We've reached the end of this last first month!

As September 2019 fades slowly into the past, I'm inclined to pause for a second and re-count the last first month of my final semester at the front of the class. It was the last first day; the last Guidance merry-go-round (over 50% turn-around in Photography??) the last school pictures; the last school Terry Fox Walk+Run; the first of my last set of emergency preparedness drills; the beginning of my last interim reports which will ultimate climax in my last "Meet the Creature" event.

The month has flown by thanks largely to the fun of the experience but also to the well wishes and back-pats of my colleagues. The adults at Barrie North are 1B to my 1A Barrie Central friends and I truly appreciate them for going the extra bit to make the daily escapades of a career in education enjoyable and satisfying. It also helps that my darling wife tolerates my GC State involvement that gobbles up 3 nights a week plus a game somewhere near each weekend.

Today was Friday Sept 30th  but last Friday North's Jr Football team hosted Eastview on our newly opened field. I was there, in the sunshine, camera at the ready, thoroughly enjoying the moment. I love to watch high school sports and, of course, football is one of the best. I dearly love to work the magic with my old Nikon and capture the action of the grunts 'n groans so I can share them with the players. Although North got their collective hearts ripped out when the Wildcats Rouge (silly old Canadian Football) with 3.5 seconds left for the 21-20 win, I can tell you that it really doesn't get any better than cheering my G9 & G10 students on as they have the time of their lives. We're new in our relationship build but the twinkle in their eye when our eyes meet as they notice me watching tells me that they appreciate it. Wait until they see my handiwork ... 'Gram it up, boys!

I find my self looking into the calendar on my iPhone and all the things that are already scheduled in it like home games under the lights at JC Massie Field with GC State (Sat Oct 5 at 7:00 vs Sheridan; Thu Oct 10 at 7:00 vs Humber), the Sr + Jr Girls basketball games (Sr Thu Oct 3 at 3:00 or Thu Oct 17 at 3:00; Jr Thu Oct 3 at 4:30 or Thu Oct 10 at 3:00), the Sr + Jr Football games (Sr Wed Oct 9 at 1:30 or Thu Oct 17 at 1:30; Jr Thu Oct 17 at 3:30) or the last Night of Excellence ceremony. Heck, I'll have to come up with something good for my last Halloween ... I've been a monk, an Arabian prince (no black face though), an English King and even Mr Spock. Hmmmm ... choices, choices, choices.

That last Meet the Creature night will be pretty satisfying. I really and truly enjoy connecting the dots by meeting the parents of the bambinos in my charge. It gives me a greater understanding of who they are, why they do the things they do, plus a deeper understanding of the connection between school and home. RANT ALERT: If only more parents would see the value of connecting with their children's teachers! One of the things that has changed in education over my 30 years is the growing educational disdain that parents visibly exude through words and actions, quickly perceived by their impressionable children. The parents we most need to connect with are the ones that never come ... or return phone calls/emails/texts ... or support our compassionate concern over their children's self-destructive behaviours/habits. The old adage, "It takes a village to raise a child." has morphed into, "Let the village raise the child." as morals, values, empathy, integrity, citizenship are left for the school to teach along with the academic lessons. I'm running out of minutes! RANT OVER!

By the time the end of October rolls around, my last set of midterm reports will be looming, the final semester half over, and the buzz of Christmas will energize my bambinos' minds. How will it feel to return from the holiday break knowing there's such limited time left? The thinking becomes deeper and more reflective every day.

Too many coaching memories to count!

Coaching other people's kids is great ... But coaching your own to OFSAA Gold ... PRICELESS!

I’ve written a lot about coaching … the WHYs, the WHOs, the WHATs … but what if I was asked to rank those memories? How do you take 30 years of highs and lows, victories and heart breaks, surprises and disappointments, then assign some sort of prioritization? That’s a TALL task. Besides, now that I’m throwing all of these thoughts out into the cyber-world for almost anyone to read, I’ll bring a tear to someone’s eye for leaving them out or tug at someone’s heart for ranking them lower than another. Can I really do that? I’ll tell you what, dear reader, how about I list the experiences that had the biggest impact on me personally and I’ll let the world argue about their ranking. 
Hang on … This is a LONG one!

UNDISPUTED #1 PERSONAL MEMORY
Having said what I said above, I confess that I can label Numero Uno. Without a doubt, the number one memory would be winning OFSAA Gold on the home-town field (the Jim Hamilton Field at the Barrie Community Sports Complex) in 2015, in front of what was estimated to be 2000 former players, friends, family, and fans with my beloved Barrie Central Rugby team coming from behind to beat a very talented Trenton HS side at the last second thanks to some pretty darn awesome rugby! And, to boot, that winning try was thanks to my son Keaton, showcasing 5 years of passionate skill development, to score in the corner in his very last high school game. It was long journey that we took together, starting at age 8 when my dear friend and long-time coaching buddy, Ron Andrews, confided in me that he wanted my help to start a flag rugby program to represent the Barrie Rugby Club, with our sons being a part of that first group of youngsters. We got the funds to buy what we needed and gave a hardy group of 7, 8, 9, and 10-year-olds to take a risk on a sport they’d never seen before. From the first tournament, I knew Keaton was hooked, leading to his development into one of the best (all bias fully acknowledged) high school players to wear the Red-Black-White. A massive tip of my hat to Robbie Andrews, Ron’s youngest son, for being the perfect complement for Keaton and equally responsible for that epic win … BUT this is MY blog … I get to choose so I choose KP! When he scored that epic try, I was a full field away in the defensive in-goal and had to wait those gut-wrenching seconds for the referee to ensure that all agreed the score was a fair contest. When he sounded the whistle, indicating that the Central's ninth (YES #9!) OFSAA Gold had been secured, I sprinted (well, ran as quickly as my old legs would go) the field in jubilation, only to realize that a player receiving medical attention was KP. My heart went from sheer elation, bottoming out in utter dread with fear of what unknown issue was playing out. For those who were there, you will likely recall the collective sigh of relief as KP was helped to his feet and, despite a pretty severe thigh contusion, was being supported by his co-captain Cole McEachern. What followed was a celebration unlike any I had known as the trophy was held aloft, the photos (with the Mayor no less!) were captured, the largest KUMASA ever was performed and the gravity of the moment slowly washed over me. It was truly one of my proudest moments as a coach and a father.

