Taekwondo girl on hot streak

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At the age of 19, Sheena Lee Smith-Spencer has already become quite an accomplished athlete. Since she began practicing taekwondo at the age of 11, Smith-Spencer has been adding to her collection of medals and has no intention of slowing down any time soon.

It was a fascination with a cartoon called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that led Smith-Spencer to pursue taekwondo. After pleading with her mother to let her try out the sport, Smith-Spencer eventually took lessons.

Smith-Spencer was a very serious and committed student right from the very beginning, said her taekwondo instructor Chris Reid. He can remember her getting upset with the other young people in her class if they were clowning around.

"She would feel like the kids were wasting time and she would tell them to be quiet during class. She was serious; she came there, she wanted to work hard and she wanted to train...she does the exact same thing now. She comes to the adult class, and if people goof off, she kind of gives them the same look. She doesn't get upset the same way now, she just gives them a look that everybody knows," said Reid.

Several months after Smith-Spencer began training, she entered her first competition and won a silver medal.

"My first competition-I really didn't know what to think. I was kind of confused and I was really nervous 'cause you have to wait for your name to be called up and you just don't know what's going to happen. I was just really in awe because I didn't know what I was doing really...once they called my name and I was in the ring, I was like 'just do what you know' and that's what I did."

Three years later, Smith-Spencer received her first level black belt. She also became the assistant instructor at her dojang (Korean martial arts school).

Last March, Smith-Spencer, who now holds a third-degree black belt, entered her first senior taekwondo national championship, where she competed against 10 other women in her category. Smith-Spencer took home a gold medal for special techniques, which includes jumping and kicking a board in mid-air. She also was awarded silver in sparring and bronze in patterns, which is comprised of a series of movements used against an imaginary opponent.

"When I came up from juniors, obviously a lot people didn't think I would do well in seniors...so getting those medals to me was the accomplishment, because then it was like turning to them and saying you know, 'I was good as a junior, I'm going to be just as good in a senior division,' instead of them thinking otherwise," said Smith-Spencer, who is studying to be a police officer at Algonquin College.

Although many athletes share Smith-Spencer's dedication and work ethic, Reid said it is her unique combination of skill and natural talent that make her an outstanding athlete.

"She puts it all together so well that it really allows her to rise to the moment. I mean, you can teach somebody how to punch and kick but you can't teach somebody how to win. I think you have that in you naturally or you don't. She can go into a competition sometimes even when she was against somebody who maybe had more skill than her and she could pull off something to win. She has just that kind of winning attitude," said Reid.

While growing up in Elliot Lake, Smith-Spencer said she had difficulty controlling her temper and often got into fights with others. She said that training and competing has provided her with a greater sense of maturity and self-discipline.

Right now Smith-Spencer is training for the World Taekwondo Championships taking place in Daejeon City, South Korea in October. After graduation, she plans to teach English there for a year and then return to Canada to begin her career as a police officer.

When Smith-Spencer is not in the ring, she is hosting inspirational workshops and taekwondo demonstrations for youth on the Sagamok reserve and in the non-Aboriginal community. She hopes that her message will encourae them to follow their dreams.

"I tell (them) it takes a lot of work. But if you have a goal, if you have a dream, you can reach it no matter what, because my goal was to be a ninja turtle. I never thought I'd be at the level I am, but even the silliest goals, everyone can reach them."

Smith-Spencer credits her mother for being the role model who provided her with the support she needed to become an award-winning athlete.