The coach that made Para sports his life purpose

“It is very important what the Agitos Foundation does. It is like a big family that follows and gives a lot of support to our athletes in Ecuador.”

Ecuadorian coach Freddy Geovanni was a recent 23-year-old graduate in 2003, when he received a life-changing offer to work as a physical education teacher at an inclusive school in the city of Quito.

Since then, he has been working non-stop raising awareness of Para sports in his country, identifying young athletes and training coaches.

One of his main achievements has been coaching runner Darwin Castro. The visually impaired athlete has recently become the first Ecuadorian to reach the A standard for a Paralympic Games.

Castro, 22, is one of eight athletes from Latin America whose remarkable stories are being told in a series of powerful short road to Rio 2016 films produced by the Agitos Foundation.

How it all began

Looking back to May 2015, Castro and Geovanni attended a workshop on coaching and training in Sao Paulo, Brazil, organised by the development arm of the International Paralympic Committee, the Agitos Foundation, the Organising Committee of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and the Brazilian Paralympic Committee.

“It was then that I increased my knowledge about Para sports a lot and consequently built a much more developed strategic training plan for coaches and Para athletes across different regions,” Geovanni said.

“It is very important what the Agitos Foundation does. It is like a big family that follows and gives a lot of support to our athletes in Ecuador.”

Medal success

Just months after attending the workshop Castro won a bronze medal at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games in the 5,000m T11. He will also compete for his country at Rio 2016 after qualifying earlier this year.

“Watching Darwin and my other athletes outdoing themselves fills me with pride,” said Geovanni.

Whilst Castro may have come a long way with the help of Geovanni, it was hard at the beginning. There were neither the human nor financial resources in Ecuador to support his project of developing training and coaching for Para athletes.

However he has found the motivation to develop himself and the system more widely because of the inspiration that Para athletes provide.

“I remember one time we were training next to the Pichincha Volcano and Darwin decided to trek up it, showing that nothing is impossible if you have the will to succeed.

“Sharing experiences with disabled athletes is invaluable. It is not just that they learn from me, but I also learn a lot from them.

“I feel my mission is to disseminate what I know about Para sports so that other people can do it as well. It is so rewarding to do this and it has helped me to grow as a person.

“We need to educate people about Para sports. They have to know that disabilities should not limit you from doing what you want.”

The Agitos Foundation road to Rio 2016 videos will feature one athlete per week until the 4 August, to show the compelling stories that exist in Para sport development as part of #TeamAgitos.

Anyone can use #TeamAgitos on social media to show they are part of the team, whether they are athletes, coaches, part of the Paralympic Movement or a partner organisation.