As for the other memories … in no particular order:

1^ST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Winning my first national championship happened in 2004 in Halifax, NS, at St Mary’s University when I was coaching Team Ontario’s U15 team with my good friend Johnathan “Big Jon” Smith. As written in previous posts, I had worked my way up the Basketball Ontario ladder through BDP, MDP and JDP until I successfully secured the assistant coach position. Jon and I had work together in a variety of fashions but had never shared the role on an elite team. We were (and still are) very well suited for each other, complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We were very fortunate to offer a spot on the 2004 U15 team to some pretty impressive athletes from a host of communities around Ontario. The traditions at that time were that Ontario vs British Columbia clashed yearly for the National Championships. That is not to cast a dim light on the other provinces but the historical record supports me. Our guys became really tight over that summer and lifting the National Championship trophy was incredibly satisfying! Many of those players went on to outstanding high school careers, NCAA careers and even some professional contracts overseas.

1^ST OFSAA CHAMPIONSHIP

My first OFSAA championship played out at Fletcher’s Fields in Markham in June of 1999 with a resounding 25-10 win over Upper Canada College. That particular team was loaded with elite talent, with many eventually representing Canada at various age levels, but more importantly, were an incredibly tough team, both mentally and physically. Leading the charge, arguably, was co-captain and 8-man Bryan Taylor who, at 6’6” and 220 lbs was an imposing 18-year-old. BT, as he was affectionately called, would go on to quite the career internationally before injury forced an early retirement. Other players who would also wear the Maple Leaf were SH Dave Ashwood, FH Derek Cool, IC Kyle McCabe, and OC Chris Bowman, but there were a number of lads who easily COULD have played at that level but, for their own personal reasons, chose not to chase that dream. One player I am very proud of was FB Andrew McCutcheon who, following his own playing days, has become quite an accomplished coach in his own right leading Bill Crothers HS to many successes and their own OFSAA championship.

1^ST OFSAA SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIP MEET

My first OFSAA Swimming Championships was a real eye-opener! I’ve written previously that my daughter Maddison chose swimming as her particular form of personal torture … I really don’t care for swimming because I sink, making it a lot of work … so, when she and some of her Barrie Trojan team mates entered Barrie Central, there was a strong desire to reinstate the Phoenix Swim Team. My co-coach in Rugby, Ron Andrews, had two boys that were also Trojans so we thought we could be the adults and let the Trojans teach the high school swimmers the finer points of racing. The response was amazing, and we won the first of many GBSSA Swimming titles with a team of over 40 swimmers, most of which were brand new to the sport. Ron organized the uniforms, complete with red + pink hearts splashed across the suits and swim caps plus HEARTBREAKERS in bold right through the middle. My daughter qualified for OFSAA, along with a large number of her team mates, and two old rugby coaches turned a lot of heads prowling the deck of the Etobicoke Olympium with their crazy Heartbreakers taking home race after race. We were definitely out of our element, but we loved every second … And Maddi set a bunch of PBs so every bit of it was awesome!

1^ST MAJOR LOSS

Not everything is about winning championships. One memory etched into my brain was the 2006 GBSSA Rugby Championships because, after a string of GBSSA titles starting in 1994, the chain was broken by a tremendously talented Banting team. We had a decent team … not as strong as years passed, but still loads of talent … but we were a little lean at certain positions. As luck would have it, the worst possible injuries happened at the worst possible moments and we found ourselves on the losing end … I think the final was 26-19. The players were gutted! Part of the mystique of the Central Rugby program was the pressure players felt to “live up to the traditions” by filling that legendary black + white quarter panel jersey. Sure, it hurt to lose but it was compounded by the feeling that they let everyone down. There was a LOT of soul searching that followed and, true to the essence of Central Rugby, that treasured OFSAA Gold was secured again the very next year in 2007. I am particularly pleased that many of those players from 2006 are still good friends and I can confidently say that to a player, they have used that experience to better themselves rather than let the negativity wash over them.

SIDENOTE: A great deal of solace can be taken from the fact that Banting went on the win the OFSAA Gold that year, not having a game closer than 20 points. We had been the team to push them the hardest. Small consolation but consolation none the less.

1^ST OFSAA GOLD at HOME

My first OFSAA championship won at HOME was in 2002 and it was the first time I saw the true power of the Central Mystique. We had a very good team that had its share of quality players … Rob Ashwood, Dave’s younger brother, was the leader and would go on to play for Canada himself … but, if I’m honest, we had a bunch of guys who played their collective hearts out throughout the OFSAA tournament conjuring thoughts of the 80’s cult film The Bad News Bears. In the final, we faced Brantford CI with their superstar Aaron Carpenter, a long-standing component of Rugby Canada’s side. In a game that was tense from start to finish, our lads dug deeper than any team I had coached previously and, in the end, celebrated jubilantly with an 8-5 championship win.

