The GC State Project

After a number of really successful experiences at elementary, secondary, club and provincial levels, I found myself looking for a new challenge. I first heard of an opportunity to join the GC team through an old Central friend, Michelle McConney, She was the head of the SAC at Georgian with part of her responsibility being athletics. GC State was looking to make a change in the head coach of their men's basketball team and Michelle wanted to know if I was interested in applying.

I hand't interviewed in a while but I thought that I performed well, but unfortunately, Michelle phoned to say that they had chosen to go with an BB buddy, John Grace. Considering John's CIS and Basketball Canada experience, I wasn't really all that upset about them choosing him. Well, as luck would have it, the experience wasn't what John had in mind and his tenure as head coach was short lived. Michelle came calling again, and this time I was successful. I must confess that most of the experience was enjoyable, fulfilling and uplifting ... most. One of the challenges of coaching in the OCAA at Georgian College is that prospective athletes are looking for a break on the high cost of post-secondary education ... Something that I had no $$$ to operate with. I was blessed with some really talented players but the vast majority were local or would have chosen GC anyway.

I would have to confess that my win-loss record at the helm of the good ship Georgian was fraught with many a stormy sea. Part of that is solely on me as head coach; part lies at the feet of the players; a small part was some bad luck. Regardless of "dubs", I still managed to smile, chuckle and feel I was making a difference. I was privileged be assisted with some really talented young coaches like Scott Seeley and Matt Coulson, and the learning was a two-way benefit. Matt eventually succeeded me as head coach and has enjoyed considerably more success than I, a credit to his abilities. In the end, despite actively seeking the opportunity, my basketball heart lay in coaching high school athletes. I would like to thank all of the young men who chose to be a part of those years because I really felt that we had a positive relationship. To that end, I remain in contact with a number of them through social media and I'm thrilled to see them march headlong into adulthood, family life and the pursuit of career goals. I would list them all but I feel like I would forget someone, hurt their feelings and regret it forever so I'll collectively give 'em all props. I would be remiss if I didn't offer a prayer for the untimely passing of one of them, Mychal Gilles, a Barrie North grad and long-time Barrie Royals athlete.

As luck would have it, shortly after my basketball time, John Daggett (GC State men's rugby Head Coach) was looking to "restock the stable" and he came calling. That began a 4multi-year escapade into OCAA rugby and more Trials + Tribulations of the college athlete. Looking back, it was an experience that I do not regret taking a chance on but the big difference was that I came aboard as Devil's Advocate, allowing me to investigate a role I had not previously held. My high school team, The Barrie Central RFC, had not enjoyed a great relationship with GC rugby over the years. We had enjoyed great success locally and at OFSAA, so naturally, some of our players were interested in using Georgian to further their education AND were interested in continuing to play some rugby. Since so many returned with messages of disappointment, we were leery of recommending the program as a "good" choice. When John took over in 2013, I begin to hear rumours that things were changing as the result of a large shake-up. I soon found out that John was forged in the same fire as Ron Andrews and we quickly created a great friendship through our mutually beneficial thoughts and ideals with coaching rugby. It didn't hurt that John had amassed a formidable group of rugby minds with the likes of Brandon Kirkwood, Josh Morgan, Mike Sabourin, and Paul Lemmon.

Rugby in Canada is a fringe sport, at best, and with apologies to many parts of Ontario, there aren't a lot of great high school programs that funnel well trained, tough, highly skilled rugby players to the Barrie area. Many of the players that have chosen GC State are from the quality high school programs in this area; programs that have been consistently in the hunt for OFSAA medals. Coupled with that, the Barrie Rugby Club has the poster-child for building success over the past few years ... Years where the management group for the club looked very similar to the group at GC ... Go Figure? When you add all of that into the bowl, blend in some occasional luck recruiting, and spice it up with some OCAA medals, you get a pretty awesome product. It has been a bit of a wild ride that has resulted in a 2014 Bronze, a 2015 Silver, a 2016 Gold, a 2017 Bronze and a 2018 Silver. Winning never gets old and, although I feel very proud to have made a small contribution, the bulk of the credit goes to John Daggett for his amazing leadership, commitment, passion and talent!

