto from Edmonton and put up in local accommodations through a generous offer from Canadian Tire. They will head home Tuesday.
Bennett was the only player outside Yellowknife chosen last year for his team’s training squad, but it came with a big price as he had to pay for travel and accommodations to take part in monthly practices.
North-Wright Airways and Canadian North got involved by covering the cost of almost all the airfare that was required. A series of fundraisers and donations also raised more than $5,000, helping to cover his accommodations.
This allowed the young soccer player from Norman Wells, NWT, to travel to Yellowknife for all the team’s training camps.
He didn’t find out until July when he was headed to the Canada Summer Games in Niagara.
“I’m excited to have them here,” he said after the covert surprise, which involved his family members hiding inside the sportsplex while his team bus arrived and Northwest Territories’ media team coached him out to midfield for his interview.
“Even though all of us as a team are family, it’s nice to have some other familiar faces here,” he said.
“I’ll have to do something out there to make them proud,” he said when asked about how his performance might be affected by the pre-game bombshell.
“We know this is a big moment for you,” his mother told him while thanking everyone in the area for helping coordinate the surprise.
She is also grateful for Canadian Tire bringing them to Niagara and putting them up in a hotel for a few days.
Hyatt is proud of his stepson, and laughed about how “speechless” he seemed to be when he turned around and saw their faces.
“I know he’s surprised and happy to see us here,” he said, adding that it’s “very rewarding” to see his hard work pay off.
Bennett grew up in Jamaica and moved to northern Canada three years ago.
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