He loved to play music and sports and spent a lifetime honing his crafts. Peter Davidsen is from Maniitsoq, in West Greenland. He plays, coaches and referees handball and plays basketball, too. He even won a national award for his involvement in sports and his coaching and refereeing took him around Greenland where he made new friends and learned a lot. Musically, he plays keyboard, piano and sings. When it comes to inspiration, Davidsen looks to his family and his brothers who also played handball and music.

As Davidsen started to play handball, he wanted to learn more and more about the rules and doing so as a referee was one way he dove deeper into the sport he loved. He started playing when he was just three or four years old. He was inspired to play watching the national players in his city and also a coach whose game play was incredible to watch. His advice to aspiring athletes who might be shy to try a new sport is “it’s okay to be shy….but sometimes you gotta step up…. try something.”

Davidsen started playing music when he was young as well and he just kept on learning. He had never performed until last year when he was asked to be in a concert with his friends. The day of the performance he was shy and excited. When he got on stage at last, everything seemed easy and it was fine.

One of the adventures Davidsen was able to go on was travelling to Whitehorse to the Arctic Winter Games as part of the Youth Ambassador Program. He helped participants who needed assistance, provided security and kept everything looking neat and tidy.

If he could give a message to his younger self who was just starting out, he would say, “If you start something that you love, don’t give up.” He faced obstacles over the course of his athletic career, mainly people telling him that he would not be a great player in the future. He learned to put their criticism out of his mind and reminded himself that if he kept playing and kept heading in the right direction, learning as he went, he would become a good player in time.

Playing music and sports, award-winning athlete Peter Davidsen practiced and practiced at the things he loved until he improved. His passion for handball took him all over Greenland and his commitment to community even took him to the Canadian North. From the court to the stage, he found a way to shine and inspire the way he was inspired.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.