OFSAA BASKETBALL MEDALS

My basketball coaching career was punctuated by two improbable OFSAA medals, one in 1999 and one in 2011. I lump them together because they were both “David & Goliath” scenarios.

The one in ’99 was super special because it was with players that I had the honour of coaching in club basketball before arriving at Central. It was a reunion with Joe Santoro from PVPS days; it was working with Bryan Taylor, Derek Cool, and Taylor Armstrong after that epic battle of PVPS vs POW; It was working with John Michael Irving after some club basketball success; it was getting to know Ryan Edgar … it was all around epic! I recall a solid regular season punctuated with a City of Barrie championship clash against St Joe’s and their tremendously gritty team, followed by a great GBSSA playoff run that eventually resulted in a berth to OFSAA, being held in Collingwood. We entered the tournament seeded #8 (I think) put together some pretty darn excellent basketball before matching up with Peterborough CVS in the semis. They were seeded #1 and had beaten us earlier in the season. It quickly became apparent that the game would go down to the wire as each team’s starter matched up almost equally with their opponent. It would go down to the wire and with PCVS up 3 with seconds remaining, Joe Santoro put up a long 3-ball that took what felt like 10 seconds to stop rolling around the rim before falling out. We would play for the Bronze the next day vs Chatham Kent and rebounded superbly from the loss to win the schools first ever OFSAA Basketball medal.

SIDENOTE: The semis left such an impression on both BCC and PCVS that life-long friendships were established. I remember our whole team sitting behind PCVS’s bench during the Gold Medal game, cheering them on to the Gold. PCVS’s coach Dave Goulding and I enjoyed (and still enjoy) a great coaching friendship.

The one in 2011 would easily make the top 5 … partially because of how it concluded but also because the girls came together over a win-filled season to be one of the best joint-effort tournaments I have ever coached. The backbone of the team was Kaili Lukan, the youngest of the three superstar sisters and quite possibly the best one on one defender I have ever coached. Kaili could single handily take over a game by locking down the opposition’s best player and breaking the opposition’s spirit in the process. Supporting Kaili were a plethora of incredible athletes like Nerida Koert Van der Linden (who also holds the record for the longest name I have coached), sisters Kira and Kylee Innes, sisters Alley and Holly Schweitzer, Emily Belchos, Emma Chown, Corinna Mageean, Brittany Triemstra, Claire MacDonald, Tori Bailey, Chanel Frangakis and Laura Benson. My co-coach was Pappa Bear himself, the late Bob Caville. We entered the tournament seeded #9 but the hype about our team grew with each upset win, eventually finding ourselves in the Gold Medal game against heavily favoured #1 General Amherst. In the end it came down a 2-point lead for GA in the waning seconds and when Kaili’s last second shot bounced out, I prepared myself for the inevitable tears of a heart-wrenching loss … Except that didn’t happen. As the girls rushed into a group at mid court, the resounding cheers swelled in volume, “We’re Number Two! We’re Number Two!” Bob and I looked at each other incredulously, tears welling in our eyes, and we shared a long embrace filled to the brim with pride. I can still hear their favourite song, “Sometimes … I get a feeling …”

HELPING BUILD GC STATE INTO A POWERHOUSE

In the summer of 2014, the head coach of Georgian College’s mens’ rugby team, John Daggett, approached me about offer some assistance with re-branding and re-building the Grizzlies. He was engaging, passionate, and sincere so I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to get some coaching professional development. Little did I know that 5 years and 5 OCAA Medals later, another satisfying coaching partnership would be born. John is easily the 1B to Ron’s 1A when it comes to passion for coaching rugby with a super quick wit, brutal honesty, unwavering support and friendly manner. We would win Gold in 2016 with what could easily be described as #2 or #3 team in terms of talent. We would win Silver in 2015 and 2018 with teams that had great talent but were bitten by the injury bug at bad times in the season. We would win Bronze (I would argue WAY better than losing for Silver) in 2014 and 2017. I would be lying if I said that it was easy to coach 3 seasons at high school and add to that coach the fall season at GC State. There were days that were really, really tiring but, as the saying goes, the sacrifice was worth it. The 2019 season will likely be my last and I would like to thank John, Brandon Kirkwood, Josh Morgan and Mike Saborin for giving an old dog a chance at some new tricks.

THE OTHER OFSAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

I’ve already listed the OFSAA Rugby championships in 1999, 2002 and 2015 as pretty amazing but, TBH, all 7 of them were realizations of the ultimate coaching goals.

Toronto @ Fletchers’s Fields: 1999 championship over UCC.

Barrie @ the Jim Hamilton: 2002 was the epic defensive battle against Brantford.

Ottawa @ Twin Elms: 2004 was another very talented team led by brothers Brenden and Brett Curtis plus the late Kenny McCartney. We beat long-time rival Uxbridge in the final.

Brantford @ Harlequins RFC: 2007 was a very experienced team, spurred by the 2006 GB loss and lead by Jesse McConney, Russ Ward and Mike Wong. Again, the win came with the defeat of Uxbridge.

Bellville @ Centennial Park: 2011 was one of the craziest finishes in OFSAA history as Byron Boville and Mack Chown spearheaded the leadership. When Trenton appeared to score the winning try, it was called back due to a punch thrown in a ruck at midfield. We tap and go, kick it out and win 11-5.

Ottawa @ Twin Elms: 2013 was likely one of the greatest David & Goliath outcomes as we bested a gargantuan Moira team thanks to the leadership of Jake Boulding, Patrick Berardi, Levi Eras and Gussi Mozzato. This was KP’s G11 year and he played brilliantly!

