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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2017.2.5 |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Mike Weir Interview |
Interview Summary / Résumé d'entrevue |
Mike Weir, Order of Sport recipient, inducted in 2017, born in Sarnia, Ontario, describes how he was introduced to golf by his father and what it was about the sport that he initially liked, such as how independent a sport it is, and how it is played outside. Mike talks about a time when Jack Nicklaus visited his home club in 1981, the first Canadian Open he visited, and his first professional event and meeting professional golfers whom he admired. Mike is asked about why he formed the Mike Weir Foundation and he talks about his first visit to the hospital in Memphis, Tennessee and how it was inspiring to meet children filled with spirit despite adversity. Since having daughters of his own he has wanted to support children's charities especially. His advice for young athletes, and female athletes in particular, is to try different sports until you find the one that you love. Mike believes that love of the game is the most important aspect. Mike is asked about whether there was a time he felt like quitting. He acknowledges that while there are highs and lows throughout a career he never lost the love of the game and, therefore, never felt like walking away from it. He believes that young girls who are thinking about quitting should recall the relationships and values that were built through sport and the fun that can be had. Athletes may encounter negativity, and Mike talks about how important it is to believe in yourself. He finished the interview by describing the honour he feels of being in inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. 2017.2.5 Entrevue avec Mike Weir, 2017, MP4 d'origine numérique. Durée totale de 00:16:16. Mike Weir, récipiendaire de l'Ordre du sport, a été intronisé en 2017 et est né à Sarnia, en Ontario. Il raconte comment son père l'a initié au golf et il mentionne les caractéristiques qui l'ont tout d'abord porté à aimer ce sport, par exemple le fait que ce soit un sport très indépendant et qu'il se pratique à l'extérieur. Mike parle de la fois où Jack Nicklaus a rendu visite à son club local en 1981, de sa première visite à l'Omnium canadien de golf, du premier événement professionnel auquel il a participé ainsi que de la chance de rencontrer des golfeurs professionnels qu'il admirait. On lui demande d'expliquer pourquoi il a mis sur pied la Fondation Mike Weir et il parle de sa première visite à l'hôpital de Memphis, au Tennessee, racontant à quel point il a été inspiré de rencontrer des enfants qui, même dans l'adversité, faisaient preuve d'une attitude et d'un esprit énergiques. Depuis qu'il a eu des filles, il souhaite plus particulièrement appuyer les œuvres de bienfaisance se consacrant aux enfants. Son conseil pour les jeunes athlètes, et surtout pour les athlètes féminines, est d'essayer différents sports jusqu'à ce que vous trouviez celui que vous adorez. Mike croit qu'en sport, c'est le plaisir du jeu qui compte le plus. On demande à Mike s'il a déjà voulu abandonner. Il reconnaît que malgré les hauts et les bas de toute carrière, il n'a jamais perdu l'amour du sport et qu'il n'a donc jamais vraiment voulu quitter le golf. Il croit que les jeunes filles qui pensent abandonner devraient se souvenir des relations et des valeurs qu'elles ont développées grâce au sport et de tout le plaisir qu'elles peuvent avoir en jouant. Les athlètes peuvent se heurter à la négativité et Mike parle de l'importance de croire en soi. Il termine l'entrevue en décrivant l'honneur qu'il ressent d'être intronisé au Panthéon des sports canadiens. |
Scope & Content |
2017.2.5 Mike Weir interview, 2017, born digital MP4. Total time 00:16:16. What changed when you first stepped on a local golf course in Sarnia, Ontario? 00:25.08-1:08.14Yeah, like most Canadians I grew up playing hockey first, but I think when I first stepped onto a golf course my dad introduced me to the game and got me my first set of clubs. I think it was the individual aspect of golf that I was drawn to. I was drawn to I didn't have to rely on anybody else except myself: no teammates, no referees to get in the way to make a bad call or anything, it was all on me. I think I was drawn to that. I could just be out there until dark all day. I just loved being outside, and there was a bunch of good junior golfers my age to play with. It was just fun; at a young age, it was fun, but I think I was drawn to the individual aspect. What inspired you to continue on the path to be a professional golfer? 01:44.29-02:21.16I think what inspired me to be a professional golfer was Jack Nicklaus came to my home club in 1981 to do a clinic, and he played an exhibition match against my head golf professional Steve Bennett, and I got to see the greatest player in the game up close at eleven years old, and later that summer I got to visit my first Canadian Open, my first professional event at Glen Abbey, and got to see all the best players up close: Tom Kite, Andy Beane, and Johnny Miller. These guys were giving a clinic for all of his juniors on the range, and I think that really triggered something in my mind, that this is cool and something I want to do. What inspired you to form the Mike Weir foundation in 2004 to support the physical and emotional welfare of children? 02:42.21-03:23.05When I did start my foundation in 2004, it started probably in 2000 when I was playing in Memphis, Tennessee at the St. Jude tournament there, and we had a chance to visit the great hospital they have there, and got to see the kids with their great spirit, and even though they have had some adversity to deal with in their lives, and the parents, I saw something within me triggered. I had my first daughter, she was very young, and I felt lucky that she was healthy, and when that time comes when I'll be able to be in a position to give back, I want to support children's charities, so that's how it all started. What advice would you give to young athletes that are interested in golfing, in particular women? 