2026 All Stars

With the completion of the 2026 version of the Simcoe County Boys' Basketball All Star game on April 7th, the curtain closes on another successful and entertaining high school basketball season that included three OFSAA medals for GBSSA ... Maple Ridge girls repeated as "AAA" Champions, Nouvelle Alliance girls brought home the "A" Sliver, and Nottawasaga Pines boys brought home the "AA" Silver! As former long time coach, organizer, and now a referee, I had a front row seat to the action, and would like to publicly "shout out" to the men and women coaches who selflessly sacrifice time away from their loved ones that the "Hoopers" of GBSSA have a platform to showcase their product.

It was a very exciting season!

Working backwards in 2025-26, the most recent expose of talent took place thanks to the Varsity Program of Georgian College, hosts of the 2026 Boys' All Star game, who generously donated the court time, staff, and jerseys for the event. Schools from around Simcoe County were represented, sometimes by multiple athletes, and the quality of the game was top-notch, much to the delight of the fans and supporters! If you missed it, you might be doubtful about the outstanding level of local talent, but I'm standing on my soapbox proclaiming their "Oh My!" level.

How would you know Steve, you might ask? I had the best seat in the house when I was honoured to have been assigned to officiate the game along with fellow Wasaga Beach'er Craymer Forth. I'm not the only one though, and Grizzlies head coach Chad Bewley confessed how excited he was by the 2026 class, many of this year's participants on his radar for recruiting.

Congratulations to Nottawasaga Pines SS Coach Mario Ivakovic-Jovie, also a BDABO member, for bringing an OFSAA Silver medal back to Simcoe County at the "AA" championships in Renfrew. After being seeded #11, NPSS suffered a jittery opening round loss to #9 seeded CW Jefferys (North York) 52-76, but rebounded to outpace their opponents to earn a berth into the final by besting #6 seed Smiths Falls 56-49, #3 seed Lo-Ellen (Sudbury) 73-67, and #2 seed St Joan of Arc (Toronto) 57-49. In the championship against #4 seed WC Kennedy (Windsor), tired legs and spent emotions resulted in short-armed shots that clanged off the rim, eventually leading to a 46-67 loss and a Silver medal. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first OFSAA medal for NPSS, and the team should be extremely proud of how they represented themselves, their school, and GBSSA.

Although the girls' basketball season seems so long ago, the smiles on the faces of two GBSSA teams has not faded. Powerhouse Maple Ridge cemented their claim as one of Ontario's premiere programs by successfully defending their OFSAA championship, a rare double in high school sports. The pressure was different for the 2025 version of the Ravens after being seeded #1 overall, following their 2024 seeding of #7 where they surprised some with their run all the way to the gold, but they tested their meddle besting #11 St Max Kolbe (Aurora) 77-23, #7 Notre Dame (Welland) 71-22, #8 Frontenac (Kingston) 49-32, and #5 AB Lucas (London) 45-30 on the way to the championship victory against host #2 St Patrick's (Sarnia) 49-37. Coaches Tutty and Laronde and building a program worthy of praise with many of their players signing with CIS schools for next season.

After being seeded #3 overall, I think it's fair to say that many in Barrie's basketball community were curious how the Tornades would fair, but victories over #14 Ursula Franklin Academy (Toronto) 50-18, #8 Seed ESC Horizon (Val Caron) 67-47, #6 seed Nicholson (Belleville) 63-50, and #2 seed Ange-Gabriel (Brockville) 38-33 earned NA a place in the final against Woodland Christian School (Bresleau). Unfortunately, they ran out of gas, Woodland winning 73-29. Shout out to long time NA coach Jérôme Garceau for continuing the winning ways for the Tornades!

With all admitted bias, if you're not out there on the sidelines at Simcoe County's high school games, you're missing out on some pretty impressive action. Along with the coaches named in this article, a massive pat on the back to the teachers/EAs who are making school more enticing and enjoyable for the county's young athletes! I know it's a labour of love, and that you do it for all the right reasons, but seriously, thank you for all you do!

