TDBeAT would like to thank Grey Cowan at the Owen Sound Sun Times for such a wonderful write up.
Tyson Downs, 18, died of sudden unexpected cardiac arrest in 2023. His family started the Tyson Downs Association to help save others.
Author of the article:
Published May 17, 2025 • 3 minute read
An Owen Sound family is turning grief into action and teaching young adults and adolescent athletes lifesaving CPR and AED skills.
The family-run Tyson Downs Association is offering local sports teams free in-person crash courses in CPR and AED.
Any team whose athletes are between 16 and 21 years old can participate in the association’s TD BeAT program. The program teaches the basic skills needed to help someone suffering from cardiac arrest and helps spread AED awareness.
Tyson Downs was just 18 years old when he died in the early hours of July 23, 2023, from a sudden cardiac arrest.
Downs, an exceptional athlete who played for the Owen Sound North Stars junior B team and the Waterloo Siskins in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, showed no signs or symptoms that his heart was ailing prior to his death.
In the months following his unexpected death, doctors discovered the Owen Sound teen carried a positive hereditary mutated gene. This gene, MYH7, was found in his heart.
“Something like that, it just rips right through you,” said Shawn Krueger, Tyson’s uncle and TD BeAT program facilitator. “What they learn here will save a life.”
The family has transformed a portion of Kruger’s custom steel and machining business’s 16th Avenue East headquarters into a classroom for the not-for-profit association.
TD BeAT has partnered with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and uses its innovative CardiacCrash training module, which teaches hands-only CPR and AED use in a high-energy, interactive, and competitive way.
Perfect for young athletes, Krueger said.
“There is Team Crash versus Team Cardiac, and they can compete for points, just so there is that sense of competition.”
The entire TD BeAT program is about an hour and a half. There’s no accreditation involved. The purpose is to have those who participate in the course confident enough to recognize if someone is suffering from cardiac arrest and take the appropriate action.
If TD BeAT participants wish to acquire their CPR certification later, TD BeAT can direct them to the appropriate facilitators.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation says that when it comes to cardiac arrest, every second counts. From the moment a heart stops beating, quick action from bystanders can make all the difference. Starting CPR right away and using an AED (automated external defibrillator) as soon as one is available can double a person’s chance of survival.
The TD BeAT program features experienced trainers, including first responders, with up-to-date training modules and equipment, including a training AED and CPR training manikin.
The classroom can accommodate 24 participants, and Krueger said eventually, they’ll hit the road and bring the classroom to the teams throughout the region.
“We want to get as many sports teams and clubs in Grey-Bruce as possible,” he said.
Another part of the Tyson Downs Association’s mission is to advocate for more accessible AEDs in public spaces. The association is working to map out the locations of publicly accessible AEDs in the community and is helping to build an online registry of public and private AEDs.
“I know some of the kids who have gone through the program say whenever they walk into a building with an AED, it’s the first thing they seek out,” Krueger said.
Krueger credited his wife, Deb, with spearheading the AED operation and with a lot of the association’s behind-the-scenes work.
The Tyson Downs Association and TD BeAT are the latest of several legacy initiatives started in honour of the late teen.
The Owen Sound District Secondary School awards the Tyson Downs Memorial Award to a graduating student who leads by example, shows determination and commitment, and is humble and kind to everyone.
A Tyson Downs banner hangs inside the home of the Owen Sound North Stars and Waterloo Siskins, and the GOJHL’s Eastern Conference playoff champions receive the Tyson Downs Memorial Trophy.
The Owen Sound North Stars junior B team participated in the TD BeAT program earlier this year.
“Every coach is always looking for team-building activities outside of the sport,” said Krueger. “This one is free and fun, and it teaches a life-saving skill.”
For more information, visit www.tdbeat.ca or email info@tdbeat.ca.
Picture 1,Owen Sound North stars junior B team participate in the TD BeAT Cardiac Crash session, a free program offered by the Tyson Downs Association that offers life-saving CPR and AED training to young adult and adolecent athletes. Photo supplied by TDBeAT
Picture 2. Tyson Downs photographed as a member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Siskins on April 3, 2023. Photo by Censational Photo.
Picture 3. Tyson Downs tries to get free down as the Owen Sound North Stars junior B take on the Elora Mohawks inside the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre in exhibition Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League action in 2021. Greg Cowan/The Sun Times
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On behalf of the Owen Sound Jr B Northstar’s players, I would like to thank Deb, Donna, Shawn and Brandon for having us at TDBeAT. We all learned an important lesson and something we can and will carry with us for the rest of our lives. Us as players hope to carry on Tyson’s legacy on and off the floor as they are doing through this course. Nothing but good things to say about this course and the people running it! Again thank you very much on behalf of the players
It was an honour to be the first group to complete it! I really enjoyed the course. I feel so much more comfortable and confident in my CPR skills. TDBeAT is a great organization and the skills they teach are very valuable for everyday life.
I just wanted to reach out after seeing yesturday’s post and say what an amazing way to rememver such an amazing person as Ty! Absolute love it and such an amazing thing for awareness and this commuity@ He was such an amazing kid and such a strong family! Amazing job to all your family!