Barrie (again) @ the Jim Hamilton: 2015 come from behind win over Trenton.

When you earn the title of the best in the province, there’s obviously a whole host of players that have to rise to the occasion … There are a lot of really good players I have not named but I can assure them, if they’re reading this, that they are near and dear to my heart. There’s also an even larger number of incredible players (including one of our greatest alums, Taylor Paris) who were a part of the Silver and Bronze Medals we won … They need to know how much I appreciate all of them as well.

I HAD A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

How can I write this VERY LONG post about memories from coaching without a paragraph about the incredible coaching partnership I was blessed with? When I came on board at Central, I approached then solo rugby coach, Ron Andrews, if he would like a hand. His immediate smile and firm handshake should have been signal enough that the teamwork could be really, really good. Ron and I would be blessed with others who joined for times during that amazing run of success like Jesse Dixon and Jay Malandrino but our partnership was the root of it all. We each had our separate strengths that balanced out the other’s weaknesses. We were in the leading edge of technology, using in-depth video analysis coupled with thorough statistics before many even thought it was possible in a high school setting. We were constantly using ideas from the most successful international teams like the All Blacks, the Springboks, the Wallabies and English Roses to build our program’s Technical abilities. Likely the greatest testament to our time together was we can honestly say that we have never once had an argument.

It was an odd feeling this past year … We knew that Ron would retire last June; me this coming January … and we revelled in the “birth” of another outstanding rugby program as the North Vikings bought into our leadership to win the school’s first OFSAA Championship, albeit the Consolation version. I can’t put into words how much Ron’s friendship means to the man that I have become. He knows how much … Another incredible component of our relationship.

There’s sooooo much more to say but this is already WAAAAY to long.

Suffice it to say, I feel very blessed and satisfied with the way it has all worked out.

Why do I coach? How long have you got?

Personal accolades are nice but the sparkle in the player's eyes is the reason I coach.
Barrie Sports Hall of Fame 2003 Coach of the Year.

There's a long answer to the question posed in the title but suffice it to say, it has very much to do with paying it forward. To fully answer that, I have to give you a small history lesson …

Lesson ONE: My father was an incredible athlete who enjoyed his fair share of success. His crowning achievement IMHO was being selected to the Queen’s University Football Hall of Fame but there were a multitude of similar achievements in his earlier days. He was an outstanding baseball and hockey player as well, drawing the attention of the pros in the late 50’s. He was so well respected that his classmates at East York Collegiate created an annual Terry Porter Athletic Award in memory of him when he succumbed to cancer in 2006.

Lesson TWO: With all of this in mind, it’s not a stretch to understand that he passed on some of that to his 4 sons. I am the oldest and, therefore, carry the torch for living up to the “old man”. Honestly though, I have always found the greatest peace when being involved in something athletic. I played a host of sports through elementary and earned accolades for it on Hillcrest PS’s graduation night back in 1977. I was involved in a number of things outside of school as well and I really believe that had a lot to do with developing my natural athleticism, contributing to much of my later successes. I have very fond memories of some really nice people who were my coaches during those years, and they left a lasting impression on me that drives me to ensure that future generations of students got the same helping hand that I did.

I have to confess that the real magic happened when I made the move to Barrie Central. I immediately gravitated to any sport that I could fit into the 12 hours or so I had for activity each day. There were years there were I would be involved in 6 sports a year … volleyball + football in the fall, basketball + gymnastics in the winter and rugby + track in the spring. This couldn’t happen if the coaches involved weren’t flexible with their expectations, practicing in the morning or letting me miss a practice for a game in another sport. I wasn’t an MVP in everything, but I was definitely part of the puzzle, enough so that I was on the receiving end of more accolades upon graduation in 1982 ... The same accolade would be bestowed on my son Keaton in 2015 ... Slap Happy Pappy Moment!

It was during this part of my life that I realized how awesome athletics were and what doors they opened for me, eventually developing the notion that coaching was where I wanted to end up. Unfortunately, if I wished to stay a Canadian living in Canada, I really had to accept teaching as a career since it was the only way to coach and get paid. As I stated in a previous post, the decision where to go to university was already made so I applied to, and was accepted to, Queen’s for Phys Ed … What else? I would have to admit that while my most successful sport at Central was football, the one I loved most dear was basketball. With that in mind, I had intentions of playing university basketball, but the Porter legacy was too strong, and as arrogant as it sounds, I accepted that I had to choose football ... Oh, it was such a burden to be able to choose between two varsity sports! HaHa! If you don’t know me well enough to know how it went, I’ll just say that I was very blessed during those years to play with a group of guys that remain some of my greatest friends to this day.

So much for the history lesson! In the end, after toying with the idea of following my father into medicine or physiotherapy, I came to realize that teaching was where I felt I was meant to be ... besides the fact that I couldn't force myself to study enough to get the 80's or 90's I needed. Unfortunately, I did get a little side-tracked with the bar scene in downtown Kingston for a couple of years … Maybe I’ll tell that story later on … but when I applied to Teacher’s College, I didn’t get in? Not enough experience? Plan B meant that I applied to a special program in Kingston which allowed me to get some much-needed experience coaching so I could re-apply with a better resume. That’s how football and basketball at LCVI fits in to the timeline. Although not a perfect solution, and with a little help from a friend of my father, I was able to gain entrance to York University’s primary education program in 1990, dragging Joyce to Holland Landing for a year as I attended classes at a satellite campus in Newmarket. That was an experience unto itself ... Maybe a post on that later.