I'll make sure to submit all of your names to your respective Boards for a well earned raise!

Has it really been 10 years?

With the turn of the page into April, it has dawned on me that the end of the traditional school year looms, and noting the digits 2026 at the top of the calendar, I was startled by the realization that it's been 10 years since the SCDSB officially shuttered good ol' Barrie Central, closing the books on a storied institution complete with it's traditions, legends, myths, and curiosities. 

A lot has changed since June 2016 ...
Incredible stuff like retirement, marriages, a grand baby, and Hall of Fame enshrinement.
Cool stuff like new homes, cars, hobbies, and lifestyles.
Disconcerting happenstance like political upheaval, economic downturns, and climate degradation. 

When you're 5 years old, a decade seems like a lifetime.
When you're 10 years old, a decade seems like a huge number.
When you're 15 years old, a decade seems like a long time to wait.
When you're 20 years old, a decade seems like a wait-able time.
When you're 30 years old, a decade seems like a couple of years.
When you're 40 years old, a decade seems like last week.
When you're 50 years old, a decade seems like a minute ago.
When you're 60 years old, a decade sometimes seems like a struggle to remember.

Some things recently have thrust the good ol' days into the front of my consciousness, memory fragments swirling like the suds going down the kitchen sink, the powerful stuff crystal clear but the minor details wispy like clouds on a bright blue backdrop. I don't mind ruffling feathers when I reiterate that the whole process behind the destruction of all things Central was a clusterfuck of epic proportions ... excuse my crassness ... and even with the passage of 10 years, I still get agitated when I itemize the damage that ensued. 

Again, how could a group of supposed caring individuals actively choose to wipe out 147 years of achievement and success without continuing, or at least acknowledging, it's existence? The decision smacks of contempt and resentment, eradication at the core.

The proverbial silver lining, however, is that despite my outrage, there's more than enough awesomeness to offset the gloom, and I break into a wide grin when I sift and sort the recollections of ...
Coaching fantastic athletes, championships that were won/lost, accolades received ...
Teaching curious students, facilitating academic enlightenment, life goals revealed, friendship growth ...
Performing in Christmas assemblies by dancing ballet, singing a golden oldie, dressing in drag ...
Creating Central's yearbooks, farcical videos, silly songs, Moustache May photos ... 
Commiserating about lifelong relationships, colleagues marriages/children, colleagues/students lost.

They only saved the chimney, and it's still the only thing there!

I've written before about what I personally viewed to be the source of the magic contained within the walls of Central, but at the risk of repetition, I would propose that the personalities of those who worked there (admin, teachers, and staff), with the resulting synergy of talents, functioned like so much fertilizer propagating a blossoming of student brilliance, and the resultant splendor, a cacophony of athletic and academic accomplishments. Central wasn't just recognized municipally, it's reputation for excellence extended provincially, nationally, even internationally, the distinction becoming a habit that was passed from cadre to cadre for decades.

I've included enough stories in the 380 posts in this Blog that regurgitation is not necessary, but anyone who either attended, taught, worked, or spent time there can attest to something being slightly different ... not better, not greater, simply different, but in a really cool way.

I'm not alone in this.

A passionate group of alumni have rallied around reconnecting and reunion this coming June, with plans for a night of remembering to be held at the Lins Gate Banquet Hall in Barrie's east end. CLICK here for the Google Form registration. There's a dining option if that's desired; there's a nibbles option if something less formal is desired; it's intended to give like-minded Centralites a chance to catch-up, rekindle, reconnect, and reminisce.

Time inevitably marches on, and I've moved on to exciting things, not the least of which is my little Wynnie, but there'll always be a permanent portion of my soul reserved for my beloved BCC, with it's RED, BLACK, and WHITE colouring likely in the legendary quarter-board of Central Rugby. 

Hopefully I'll still be writing in 10 more years and we can share a stroll down Memory Lane again.

