Training Leaders for Our Community

LEADERS IN TRAINING PROGRAM (12–16 YEARS)

Join our qualified camp instructors this summer to learn valuable skills in leadership and recreation. Whether you’re looking to gain volunteer hours or get some on-the-job experience, our team will take you under their wing to help you develop new skills that you can put on your resume! Assisting in the running of summer camps is a great way to spend your summer. This summer is up to you—dive in and try something new with the TLC’s Leaders in Training program!

Benefits of becoming a Leader in Training

• Leadership experience/skills

• Earn volunteer hours

• Receive a reference letter

• Participate in camp staff training Fun and active environment

• Be a part of an amazing team!

Registration forms available at trileisure.com

TLC Pandas Volleyball Camp (12-16 years)

$240 members/$288 non-members

Featuring the expertise of university-level athletes and coaches, the Pandas coaches will focus on both skills and game play. Take advantage of the unique opportunity to interact with some of the nation’s best volleyball talent in your own backyard! This camp is for players of all levels who are getting ready for their school seasons. Time will be spent developing all skills and learning about specific positions on the court to deepen understanding of the game. Players will also learn effective offensive and defensive strategies to enhance team play. This is a great time of year to get ready for the upcoming school season!

Meet Claudio Hernandez

Meet Claudio Hernandez, one of our popular long-time members who is considered a Superman by many who have come to know him in the fitness centre at the TLC. He shared his incredible journey with us...

When Claudio first started coming to the TLC, what caught people’s attention was the oxygen tank he had with him while he was lifting weights and working out. In 2010 Claudio was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a debilitating disease that affects the lungs and causes them to become damaged and scarred. It was discovered when he found it hard to breathe and would get tired quickly.

“I was lucky and ended up with a really good doctor. And she nursed me right through about five years. I kept working until she took me out of work,” said Claudio.

After the diagnosis, things deteriorated for Claudio, and he was referred to a specialist. He was taken off work and put on oxygen full-time. However, the oxygen levels he was given weren’t enough, and they had to keep upping the levels. (He was on 8 litres per minute, sometimes up to 10 litres.)

“Some of those big tanks, they’re like 460 litres. It wouldn’t last very much, maybe an hour, said Claudio.

Claudio wanted to keep active and couldn’t walk much out on the street, and it was very challenging during winter, as the cold can take your breath away. It was in 2019 when he started coming to the TLC and would come in every day early in the morning.

“I started coming to the gym and got used to it. I kind of liked it. I had never done something like this before. I had a heavy, heavy job, and I didn’t have time for exercise. I worked 12-hour days,” said Claudio.

On top of that, there was an encapsulated cancer in his lungs as well. If that ruptured, he would have probably lasted 24 hours.

It was then that his doctors placed him on the transplant list. It was something they had mentioned to him before, and they had hoped for more time, but he was at the point he couldn’t wait any longer. The transplant process started in January, which included a month of physiotherapy.

you here at 5:00 PM today,” said Claudio.

It was his recovery that surprised everyone, even at the hospital. Eight hours after the operation, they took his breathing tubes out, and he was back on his feet and walking by the third day. In total, he spent 12 days in the hospital.

“I had tubes everywhere. You know, those little IV fans. So I put everything in one of those walkers and would go walking. I worked hard on it. I didn’t dwell on being in bed and feeling sorry for myself.”

The people in the fitness room didn’t know what to make of Claudio, as many of them had never seen somebody with an oxygen tank coming, lifting weights and working out. Then, after a short time, people got to know him and a bit of his story and were impressed by his determination.

In 2022 he was called in December for another checkup. His doctor’s prognosis gave him six months to live as Claudio’s lungs were completely dry and 70% dead.

“I was in good condition because I was coming to the TLC five days a week,” said Claudio.

Claudio was in the hospital again on the 22nd of February last year (2022). He was quickly scheduled for his operation because he had already gone through the preliminaries the first time.

“I came here to the TLC and went home and had breakfast, they called me and said we found the pair of lungs, but for you to accept, we want

The support he received from the hospital staff was extraordinary. They became like a family. Much like here at the TLC, the people here have been very kind to me, the staff here, Sandra and the other people that work in the fitness centre. They would worry when he didn’t show up.

“You know that, to me, was an injection of energy to keep going,” said Claudio. “You put the work into your workout and keep healthy as much as possible. It takes a lot more than exercise. It’s just it’s a mindset. Please don’t take it for granted. Don’t take life for granted. You’re breathing. You’re seeing, you’re hearing. We must make sure we live with it.”