On June 8, at an awards ceremony in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Fanshawe Athletics' Mike Lindsay was named the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association athletic director of the year.

Lindsay has been a part of the athletics department at Fanshawe College for close to 40 years, serving as a mentor to students and staff alike. For the last 24 years, he's served as athletic director, in addition to a number of other distinguished positions on the provincial and national level.

“Mike Lindsay has always been an advocate of providing first class, top quality intercollegiate programs and this can be seen by the success of Fanshawe College teams and athletes,” said Jay Shewfelt, president of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association. It was Shewfelt who nominated Lindsay for the CCAA award.

Lindsay has held prestigious positions with the OCAA as well, sitting on the executive committee from 2003 to 2007, and serving the OCAA as both vice president (1995 to 1997) and president (2003 to 2005). With such an impressive CV, it seems almost disconcerting that he hasn't already won the award in the past.

“It's not about (me) winning an award, it's about the team that's behind the program, and everyone that supports it,” Lindsay said. “I've been thanking all the people that have been emailing me and congratulating me — I throw it right back at them, ‘You're a big part of it.'”

During Lindsay's tenure in athletics, Fanshawe College has become one of the top schools in the country, an accolade extending beyond the athletics program itself to the individual athletes' accomplishments in the classroom. The list of achievements this past 2009 to 2010 year is as impressive as it is long, featuring among others: 18 OCAA All-Canadian award winners; one CCAA All Academic Award winner; 25 OCAA All-Star award winners; seven CCAA All- Star award winners; and two OCAA coach of the year winners.

“This has been the most successful athletic year in Fanshawe's history, and that spans over 40 years,” Lindsay nodded. “It's all the coaches, and the athletes, and their commitments, how they performed this year; five teams going to five out of the six national championships, and every team went to the Ontario championships.”

Lindsay stressed that the honour, though it may bear his name, is representative of the entire Athletics Department and their supporters remembering one simple concept: it's all about the students. He underlined the importance of delivering the best athletic experience possible, and praised the way Fanshawe works with the Student Union to achieve that goal.

“The whole focus is on student success, graduating our athletes and giving them the credentials that they can put on their resume to be successful,” Lindsay continued. “If only the other students realized how important fitness is to their careers, because an employer wants to make an investment into that person, but if they're not healthy, they may not be (an) asset compared to somebody else.”

If you're interested in joining the 150 student employees working for the athletics department, you'll be fortunate enough to speak to Lindsay himself when you apply. For students interested in trying out for sports, he offers this advice:

“You have to be really driven; when you get to college, it becomes a lot more competitive,” Lindsay smiled. “So the advice that I try to give them is to get working on your own, and work on your cardiovascular, your fitness, your strength. Play the game all year, try to stay healthy, and come to the tryouts ready to win a spot.”

For more information on employment in Athletics or to obtain a prospect sheet for Falcon sports teams, visit the Fanshawe Athletics site at www.fanshawec.ca/athletics.