03:32.07-04:38.00I think the advice I'd give to any young athlete, and in particular women, having two young daughters myself that played sport, played soccer, tried a number of different sports, tennis and things, some have stuck and some haven't. Find the one you love, and really stick with that, whether you become a college player or if you want to be a professional athlete, an Olympic athlete or whatever that is, that is in some people, but it's not in others, but you can still love the sport. I think you can play your sport not for trying to achieve something, but for the true love of it, and that's what will have a lasting impact. It's something you can do and follow, whether you continue to play into older age, but you can follow it. My daughters themselves played soccer, and now after high school, they weren't ambitious or had the skill level to play at a high level in college, but they still play recreational soccer, but they still love the sport, and they still follow the sport. So I think that's my advice, to find something you love and go for it. Was there ever a moment during your journey where you felt like quitting? 04:47.22-05:40.16I think through the long course of an athlete's career there are definitely ups and downs. There's not a complete ascent the whole time, there's some peaks and valleys, and when you're in the valley sometimes it becomes difficult. I don't think I've ever thought of quitting, because I don't think you quit something you love, but you might reprioritize things in a different light. You might not have the mindset you had when you were younger, when you're all encompassed and single focused, you have more balance in your life and things just don't become as important, so quitting never really is an option because I love the game so much. I love playing it, I love competing in it, and I love playing the game with my friends, with dad or my brothers or whatever, so quitting is not really an option. Do you have a message for young girls who are thinking of quitting sports? 05:50.07-06:47.09My message for young girls if you're thinking of quitting sports is think long and hard about that. Think about the relationships you built through sport, the people you met, and how much fun you have. I think I always go back to it's not always about winning or losing or achieving. You can have those goals, and that's great, but it's the process along the way, the relationships you built, the skills you build, the values you learn, and the love of the sport. You can love the sport for a lifetime, so I would think long and hard before quitting a sport, because you can carry whatever sport that is with you for a long time, whether that's into coaching, mentoring going forward, or just playing it recreationally going forward. I like to think sports are a very important part of your life if you've always been an athlete. TAPE 3 What would you say to parents who might have daughters who are thinking of quitting sport? 00:09.21-01:04.29I think I would say to parents that maybe in a subtle way, your own personal way to talk to your daughter that sports is so valuable going forward; in competition, for example, there are wins and losses. You learn great values in communicating with people, communicating with your teammates, sharing the ball, not being selfish, thinking of others, there are so many great lessons are learned in sport that will carry forward in business and just in life in general going forward that are so valuable. It also keeps them active in the summer, it gives them something to focus on a goal, so I highly encourage the parents in their own unique way to get that message to their daughters, that it is important and it's a skill that will be very useful to them as they move along in life. What advice would you give to athletes who are told they are not good enough or strong enough to play a sport? 01:24.06-03:08.17Well, the advice I'd give would be as far as being told that you're not good enough, you don't work hard enough, you're not strong enough, you have to find your own internal belief system and not listen to others. Because ultimately, you're responsible for your own thoughts and your feelings, and if you're influenced by all these outside noise from other people, that'll be demeaning to whatever performance you're trying to achieve. It's your own inner drive, it's your own focus, it's blocking out the noise, whatever your goal is. Whatever sport you're trying to achieve, you have to learn to block out the noise, because that's the nature of the world we live in, with social media more and more now, and you know that your passion will carry yourself. I was always told as a young junior golfer that I wasn't big enough, I didn't hit the ball far enough, I wasn't strong enough, I didn't have the game to be a professional golfer, let alone a major champion. If I listened to them, I would've gone to college for business and played for fun. But my passion was golf, I believed in myself, I believed I could be a professional golfer, and once I got to that stage, I believed that I could be even better, that I could win on the PGA Tour, and then when I got to that stage, I kept on pushing myself to follow my dreams and become one of the best in the world, so That's the message: Tune everybody else out, and listen to your own beliefs and believe in yourself. What does it mean to you to be inducted in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame? 03:21.05-04:02.06Well for me to be inducted in the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is an unbelievable honour. I never thought as a young kid in Bryce Grove, Ontario, sitting on the back of the range hitting golf balls that I'd be sitting here today. To walk through the Hall and the amazing facility they have here that shows all the great moments in the history of Canadian sports , I'm kind of overwhelmed. It brings tears to my eyes, actually seeing all the great moments I remember in my lifetime, and to be part of that, and to be shown alongside those great athletes is a wonderful honour and something I'll always remember. I know this moment will always be really special for me as I go on with the rest of my life. Tape 5 00:14.05-00:21.26Hello everyone. I'm Mike Weir, winner of the 2003 Masters golf tournament. Thank you for visiting Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Tape 14 00:03.21-00:16.16Hi everyone, I'm Mike Weir, an Honoured Member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Do you know of an athlete, a coach, or a builder that you would like to see inducted into the Hall of Fame? Nominate them today, and visit the website. |
Date |
2017/ / |
People |
Weir, Mike |
Search Terms |
Golf Masters Interview Athlete |