RIP Rory Quinn

Another soul has left this earth, and I'm feeling pretty melancholy about it because it's another former student and player from my Barrie Central days. I guess when we educators reach a certain age, it's inevitable that the fickle finger of fate will steal some souls earlier than ever should have been, leaving behind a sense of loss and regret.

RIP Rory Quinn 1989-2026

When viewed through my teacher lens, Rory was a peppery sort in high school because even as a teenager, he wasn't afraid to march to the beat of his own drum, never shy to share an opinion, or to choose the path less trodden. I can understand that some of his teachers might have a slightly different view, but I don't want to make it sound that I have negative memories of our shared time. Quite the opposite, really, because I appreciated his sense of humour, his self-belief, and his toughness, things that made him a decent rugby player. I first met Rory as a student, then later as a player when he joined our Sr Boys Rugby team, and although the relationship that developed wouldn't be labelled as close, on the rare occasions we did bump into each other, we made time for a catch-up, a smile, and a trip down Memory Lane. 

I really liked Rory.

Although he wasn't a starter, everyone knew when Rory entered the game, announcing his presence with tenacity and grit, usually good for a handful of solid thumping tackles. He was a proud member of our OFSAA winning side in 2007 played in Brantford. He had a smile larger than the Cheshire Cat with that medal around his neck. 

We stayed in touch, like so many former students/players, through social media like FB and Instagram, and I don't mind telling you that I was impressed with what seemed to me to be an obvious outpourng of love and pride for his boys. He struck me as a passionate sort, fought bravely, loved deeply, fiercely proud of his Irish heritage. 

With his passing, I've felt a longing to know what he amounted to since graduating from Central, and I came away with the feeling that family & friends were intensely important to him, not the least of which was Amber, his life partner. Anyone wired that way will be sorely missed by those that loved him, and for that, my heart goes out to them. There'll be a big hole in their lives.

I don't know if he'll ever know it, but I am sad that Rory's left us, and I hope that we'll all do our best to keep him with us in our thoughts. 

For those interested, Amber has posted on FB that there will be a Celebration of Life on Saturday, April 18th, 2026 at 1:00 pm to be held at the Lions Gate Banquet Hall on Blake Street in Barrie's east end.

That's the line to cross?

Well, the proverbial "Cat's outta the bag" so to say, and I'm about to post an opinion of someone I read on social media about the state of things below the 45th parallel. I guess now that I've gone down the path of negativity toward the present POTUS, I can't travel to the USA for fear of how the ICE and Border Officials will react ... Well, TBH, I had zero plans for doing so anyway.

Steve McEachern, according to his own web site profile, "I am CEO of WebMarket Consultants Incorporated, Marketing.Legal™, and tech-stack architect of the Success.Legal™ ecosystem. I oversee business logic, application development, digital asset/equity valuation, and other aspects within the Canadian legal profession ecosystem. Information provided here is solely for technology demonstration and testing purposes. I am not a lawyer, nor licensed in any way by any Law Society or Bar Association. I am unable to provide legal advice to the public." 

I provide that as a potential lens for what I will provide down below.

Having read some of McEachern's musings on social media, I have to say that I am impressed by how he writes, what he writes about, and how he lays out his argument. A friend of mine was born, raised, and educated in Canada, but his career path led he and his wife to the deep south where they have lived for 30+ years (it actually might be closer to 40+). We don't have many discussions about US politics, but we've shared boat loads of minutes discussing things we struggle to understand, and the following I offer as a HMMM moment.

If you know Steve McEachern, and are already aware of his views, I don't think you'll gain a whole lot of new insight, but if you've never heard of him, give this a read.

🇨🇦🇺🇸 I’m Canadian. That means I don’t get a vote in American elections. But don’t get it twisted — I’ve still got skin in this bloody game. When the United States lights the world on fire, the smoke drifts north, the oil markets spike, our soldiers end up in your wars, and the global economy rattles like an out of control eighteen-wheeler at the intersection of the 401 and DVP.

So yeah. Some of us outside your borders have been watching this circus for years.

And here’s the part that blows the mind:

It wasn’t the 34 felony convictions.

It wasn’t being found liable for sexual assault.