The Education System has changed quite a bit. While recent graduates from Teacher’s College these days have to put in a ridiculous 8-10 years before they get a contract, I graduated in May, interviewed in June and got a contract position right away with a start in September 1991. I was now an official professional coach-teacher (or is it teacher-coach?) and I couldn’t wait to give those kids the same awesome experience that I had received!

*As a side story, my teacher’s interview was a serious déjà vu moment when I saw that the three principals conducting it were 3 of the principals I had growing up. We spent a chunk of the interview simply catching up and talking about the out-of-class things I was willing to bring to a school. Yes, things in education have certainly changed.

Every coach has their own personal reasons for how they wish their experience to be shaped. Some simply wish to give the kids the opportunity at something outside of class, while others wish that experience to be more competitive, but a small group will operate from day one like it’s an elite program. Rightly or wrongly, that last group was the more alluring to me. As an athlete, it made perfect sense to me that if they were going to keep score then I wanted the win … convincingly. My early coaching experience was heavily tainted by that attitude and I confess I likely rubbed a couple of families the wrong way. That’s not an apology, but simply an acknowledgement that I have learned a ton since I started. Don’t get me wrong, I still think I enter each game with a win as focus, but I think that I am more relaxed about it these days. Throughout all those years, I have been blessed to work with a high percentage of athletes who share my competitive streak and it is my profound belief that it has resulted in what I believe to be rare company when the list of achievements is posted.

This is a long list and, in no way, shape or form is it meant to be arrogant, but I am extremely proud that I was able to give a host of athletes the opportunity to strive for excellence and achieve some very satisfying results:

3 National Gold … U15 Basketball 2004, 2005 & U16 Rugby 2010

4 National Silver … U16 Rugby 2008, 2009 & U17 Rugby 2011, 2012

1 OCAA Gold … GC Men’s Rugby 2016

2 OCAA Silver … GC Men’s Rugby 2015, 2018

2 OCAA Bronze … GC Men’s Rugby 2014, 2017

7 OFSAA Gold … Sr Boys Rugby 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015

5 OFSAA Silver … Sr Boys Rugby 2000, 2005, 2012, 2014 & Sr Girls Basketball 2011

4 OFSAA Bronze … Sr Boys Rugby 2001, 2003, 2010 & Sr Boys Basketball 1999

1 OFSAA Antique Bronze … Sr Boys Rugby 2009

1 OFSAA Consolation Championship … Sr Boys Rugby 2019

32 GBSSA championships … Boys Basketball 1999, 2003, 2007, 2012 + Girls Basketball 2005, 2009-2012 + Sr Boys Football 2000 + Sr Boys Rugby 1999-2005, 2007-2016, 2019 + Swimming 2007-2010
3 Basketball Ontario Club Medals ... Gold Juvenile Boys 1998, Bronze Juvenile Boys 1997, Bronze Midget Boys 1995
1 Simcoe County Elementary Championship ... Int Boys Basketball (Portage View PS)
1 Simcoe County Elementary Bronze .... Int Boys Basketball (Maple Grove PS)
Barrie Sports Hall of Fame ... 2003 Coach of the Year

3 Olympic Athletes … Megan Lukan, Women’s 7s Rugby 2016 and then sister Kaili and Emma Chown play for Rugby Canada 7s in 2020

3 Professional Athletes … Kayla Alexander, Women’s Basketball, Taylor Paris, Men’s Rugby and Carl Haworth, Men's Soccer (but he played rugby for me) ... Maybe soon to be 4 if Gussi Mozzato breaks through ... he's really close!

National & Provincial Team Members … Too many in rugby to list in fear of forgetting someone ... see photo below of BCC students but near and dear to my heart is my son Keaton who was a U20 Team Canada member (see the Central Wall of Fame photo) + Steve McLean, Megan Lukan, Kayla Alexander, Kaili Lukan and Mackenzie Morrison (Basketball)
NCAA + CIS level players ... A long list in Rugby, Basketball and Swimming (Not the least of which was my daughter Maddison at Waterloo!)

The Barrie Central Wall of Fame ... Players who rep'd Ontario or Canada in rugby

To any of the athletes that I have coached in the variety of sports I have been involved in … If you took the time to read this, I thank you so, so much for being a part of my life’s ambition. I urge you to consider staying involved past your playing days by paying it forward and coaching the next generation of eager youngsters looking for someone to give them direction, time and a hand in achieving their dreams. Let's be honest ... When helping someone else reach for their dreams helps you reach for your dreams, there's really no greater sense of accomplishment.

It's been 13 years ...

September 15th will forever be a date that prompts a pause to reflect on how my life changed. Back in 2006, my family forever changed when that dirty bastard Cancer stole my father from us and, despite the fact that my family are continuing to deal with that loss, there's not a day that goes by that a stray thought, reflection or longing doesn't sweep across my consciousness. He had a massive influence on the person I am today ... that's an obvious one ... and there's no greater compliment than when someone says, "You're just like your old man." We may have chosen different career paths but I truly feel that his characteristics of selflessness, dedication, sacrifice, empathy, compassion were his gift to me through both Nature and Nurture. As I approach the twilight of my educational career, I can clearly see how our lives are more closely linked than I have ever acknowledged.