I have decided that the time to hang up the whistle for good is nigh. I have already made that tough decision at the high school level and, in my soul, I feel it is appropriate to complete the loop and step aside at the end of this season. I can't thank Georgian enough for letting me be involved. I'd love to take the opportunity to thank Michelle, Varsity Coordinator Jeff Harris, Athletic Therapists Carly and Darcy, the coaches I've been blessed to work with and all of the other people who played a role in making it memorable. I'll walk away with zero regrets ... How many people get to say that?

SIDE NOTE: Of course, it never hurt that some of my former Central and North players chose GC as their post-secondary stop and they have had a hand in the success that GC has enjoyed over the past few years.

“… A place to stand, a place to grow … Ontaree-aree-aree-O”

I feel that I have truly been blessed with opportunities that allowed me to chase my coaching dreams. I loved the early years, learning to be a better educator, learning patience, learning to calm my competitive juices. One drawback of coaching in schools is the exclusive clientele that you’re forced to work with. For that single reason, the lure of coaching elite teams was my Kryptonite. I wanted that feel of working with athletes that not only had the passion and drive to excel but also that incredible athleticism AND I could choose from a population larger than a school … or even a city.

Basketball Ontario 2004

My first taste of elite coaching came thanks to Basketball Ontario U15 boys when Jonathan “Big Jon” Smith and I were hired in the summer of 2004. Big Jon and I had known each other for a few years, mostly coaching against each other in both club and B-Ont. What we soon discovered was that we were perfectly suited for each other’s personalities and styles. We had A LOT of laughs that first summer! We were blessed to have a bumper crop of young ballers to choose from so we were giddy little school boys when we were making the final choices. Nationals were to be held in Halifax that summer, hosted by St Mary’s U, and we soon found out that many of the boys we chose had never been outside to the right coast of Canada. Having East Coast roots, I knew they were in for an interesting experience what with the sights and sounds of Halifax combined with the touristy things like Peggy’s Cove. The final 12 ended up being quite the cross section of cultures and backgrounds but what they had in common was a real GRIT … A drive to meet pressure head on.

Back: Adam Jespersen, Jason Wang, Jonathan House, Davoe Joseph, Jamie Clem, Yours Truly, Big Jon, Dwayne Smith
Kneeling: Al Alilovic, Junior Cadougan     Sitting: Mathew Priestly, Keaton Cole, Jason Burke 

One of the players, Jason Wang, was a giant at 15 years old, 6’6” and 230 lb, and a 1^st generation Chinese national. When mixed in with the Jungle + Flemo + Jane-finch boys and sprinkled with some Tri-County spicing … It was the recipe for a lot of laughter complete with learning how to cheer (and jeer) in Mandarin! I am quite sure the locals were scratching their heads as the BIFFO’s (Big Ignorant F@*$ From Ontario) were shouting things that made little or no sense and then laughing hysterically … coaches included!

In the end, the stars aligned, we matched up with BC “(who were led by 6’10” teenage phenom and future NBA’er Robert Sacre) as was forecasted and as the game came down to the wire when John “Assassin” House drilled 2 consecutive 3’s to seal the game. Adam, Jamie, Jason and Al had great CIS careers; Matthew, Keaton, Dwayne, Jonathan, Davoe, Junior and Adam headed south to the NCAA.

Some memories of that team’s players …

Keaton “KK” Cole who was incredulous that we had named our white-blonde, cherubic son Keaton because, “That’s a brutha’s name, coach!”

Jason Wang, it turned out, a maestro on the piano, treating us to some pretty awesome personal concerts.