It wasn’t the six bankruptcies.

It wasn’t the porn star scandal while his wife had a newborn.

It wasn’t the classified documents piled up in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom.

It wasn’t January 6th.

It wasn’t the Epstein file questions.

It wasn’t gutting healthcare for millions.

It wasn’t getting his tariffs swatted down by his own Supreme Court.

No.

None of that did it.

You know what finally cracked the skulls of the flag-waving, pickup truck-driving, “don’t tread on me” freedumbers?

The fucking gas price.

That’s the line.

That’s where the moral compass suddenly spun back to life. Not democracy. Not decency. Not the rule of law. Not dead soldiers. Not destabilizing half the Middle East.

Nope.

The number on the sign at the gas station.

That’s what finally did it.

Nick Fuentes — an actual white nationalist — is now telling his followers to vote Democrat.

Let that sink through your skull for a second.

The guy who had dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago is now saying vote blue because the GOP “broke every single promise.” Epstein cover-ups. No mass deportations. And now a regime-change war in the Middle East that supposedly was never going to happen.

Alex Jones nearly cried on air.

“I needed Trump as my lifeboat,” he said. “And I’m watching it sink.”

The same guy who told parents of murdered six-year-olds their kids were crisis actors is now having a televised emotional collapse because his strongman hero turned out to be full of shit.

Tragic.

My heart absolutely fucking bleeds.

Joe Rogan — the guy who practically delivered the bro vote in 2024 — just told eleven million listeners the Iran war is “insane” and people feel “betrayed.”

Betrayed.

Man, Rogan had Trump on his podcast, endorsed him the night before the election, went to the inauguration like a kid at Disneyland… and now he’s sitting there scratching his head going, “This doesn’t make any sense.”

No shit, Joe.

Millions of us — including those of us outside your borders whose economies get dragged along with yours — have been screaming that into the void for ten goddamn years.

Tucker Carlson now says the strikes are “disgusting and evil.”

Megyn Kelly says she has “serious doubts.”

Matt Walsh is suddenly calling out conservative influencers for being anti-war until about five minutes ago.

Andrew Tate — the self-help prophet of the permanently online — is asking why bombing Iran benefits anyone in America.

And here’s the bit that really makes you want to throw a chair through a window.

Every single one of these people was warned.

They were told about the grift.

They were told about the lies.

They were told about the incompetence.

They were told that a guy who managed to bankrupt casinos might not be the wizard of economic management.

They were told “America First” was a bumper sticker, not a policy.

They were told tariffs would backfire.

They were told grocery prices would climb.

They were told.

And what did they say?

They said we were hysterical.

They said we were snowflakes.

They said we had Trump Derangement Syndrome.

They said we just couldn’t handle winning.

Well congratulations, champions.

Gas is up sixty cents in a month making rightwingers cry.

Oil just blasted past $120USD a barrel.

The Strait of Hormuz is closed.

Seven American soldiers are dead in a war that didn’t have to happen.

Manufacturing jobs are evaporating.

Groceries are climbing again making rightwingers cry.

The Trumpian approval rating is in the toilet.

Apparently that is what winning looks like.

The “f&$k around” phase of Trumpian MAGAts lasted about eight years.

The “find out” phase just arrived possibly like a bloody extinction-level asteroid.

And the saddest part?

It’s not that people are finally noticing.

It’s why.

It wasn’t morality.

It wasn’t empathy.

It wasn’t democracy.

It wasn’t the constitution.

It wasn’t dead civilians halfway across the planet.

It was the extra twenty bucks it costs to fill the F-150 of a redneck named Cletus who eats cornbread and baked squirrel then burps the alphabet, while calling out his own sister’s name when masturbating to the demolition of his hometown’s water tower.

That’s the entire MAGA movement distilled to its purest essence.

They didn’t give a shit about democracy.

They didn’t give a shit about norms.

They didn’t give a shit about anyone who wasn’t them.

