The Academy mourns the loss of Dr. Terry Orlick. Back in 2016, Dr. Orlick agreed without hesitation to be the feature speaker of the Academy's inaugural Caribbean Sport Conference.

Dr. Terry Orlick, Ph.D., a world-renowned leader in the applied fields of sport psychology, mental training, and excellence, passed away peacefully surrounded by his two youngest daughters on August 17, 2021 in Ottawa.

Terry was born in Montreal in 1945. When he was five years old his family moved to Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec and then moved again to Atlantic Heights, New Jersey in the 1960s. Following family tradition that began in Czechoslovakia generations ago, Terry grew up in a family gymnastics act including his parents and 3 siblings. They ranked with the world's top acrobats. Terry came by his gymnastics abilities naturally and began training as a gymnast in his personal athletic career from a very early age. At fifteen, Terry competed in the Junior Olympics and received an award for the best all around athlete. Specializing in trampoline, he led the Syracuse University gymnastics team as captain to win many U.S. championships, including a personal gold medal at the Eastern Championships. A hard worker and talented competitor, Terry was dedicated to his sport.

Retiring from his athletic career, Terry obtained his B.A. in Health and Physical Education and Recreation from Syracuse University, his Masters in Educational Psychology at The College of William and Mary, and his Ph.D. in Physical Education with a specialization in Sport, Children and Performance Enhancement Psychology at the University of Alberta in 1972.

The soft-spoken Dr. Orlick spent more than 40 years teaching at the University of Ottawa where he was Full Professor in Sport and Performance Psychology in the School of Human Kinetics. Terry authored more than 30 books including the widely acclaimed, "In Pursuit of Excellence", "Embracing Your Potential", "Nice on My Feelings: Nurturing the Best in Children and Parents", "Positive Living Skills", "Every Kid Can Win", and "Cooperative Games and Sports". He published hundreds of articles in a variety of professional journals, and was founder of the Journal of Excellence and the Zone of Excellence.

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