My father was born Terence Lorne Porter in the small town of Amherst, NS, back in 1937 and it is my firm belief that his East Coast heritage played a large role in shaping the man he would become, despite moving to Ontario as a teenager. Many of those who will read this knew that he chose medicine as a career, specializing in Orthopedics, following a brilliant high school experience at East York Collegiate ... The place that he met my mother Andrea. Choosing to head east to Kingston for Queen's University's Med School and Football program took this passionate, driven man and immersed him in a culture of brotherhood and tradition ... perfect! Being attached to Queen's would forever influence who he would become.

What you may not know is that my dad was so selfless that during those years, my brothers and I grew up with an often empty seat at the dinner table. I can personally recall my early days where he was out of the house before I was up and not home before I went to bed. Before you go getting all sad about that, let me tell you that while I would have loved to see him more often, it made the occasions we did share time all that more special. One thing my parents always did was make sure that there were times we would spend together as a family. Of course, as I grew older and my days grew longer, I got to have some brief moments in a more regular pattern and that maturity allowed me to better comprehend that those absences meant that someone else's family was reaping the benefits. My dad was the only Orthopod in Barrie for a very long time which meant that all of the broken bodies that showed up at Royal Victoria Hospital were under his care ... and there were a lot! I have very clear memories of him arriving home, exhausted from surgery all day, but doing his best to be there for us boys, before eventually seeking the respite of the living room couch, John Denver quietly crooning through the headphones.

One drawback of saving humanity was that dad struggled to make my games, be them club or elementary or high school. Oh, please understand, I now know how much it must have hurt him, after having to make choices with my own children. He would have been there if he could but that selflessness was forever the driving factor and I'm confident that he knew that I would understand. As the high school years rolled past and the Queen's experience proceeded, things were changing and more Orthopods were choosing Barrie. That meant that both my parents were able to be part of the rowdy crowd in the stands at my games. One memory that is Uber clear was playing at Bishop's University in Lennoxville, QB, and I was having a really good game. On one break in the game, I was on the sideline because the Defence was out doing their thing and I glanced into the frenetic home crowd only to lock eyes with the beaming face of my father. His grin was a wide as a Cheshire Cat and I could feel the pride from a 100 yards away. I was surprised by both of my parents, decked out in their Queen's colours, cheering the Gaels on. One of dad's Orthopod friends was a pilot and had flown them down for the game. I played football because I really enjoyed it but do not underestimate the power of my indoctrination into Queen's lore ... If I could have fun AND make him proud, that was FANTASTIC! Cha Gheil!

Following my playing days, and as my dad's medical career slowed down a bit, I was blessed to have him be a wonderful Papa to my children and, through that, continue that father-son education of how to live a great life. He was also able to make some of my early coaching escapades and then transition into Papa mode as Maddi and Keaton started their athletic careers in soccer and basketball. As I write this, I feel a pang of sadness as I realize that in 2006, Maddi was 10 and KP was 7 ... My dad missed so much of the awesomeness that was to come as Maddi blossomed in her swimming, ultimately competing in the CIS followed by Keaton finally settling on Rugby after so many early ventures in a variety of sports, then reaching his goal of representing Canada. It makes my eyes well with tears to realize that incredible look of pride that he shared with me from the stands at Bishop's would not be gifted to my kids as they reached for their dreams. You know what? It just dawned on me that he did give them that look ... Through me. He taught me how to do it and I passed it on to them. Incredible! 56 years old and still learning.  If the day ever comes that my children bless Joyce and I with gran-babies, the circle will feel complete and I'll be Papa having a blast teaching my own kids how to pass that look on. I can't wait!

That brings me back to the beginning, like the Circle of Life so often does, where I pause today to remember my dad and all the fantastic things that are because he was in my life. I don't think you ever get over losing someone so important to you but, as the years pass, you do (or at least I do) tend to recall the positive far more often that the negative. I raise a glass of single malt, heavy on the peat, to a great man, a wonderful doctor and an awesome father. I love you dad, always and forever!

Life as a coaching widow

For the 1000’s of students that I have interacted with over my career, it will come as no surprise for them that I think the world of my wife Joyce. I say this because those students know that I invested A LOT of time with them which, by default, means I stole those minutes + hours from Joyce. The best praise I can give her is that she is the CONSUMATE mom … there is nothing that she wouldn’t give to her kids. It just so happens that this 275 lb, furry person is really one of her kids too, so giving me the license to chase my passions was all part of her super powers.

Joyce and I first got to know one another in Kingston while I was still an undergrad at Queen’s U. We worked together at a local waterfront establishment called Pumpers, a part of the old Firehall restaurant. We were good friends long before the spark of romance … likely the reason that we enjoy each other’s company so much now. The point of all of this is that she was well aware of the place that athletics held in my psyche. As our relationship grew, she had a front row seat for my growing coaching passions and, true to her nature, she supported them fully.

In my first post, I talked about starting my coaching career at LCVI in Kingston. I made a lot of mistakes back then … I know that now, after so many years … but I felt strongly that even an inexperienced coach can give kids a chance at the benefits of athletics, something that was certainly a large part of the person I have become. I also wrote that I was handed over the reins to many of the intermediate teams at Maple Grove PS in my first year of teaching. I REALLY enjoyed coaching, but it helped that I had some really great kids who were also amazing athletes! They would go on to do some pretty awesome things later on in their careers … more on them later … this post is about Joyce. We were newly married, no kids yet, and she supported the early departures / late returns, listening intently to the stories of Johnny or Suzie doing this or that. As the years rolled on, our 1^st born Maddison arrived and our lives changed immensely, so it made perfect sense to my testosterone-soaked brain to become MORE involved. I added club basketball to the list of minute-stealers. Of course, she was okay with all of it, as long as I was home to help get the kids … by now Keaton had arrived … fed, bathed and in bed before heading out again. Sounds crazy now, writing about it these many years later. During those toddler years I also decided to use some of the summer months to get involved with Basketball Ontario’s Junior Development Program which meant stretches of 5 or 6 nights away from home. Super Mom handled it the same way she always did … all smiles and hugs. Who needs to Lottery when you marry that well?

