The sounds of barbells hitting a CrossFit gym floor are very different than the slicing of freshly groomed ice from skates in a hockey rink.
But for former Humboldt Broncos player, Cody Slaght, those two separate environments are easing the pain of an emotional roller coaster he’s battling in his mind.
“Five years ago that could have been me on that bus. My parents could have been the ones left hanging on whether or not I was okay,” Slaght said, beads of sweat trickling down his reflective gaze.
Slaght just completed a workout at a CrossFit gym in Bedford, Nova Scotia.
The gym isn’t the one he usually attends, but when he heard that CrossFit Basinview was hosting a special workout in honour of the 15 lives lost in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, he didn’t waste any time hopping in his car to sweat out his emotions.
“It’s something very close to me, living there and playing there for a bit, it was pretty devastating to hear the news. Even though I don’t have any direct connection with the players or the coaching staff anymore, I still hold that town near to my heart and I can only imagine what they’re going through,” he said.
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The coaches at CrossFit Basinview fine-tuned the details of a workout meant to reflect the tragic circumstances tearing through the small Saskatchewan town.
“We made it 30 minutes. There were 29 people on the bus, plus the driver of the truck. We initially had it at 14 reps for each exercise but we had to add another rep after last night,” John Rudderham said, a coach at Basinview.
Despite the thousands of miles that span Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, Slaght hopes the town of Humboldt can feel the support brimming over for them from across the country.
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“Hopefully this little token of appreciation goes a long way in supporting the community there,” he said.