Interview with CC LeBlanc
Published 2015-07-02.
As an American how did you find out about handball?
When I was a freshman at UW-Madison I played on the varsity women's soccer team. That winter I received a call from an Olympic recruiter wondering if I would be interested in training for the 1984 LA Olympics women's handball goalie. I said I didn't know the sport & they replied that was okay, they would teach me. I said I was focused on going to graduate school early and declined the offer. Biggest regret of my life. From 1981 until March 2009 the regret would rear it's ugly head. I read a book about a guy starting bike racing in his 30's and was very encouraging to start new sports later in life. So I went on line to the US national handball site & found out there was a team in Cambridge. I went to the next practice to watch this sport that I turned down....they would have trained me! A shot at being in the Olympics! What an opportunity missed. But who would have thought 28 years later I would have a chance to play handball after all?
Why do you say the US has third world handball?
Because it is played all over the world and is just developing here in the States even though it's been an Olympic sport for decades. In many countries the handball clubs have financial abilities so that players do not have to pay for jerseys, tournaments, travel & hotel fees, etc. Many Europeans arrive and are shocked that they will have to pay their own way. More clubs are gaining non-profit status and getting some sponsorship to help with gym rental fees, uniforms, etc. In the Northeast travel for tournaments can be as far as West Point, NY, NYC and Washington, DC.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
Now that my brain is working again thanks to the medication amantadine, I am so excited to not feel miserable with post-concussion syndrome problems, I practically jump out of bed to get to work on writing episodes for the YouTube channel, work on my eBook or volunteer doing narration for the Braille and Talking Book Library or work on sustainability projects. I am so grateful to be able to contribute to helping others not feel alone with their brain injury or do whatever I can to make the world a better place.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
I watch Champions League handball, EuroCup handball, World Cup handball, Olympic handball....cheer my former teammates on, work on my neurorehabilitation. Volunteer, tend a little garden, read. I read a lot and knitting.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes, I was in 4th grade. I painted a cover. It was a story about a mermaid & merman & their merkids.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
There is a very chewed Peter Rabbit book by Beatrix Potter. I love her books and illustrations. The imagination of the animal characters & their non-American names are still delightful to me. Later I learned about just how pioneering Miss Potter was and how pivotal she became in the preservation of the Lake District in England. She persevered in the strict Victorian era as an independent single woman/artist. Very inspiring!
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Books by This Author
Restorying Me: Further Down the TBI Road
by CC LeBlanc
Pre-release—available
May 1,
2024. You set the price!
Language:
English.
Categories:
Essay »
Author profile
I suffered a sports concussions on 31 Oct 2009 and then was disabled instantly on 31dec2009 when a truck rear ended my stopped Beetle convertible at high speed. Using therapeutic narrative letter writing between the Devastated Me, Current Me and Future Me, I restory myself as a TBI survivor. This is a sequel to Tell Me This: Encouragement & Hope After Brain Injury, published in 2013.
How I Met Twin Monogamous Mister Bonds
by CC LeBlanc
A quarantine TBI & COVID-19 coping, hilarious yet profound fairy tale, proving ANYTHING is possible when you believe in the magical powers of love, benevolent forces of the universe & twin monogamous Mister Bonds.
Dear World, I Love You
by CC LeBlanc
Price:
Free!
Words: 1,430.
Language:
English.
Published: April 6, 2020
.
Categories:
Essay »
Sociology
Letter to the World from my fictional character, Grâce, from the foi&GRÂCE series, in hopes to lift some spirits.
foi&Grace Episode 3: Globe Walking Women
by CC LeBlanc
International Women's Day on the tail of the MA Presidential Primary, errand running, living sustainable high standards, family dynamic button pushing and crying at the koalas. There is something for everyone in episode 3, Globe Walking Women.
Foi & Grace: Quantum Leaping Ladies
by CC LeBlanc
2 roommates, a multiple concussion disabled athlete & MGH Physician's Assistant work through personal and global issues with humor, faith and grace to be the change and save our planet.
Kempa Cambridge USA
by CC LeBlanc
4 women (2 handball goalkeepers: French MIT grad student & American recovering from concussions, a Harvard linguistics PhD candidate & a Cambridge public librarian) The challenge of "third world" handball in the US is quite an adjustment for those arriving to Boston but the diverse international teammates bond as a big family, enjoying being together off & on the court.