EDITOR’S NOTE: On Saturday, May 13, the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame will welcome its latest inductees. The class of 2022 contains athletes Alan Brahmst and John French along with builder Dave Dunn. Over the following three days, we’ll function the inductees.

Growing up in Hamburg, Germany, Alan Brahmst did what most younger boys did there; he started enjoying discipline hockey when he was 5.

It was obvious rapidly that he was extra proficient and pushed than most.

But when his household determined to maneuver to North America when he was a teen, it appeared his aspirations can be left behind.

That was actually the case early on when his dad, a world salesman, determined to maneuver the household to a little bit place referred to as Orillia within the spring of 1982.

Suddenly, Brahmst discovered himself strolling the hallways of Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute (ODCVI) in an odd, new world the place nobody had heard of discipline hockey.

That doesn’t imply it was a trial for him or his 4 brothers.

“When this came up and we were dealt the cards that we were going to move to Canada, I looked at it as an adventure,” recalled Brahmst, whose household settled on Heward Point.

He mentioned he was initially teased a bit for his accent and since he rode a “weird bike … but everybody was welcoming and I made friends relatively easy.”

He rapidly turned immersed in sports activities, working observe, enjoying tennis, working cross-country, snowboarding and enjoying on a proficient basketball staff at ODCVI.

That first summer time in Orillia, he additionally started working at Fern Resort as a waiter. He would go on to turn into a bartender and tennis professional for a number of years.

“For me, it was a really good way to integrate. I had no problems, and fond memories, really,” he mentioned.

That’s partly why discipline hockey had slid off the radar. But someday, he noticed a information story on TV concerning the Canadian males’s staff qualifying for the 1984 Olympics.

Back then, there was no web, so he requested his gymnasium instructor, Daryl McKenzie, if he might join him with Field Hockey Ontario. McKenzie, after performing some analysis and making some calls, was in a position to just do that. Not lengthy after, Brahmst was driving to Toronto each weekend to practise and renew his ardour for the sport.

In 1985, the Ontario staff certified for the Junior World Cup, and Brahmst wished to play for his adopted nation. The MP of the area on the time, Doug Lewis, expedited his citizenship, opening the door to worldwide competitors. He burst by means of the door and by no means regarded again.

Brahmst turned a drive to be reckoned with, enjoying within the Junior World Cup in 1985 and the Senior World Cup in 1986. But he didn’t make the lower for Canada’s Olympic staff in 1988.

It was a troublesome tablet to swallow on the time.

“But I didn’t do the work in terms of fitness … I learned some lessons, for sure,” he mentioned.

For the remainder of his profession, his degree of health turned his hallmark. He was additionally powerful as nails, a frontrunner and a standout central again.

After Canada narrowly missed qualifying for the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, the staff lastly made the lower in 2000 and shone on the world stage in Sydney.

“We were ranked top eight in the world, but I wanted more out of it,” Brahmst mentioned of his Olympic expertise. “We couldn’t win a game; we tied three matches.”

Despite that, he mentioned, “it was an awesome experience. (Field) hockey is one of the most attended events in the Olympics and it was great to play in front of a big crowd with knowledgeable fans.”

While going to the Olympics was a particular spotlight, it was an expertise earlier than the Olympics, in Western Canada, that stands out.

It was 1999, and the Pan-American Games had been held in Winnipeg. A gold medal meant an computerized berth within the Olympics.

“At the end of day, it’s about winning,” mentioned Brahmst, who helped Canada edge Argentina 1-0 within the nail-biting championship sport in entrance of a packed home.

“That game, that experience … that stands out, for sure,” mentioned Brahmst. “Because it was at home, because it was an automatic qualifier for the Olympics, it was significant.”

And Brahmst’s position was important. He was the straw that stirred the drink for Canada, mentioned his longtime teammate, Rob Short.

“Alan was a vocal and impactful central back for our team who, both on and off the pitch, was an amazing leader who helped guide our group to a record-setting top-eight finish at the 1988 World Cup … and led us to the 2000 Olympics where the team finished 10th in the world,” Short mentioned in a letter supporting Brahmst’s nomination into the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame.

“He was an extremely intelligent hockey player who we all gained from, tactically. He was tough as nails and feared by many of the world’s best players,” defined Short. “Our team would not have seen the success it did without Alan and his extraordinary commitment to our group and the sport.”

When Brahmst retired in 2000, his loss was important, mentioned Short.

“Our team did not recover from losing such an integral, central piece of our team’s core,” he mentioned, noting it took eight years for the staff to as soon as once more qualify for the Olympics.

Susan Ahrens, the CEO of Field Hockey Canada, additionally speaks extremely of Brahmst.

“Alan was a key leader and outstanding athlete in a golden generation of field hockey players,” she wrote in a nomination letter. “He put his name in the history books of Field Hockey Canada.”

And now, he cements his place in native historical past by being inducted into the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame.

It is significant to Brahmst.

“It’s cool. Orillia has a special place for me,” he mentioned, recalling fond recollections he has of realizing different inductees equivalent to Terry Bullen and the late Jerry Udell.

“It’s always nice to be recognized for what you’ve done, whether it’s sports, academics or otherwise. Sport is near and dear to me, and I work in the system still today, so it’s cool. I’m not in any other sports hall of fame … so you’ve got to start somewhere,” he quipped.

There are some tickets nonetheless obtainable for the seventh annual Orillia Sports Hall of Fame gala. Tickets for the May 13 occasion at Hawk Ridge Golf Club are $125 and can be found by emailing [email protected].