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Steves Léonard
Steves Léonard: crazy in love!
At age 17, you are sometimes reckless, but above all fearless. Steves Léonard was both.
So it was the first time he sat astride a three-wheeler; it was also his last. In fact,
it lasted all of one minute. The first 30 seconds, I went slowly and then I speeded up.
When I reached the curve in the gravel road, I was going too fast and did not brake in time.
I ended up on my back in the ditch and immediately knew something was very wrong. I couldn’t
feel my legs anymore.
It took a while for his friends to believe him. True, I was the type to pull that type of joke,
Steves admits. The weirdest was my initial reaction. I told myself: You just found a reason to
take a year off.
At that point, the Saint-Jérôme resident had, for some time, been after his
parents to not go back to school; he wanted to work before entering CEGEP.
His parents were a great source of inspiration for their offspring who suddenly, before reaching 20,
found himself a paraplegic. The way my parents reacted was my motivation to not close myself in.
I understood that for my folks, it was probably one of the worst things that could happen to their son.
So I kept telling myself I had to be strong for them. If I knew they were coming to see me and felt
rather down, I would listen to crying music. That would make me bawl and get it out of my system before
they showed up.
He also had the unfailing support of some friends who would help him discover a sport to his liking, Pierre Mainville among them.
When love is shows up
While I was still in hospital, two friends came to see me and told me there was a sledge hockey team
in Saint-Jérôme and that they could even come play with me
, recalls Steves
when questioned on his arrival into the sledge hockey world. For the player that he was prior to his
accident, the expectations were high. I thought it would be just about any old thing
he admits.
Big mistake, it was passion from the very first! I had the same feeling in the sledge as on skates.
I found the same intensity, the same enthusiasm, the same desire to win. I fell in love right away!
And the relationship has been lasting for close to 20 years! Pierre Mainville played alongside his friend
for a long time, until he himself fell victim to an accident. He then turned to fencing.
Every Sunday morning at 6 o’clock, the Dragons meet in Repentigny. Some mornings, it’s harder to get
up at 4:30, particularly when there is a storm. What spurs me on is the yearly tournament we have in
London, Ontario, a large tournament that brings together more than thirty teams. So, even on snowy,
cold mornings, I get up!
That is why the Saint-Jérôme player welcomes the addition of his discipline to
the Défi sportif programme. It really is a trip. Finally we will be able to
play before our relatives and friends and what’s more, we won’t have to do eight hours on the road
,
he quips, referring the distance between Montréal and London.
Voyage to the heart of the earth
OK, the road from Montréal to London is not the most exhilarating, but Steves Léonard is not one to
balk at a trip. As soon as I got out of the Montréal Rehabilitation Institute, I got on a plane
headed for Venezuela.
That escapade will open his professional path. Upon his return, he registered
in a tourism program.
Once he received his diploma, Steves was wondering where he would be working. Leafing through an Air
Transat brochure, I saw a picture of André Viger in Cancún. Transat had sent him on site to test the
facilities. I figured I would start there.
His search also ended there and to this day he is still
in the employ of the company.
Since 1993, the sledge hockey player has accumulated no less than 55 trips! Costa Rica is my favourite
destination. And for me, the beaches are not what draw me; I get stuck rather quickly
, he adds with
a good laugh. All is beautiful in Costa Rica: the mountains, the forests, the coffee plantations,
everything! I even climbed a volcano, the Poas. What’s more, the government spends a lot of money on
education and it shows in your contacts with the people.
As an example, the literacy rate is 95% in
that Central American country.
The most difficult city in terms of access: Paris! In four trips there, I have not met a single
person in a wheelchair
, he laments. But access is so difficult, that must be an explanation. For
instance: my chair doesn’t fit in most Paris hotel elevators.
And Montréal? Ah! Montréal has improved so much since the early 90s. We are really well here
, sums
up the traveler who still loves coming back home!