If you’re still reading this and I taught / coached you after Y2K happened, you are acutely aware that the minute-stealers grew, and Super Mom continued to flex her support muscles. While I thoroughly enjoyed my elementary experiences … I haven’t even talked about them yet … I arrived at a mindset that I needed to make the change to the secondary system where I could get access to older athletes and more structured competition. Getting hired at my old high school, Barrie Central, was a dream come true! All of the fantastic-ness of the red-black-white of my youth could now become a part of my “pay if forward” mentality. Of course I’ll coach all three seasons! Of course I’ll join the GBSSA executive! Of course I’ll ask Joyce to share even more! As I sit here with my laptop in its place, reminiscing about those days, I shake my head at how we both balanced it all.

By the early days of high school, both Maddi and KP were interested in sports and our family was going “seven ways to Sunday” with all of the things we were willing to agree to. How we were able to organize ourselves to fit it all into 24 hours still makes my head spin. Yet again, Super Mom held the family together by telling me to make choices that would allow it all to happen because she knew full well that I need reminding that being a dad to my own kids was just as important as being dad to my school kids.

As the high school years rolled on, Maddi and KP became more focused on the sports that they really wished to invest time in and organizing our family meant that I had to choose to coach teams that one of my kids was involved in … NOT COACH LESS, just use the minutes as a dad. Since Maddi chose swimming and I really didn’t float, KP got the lion’s share of my time … You’ll have to ask him if that was a good thing … I think I know the answer but better safe than sorry. It was during this time that Basketball Ontario recruited me to become involved with Team Ontario which led to being involved with Basketball Canada’s grassroots as well. If that’s not enough, my involvement with GBSSA grew into involvement with OFSAA and its executive council. During it all, Super Mom organized our family, held it together on the home front, and even saved some love for me after dealing with our kids all day. Despite all of this, she became a sports lover, sitting on the sidelines with a HUGE grin and cheering her kids as they learned the harsh life lessons associated with competition. With both of them excelling, that meant travel to meets / tournaments, hotels, packing meals and managing logistics … all, of course, done with flawless efficiency.

So, with all of this, you’d think that I’d choose to take a few things off my plate, to make things easier for Joyce with managing our home. If you know me at all, you already know that answer … NOT … sort of. I did choose to take some things off my plate, but I convinced her that I could make some extra cash by getting hired to coach the Men’s Basketball program at Georgian College. I stepped away from OFSAA and traded it for something that took up twice the volume of time. Super Mom was there, all smiles, but she did insist that I had to include KP in it so that she could handle things at home and in the pool. Really? That’s it? I can’t wait to sign up! To sweeten the deal, I chose to trade summer basketball for summer rugby when Rugby Ontario came calling and KP could continue to trail along, becoming an unofficial mascot for all of those teams before getting old enough to make Team Ontario on his own … more on that later.

As both of our children outlived their elementary experience, the choice on where to attend high school was pretty much the same as my choice of university. For those reading that don’t know, my father was a Hall of Fame football player for Queen’s in the early 60’s and I was indoctrinated early. He would always joke, “You can go anywhere you want for university … but I’m only paying for Queen’s!” Maddi and KP got the same treatment with their high school so, of course, they chose to attend Central. I’d really like you all to believe this was a part of some master plan to take some pressure off my darling wife. If both kids and husband were at the same school then that would make logistics so much easier, right? Oh, you silly reader … that wasn’t it at all! I wanted them to go to Central because it was the best high school in Barrie! The rest of that was a fringe benefit! Whatever the intention, the end result was that life did get slightly … SLIGHTLY … less hectic and Super Mom was able to still be cheerleader “Numero Uno” as the entire family lived and breathed the red-black-white of Central. Which is not to say that there weren’t any bumps in the road but I’m proud to say that we found ourselves enjoying each other’s company on a more consistent basis.

Which brings our relationship to where it is now. Both of our children are enjoying living as an adult and have their own place to call their own. With my (Our?) decision to retire from coaching, we can actually spend quality time together. Think of it like a training camp for retirement! Having said that, you all know that I couldn’t go “Cold Turkey” so I’m still a part of the Georgian Men’s Rugby Program for this fall. True to form, Joyce supports me 100% … although I suspect just a weensy little bit of that is so she gets some alone time. She’s never been married to a hubby to was around a lot so why start now? 

She really is the best and I love being her guy!

Strange Feeling … It’s my last (Insert text)

This is me in Grade 9, BABY, this is me in Grade 9!

Tomorrow marks my journey down the path of educational lasts in a long line of things. It will most obviously begin with my last first day … is that an oxymoron? I’ll get up at 5:55 am, something I haven’t been doing for a while, dress myself in my Viking best (Barrie North’s mascot BTW), and set about making a great first impression with my last classes. I am teaching a G10 and G9 HPE (Phys Ed) plus a G11/12 Photography, courses I have taught in the past. They are a gift from my principal since he was kind and thoughtful enough to ask me for my wish list when he was staffing the school last year. I had no guarantee he could work the magic, but unless the ministry’s announcement from last week drastically changes things, those will them.