But the moment the petrol pump hits their wallet, suddenly everyone’s a political philosopher. From up here in Canada — and frankly from a lot of places around the world that get dragged into the consequences of American decisions — we’ve been watching this slow-motion disaster for years.

Welcome to the find out stage, boys.

Some of us have been waiting for you.

Bewildering achievement

Like so many that have the capability, when the olympic calendar indicates either a summer or winter Olympics is happening, I make time in my day to watch because I'm not in the least bit shy about admitting my appreciation for the talent, training, and dedication these athletes demonstrate. As a former high level athlete myself, and a coach of so many I was blessed to interact with as they honed their own skills and talents, I shake my head in awe at what is considered "normal" in today's international competitions.

I was having a conversation with a friend a month ago, right around when the winter able-bodied Olympics were beginning, and the comment was offered, "What get's me is that in the summer Olympics, we celebrate how strong, how fast, or how skilled the athletes are, but the the winter Olympics it seems we celebrate how crazy they are, as we marvel at whether or not they'll survive." 

Think about what you know right now about the differences between the two seasonal competitions. The summer games focus on running, swimming, jumping, or throwing the fastest, furthest, or highest, but in contrast, the winter games are about flying through the air doing the most tricks ... or flying down a mountain the fastest ... or staying on the ice or snow surface in some razor-sharp blades at 120 kph. Even cross country skiing is spiced up by throwing in rifles?

Here's an even more alarming thought ...

Survive flying down a mountain at 100 kph following your guide because you're visually impaired! We test people's eyesight to allow them to drive on our nation's roads safely, then award some young lady or gentleman a big hunk o' gold for taking the greatest risk when they strap some slippery boards to their feet and point as straight as possible down a mountain. Better still, we create a category for those with an impaired or missing leg, where they can sit down, on ONE ski, and do the same thing! 

Want to have an OMG moment? Watch the Paralympics before they finish.

Being a 100% red 'n white Canuck, I have to include sledge hockey, the Paralympic version of our nation's passion. Push aside the fact that these athletes are balancing on a single blade while sitting in a metal gurney, how about the fact that they propel down the ice surface, twisting and turning, powered by only their arms as they use specially designed mini sticks with picks on the nub to provide traction as they push? Ever played mini sticks? Think about how strong your arms and wrists have to be to shoot the puck the way they do! 

Ever heard of the biathlon? That's where you cross country ski so fast and hard that you collapse in a heap as you cross the finish line. Some of these wonders of humanhood throw in the task of target shooting in the middle of a race, forcing themselves to lie on their belly, hold their breath as they will their heart from hammering in their chest, and attempt to hit a 45 mm target from 50 m five times in a row, trying to avoid adding penalty distance to the length they race. That's apparently not challenging enough for some, so in the Paralympics they have a race for visually impaired athletes ... they give guns to people who struggle to see? These incredible athletes use sound to target the coin-sized target! Some don't have arms so they can't use poles or hold the gun in their lack of hands, yet shoot the rifle they do, rarely missing!

"Hey, wait a minute Steve!" you might yell.

How are all of those races fair since some athletes are way more impaired than others!

Enter another Paralympic modification. The racers are given a percentage of impairment that is used to calculate a timing factor that is used to arrive at their final clocking. A more abled racer is factor 99 or 100%, while someone missing a limb, or has a paralyzed limb, might have a factor 82% meaning that their time is 82% of their finish time of X minutes and seconds. Some of these super heroes require outrigger poles to stay upright because they only have one leg. Imaging yourself competing in the downhill, going 90 or 100 kph on three skis ... one on a foot and two in your hands? How about doing so through 100 poles in a winding weaving slalom course?

So many of us marvel at the Usain Bolts of the world, the fact he can cover 100 m in the mind boggling world record of 9.59 seconds because we've all run flat out at some point in our lives so we can at the very least have a partial understanding of his incredible ability. I can't speak for you, but I cannot identify with someone who can sit in some space-age contraption mounted to a single ski, complete with shock absorbers, then twist and turn down a mountain as fast as possible without wiping out. There were a few wipeouts in the "sit ski" races I watched and they were what we used to call "Yard Sales" when I ski raced ... there were bits and pieces of equipment scattered all over the hill. 

