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.