I really like the opening week of school. I liken meeting my classes to a newly married couple and that week is the Honeymoon. It’s a “finding out if this will work” period for both the class and me. I have one serious drawback as a teacher … I’m really good with faces but not so much with names. This is not stressful for me since I have embraced that fault, but some students allow their feelings to be hurt when I confess to them I’ve forgotten their name ... multiple times. I ask each class to be patient with me, but some still allow the disappointment to creep into their eyes. This will be the last time that will pose a problem for me, from an educational standpoint. It will still happen when we bump into each other out there in the “real” world, but as time creeps on, those former students seem less hurt by my, "What was your name again?".

As I previously wrote, I will not be coaching in my school this semester. It will certainly feel odd since it has been a part of my career for a really long time. What non-coaching people don’t know is that for every hour spent on the court/field/pitch, I spend ½ hour planning, doing paper work, or organizing resources. Think about it like this … I would normally be coaching girls’ basketball which normally has three 1½ practices for a total of 4½ hours which I have confessed is matched with about 2 hours of off-court stuff. That’s 6½ hours I will gain back to donate to my classes without factoring in exhibition/tournament/league games! My wee brain is busy dreaming up ways to use those minutes right now! And the added bonus will be that once we are in October, I won’t be pulling double duty because I won’t have the Sr Boys’ team bothering me to get runs in. I’ll miss all of this 100%, but I’m eager to experience the change!

One of the things that I have been thinking about to replace those minute-stealers is to get out to more events and capture North’s students in action as they represent the school in a variety of activities. Some of you reading this will not know that I’m an avid (albeit amateur) shutterbug who loves to cover sporting events. I get grief every year from the athletes whose games/matches I couldn’t fit in with coaching other teams that they’d love some of my shots too. Since I love taking the pics and the kids love getting them, it’s a win-win. That’s the plan anyway ... If you're interested in seeing them, go to the Barrie North site (Click Here) and follow the link on the scroller.

I can easily forecast a few posts surrounding my last set of “Meet the Creature” interviews, my last set of midterm reports, my last exams and my last final reports … I’m filled with butterflies just thinking about the reality of all that! Stay tuned!

My first attempt at a BLOG!

Thoughts from a meandering mind after 29 years in education!

If you're reading this, (a) you were invited to take a look at some thoughts I've amassed over 29 years spent in education, both in elementary and secondary classrooms, and (b) you're interested enough in what I may or may not say to click the link to get here! Thanks for visiting! This blog is as much for me as it is for anyone reading!

An educational friend of mine, Dan De Souza, wrote a blog over his final year (http://teach1coach1.blogspot.com/) and shared it via Facebook. I thoroughly enjoyed reading what he had to say and I thought that I would take a shot at the same thing. For me, this will be a smattering of experiences, lessons learned, thoughts on things that I find fascinating, pet peeves and maybe even some unpopular opinions. You can choose to read ... or not ... but I will faithfully add to this blog over my final semester.

Soooo here's how I'd like to start ...One thing I wish everyone would know about me is that I LOVE teaching! If I could come to a school, unlock the door, greet my students, help them find their way along the twisting pathway of learning new skills and knowledge, AND get to know them a bit in the process ... Well, that would be outstanding! I'd teach until I was even more old and grey than I am now!

Unfortunately, what drives me up the wall is the education system! I have taught through a number of educational ministers and their parties, through changes in educational philosophies (Whole language anyone? Pod teaching? Holistic learning? EQAO? SPARK?), through changes in family dynamics + expectations and two work stoppages! I know it's not a popular opinion for "Joe Public" but I really wish those that get to make the changes would ask for input/advice from those who will have to stand in front of kids ... and parents ... and deliver those changes. There's LOTS of experience available for the asking from generations of educational professionals.

After 29 years of those PLUSES and MINUSES, I have decided that, while I loved the student experiences of teaching and coaching, I think that I'll try something else for those remaining "working" years I have left. Besides, if old buzzards like me stick around, there are some really talented young folk entering the system that they don't get contracts and I have personally seen some really good ones choose to leave. That is not meant to be a shot at teachers who choose to stay passed their eligible retirement date ... their life is their concern, not mine. I am stating that I feel that my time has come. I have enjoyed 98% of my time teaching and coaching ... yes, there were SOME days that I'd rather forget ... and I take with me experiences and accomplishments that I am Uber proud of!

I really confused people last spring when I announced via social media that I was retiring from coaching. Some read that as I was retiring from teaching ... an easy mistake to make considering that my social media presence is filled with the trials and tribulations of the various teams I was involved with. The decision to retire from the most enjoyable portion of teaching ... I hope that none of my former administrators take offence to that ... was a tough one. I started coaching in high schools 31 years ago when I was allowed to assist with the Jr Football team and Sr Basketball team at LCVI in Kingston, even before I was hired to teach on contract. I really felt strongly that teacher-coaches had given me their time, energy and expertise and I was honour-bound to "pay if forward". Once I was hired, I started my career in primary (more on that in the future) and was "gifted" the majority of the Intermediate sports in the school. I'm pretty sure that I coached 5 teams that year! That started 29 straight years of coaching each season of the school year and, to be honest, I figured I had "paid it forward" enough. Besides, teaching only the first semester would mean I could only do the fall season since the winter season includes both semesters ... I couldn't fathom starting something and not finishing it ... and I would really like to have the experience of only worrying about teaching my assigned classes. It's not that I don't feel those students-athletes are worth it but rather, I'd like to see what I can accomplish with my students when my energy is solely focused on them! I've never done that before!

So, this semester will include my last educational Labour Day, my last school start, my last "Meet the Creature" night, my last midterm + final report cards ... It will be a rollercoaster that I can't wait to ride!