Who looks at a race like that and says, "Sign me up"?

What about curling? If you've ever actually tried it, on ice, you have to appreciate what they can make those polished chunks of granite do, but think about how difficult it is to do so from a wheelchair, and instead of using your hands, you use a modified Shuffleboard pole. I saw the Canadian Skip perform a perfect double takeout, squeezing through two guards barely larger that the diameter of the rock, and take out 2 opponent rocks with out touching his own 4. 

Think I'm exaggerating? Look up the highlight ... incredible!

I think that we all should give our Olympians a tip of the hat, both able bodied and disabled, because they deserve our respect, applause, admiration, and support. 

At least, that's my opinion.

Thanks for reading!

Life is Hard!

This piece was prompted by yet another little nugget of wisdom floating out there on the Interweb waiting to for my eyeballs to settle on. I'm pretty sure I've let the proverbial "cat outta the bag" surrounding my Love-Hate relationship with social media, but I do sincerely love it when a trip down the wormhole lands me at the foot of some intellectual gemstone.

Ryan Leak ... according to Goggle Books
Ryan Leak is a best-selling author, esteemed executive coach, and a highly sought-after transformational speaker. With an incredible reach of over 1 million people every year through his keynotes, Ryan's words have the power to transform lives. Each year, he dedicates his expertise and research to the growth of over 100,000 leaders, spanning the spectrum from Fortune 100 corporations to elite professional sports teams. While Ryan wears many hats, the ones he is most proud to wear are husband to Amanda and father to Jaxson and Roman.

The following is a transcripts of videos that the good Mr Leak circulated, a viewing that left me head scratching and ruminating, so much so that it prompted a further looksy into who he is and what he's about. I'll admit that I'm a bit of a sucker for powerful motivational speakers, and judging by Mr Leak's videos, he'd be quite the experience to be enjoyed live.

Life is going to be hard either way, so choose your difficult. Starting a business? That’s hard. But so is staying in a job that drains you. Forgiving someone who hurt you? That’s hard. But so is carrying the weight of bitterness. Saying no to things so you can prioritize what matters most? That’s hard. But so is being spread too thin and losing yourself. Being vulnerable with someone you love? That’s hard. But so is feeling alone even when you’re in a room full of people. 

Growth is uncomfortable. But staying stuck is worse. You don’t get to skip the hard stuff in life, but you do get to pick which version you’re willing to live with. 

Don’t choose easy. 

Choose worth it.

OR

One of my favourite quotes is from Glennon Doyle, "If you can’t beat the fear, just do it scared." I get that you’ve got a lot on your plate… but who says you can’t just do it overwhelmed? I get that you’re exhausted… but who says you can’t just do it tired? I know you might be battling anxiety or depression… but who says you can’t just do it anyway? Who says you can’t lead nervous? Launch misunderstood? Build after betrayal? Create while criticized? Who made the rule that you had to feel 100% ready before you moved? My friend, when you just do it, regardless of whether your emotions are in sync with your ambitions, you get the thing money can’t buy ... Discipline ... Courage ... Momentum. And the kind of confidence that only comes from doing hard things anyway. Just do it scared. Just do it tired. Just do it unsure. Just. Do. It.

While he seems to me to be focussing on business applications, the messages really apply to almost any situation that one might encounter in Life, and what value his words bring! Should these snippets also resonate with you and what you're about, you can find Ryan Leak on a number of platforms, but the one I've chosen is Instagram (CLICK) because as much as audio Podcasts are awesome, I personally glean greater understanding from the non-verbal cues that a video allows.

I'm not trumpeting Mr Leak as a guru, sage, or counsellor, although perhaps those are titles that he would love others to use, but like a few others our there, I find that his words spark healthy introspection that prompts me to examine decisions and intentions, challenging their value and validity at this stage in Life. If that's not your thing, "No harm, No foul", but aren't you happy I shared something if it is your thing?

Thanks for reading!