Dwayne Smith was the team “Class Clown”, always with a twinkle in his eye and a huge smile on his face.

Junior Cadougan was underage but that didn’t stop him from putting up some pretty impressive numbers throughout the nationals.

Basketball Ontario 2005

In the second year of our contract, Big Jon and I had time to critically evaluate the previous summer’s successes and failures, conjure up a plan to make it better, then think long and hard about the athletes we thought could execute that plan. We knew that there were some true talents in the mix … kids who had very bright futures if they chased their dreams with passion and commitment. Jon had a buddy that did uniforms through a cousin in Philippines, so we got some old-school satin basketball jackets made up and presented them to the players we selected in from of the entire MDP camp (see the photo). They were a HUGE hit and we even proudly represented atop the peaks in Banff! We ended up playing BC in the final again at the Nationals in Calgary held at Mount Royal College and I’m very pleased to tell you that it was a very convincing win with the outcome never in doubt as we lead from start to finish.

Alex Hill, Jeremy Trader, Scott Laws, Mike Allison, Tyler Murray, Kyle Smendziuk, Janathan Tull, Dan McCarthy, Alwayne Bigby, Jamie Asefa, Alex Arthurs, Goran Kovacs ... And some bald guy!

The team we would ultimately select was led by 6’5” Alwayne Bigby, a slashing wing who could single-handedly take over games. Once again, were would blessed with a great mix of kids from communities all over Ontario, from Ottawa all the way to Windsor. Supporting Alwayne were a host of guys who would go on to some pretty impressive accomplishments. Alex H, Scott, Kyle, Dan and Goran would go on to great CIS careers while Tyler, Alex A, Jonathan, Mike, Alwayne, and Jamie headed south to the NCAA. Jeremy switched over to football and enjoyed a great CIS experience. While I’ve maintained contact through FB with some of these guys, I’ve lost touch with some of these guys, so I hope they’re all doing well.

Some memories from that tournament …

We rented some vans and pointed them west to the Rockies, much to the dismay of the boys … “They’re just rocks, coach!” … only to have the volume of the chirps slowly fade as we got closer and closer, their necks craning as they struggled to see the top of the peaks as we drove into Banff.

Alwayne was not impressed that we were going up the mountain, and in the gondola ride up, took on a lighter shade of gray covered with nervous perspiration, but recovered well enough to thank me sincerely as he stood “On top o’ da world …” and was, “Feelin’ pretty small, coach!” Big Jon and I won the Pepsi Cup, an impromptu dance contest, resplendent in our matching Hawaiian shirts. Scott Laws set the tone for tournament when, during the opening minutes of our first game vs Nova Scotia, slashed in from the left wing with a thunderous dunk.

Rugby Ontario 2007+2008+2009

Through a series of events that is a really long story, I made the jump from Basketball Ontario to Rugby Ontario. I never would have considered the move if not for a question from then Director of Rugby, Glenn Traver, who I had got to know through coaching at Central. He was interested to know, if I wasn’t going to coach basketball anymore, would I consider joining Rugby Ontario? Sounded like a good plan, and it only got better when I was teamed up with Nick Rowe (who would go on to be a good friend in both rugby and OFSAA) to coach the U15s. It is ludicrous now, but we had players like Andrew Ferguson, Tay Paris, Jon West, and Cam Stones (to name only a few) who would go on to wear the Maple Leaf with pride in a variety of international games.

2007 Rugby Ontario U15's - Newfoundland Tour
Central's Tay Paris + Jesse Twigg

2008 Rugby Ontario U16's - National Silver Medallists
Central's Tay Paris + Jesse Twigg

2009 Rugby Ontario U16's - National Silver Medallists
Central's Mack Chown, Bear Creek's Mark Laing, Nantyr's Johnny LaPlaca and North's Madison McCarthy

All three years were an awesome experience and I was definitely feeling pretty great … Except that the “Evil Empire” … BC … kept beating us in the final at Nationals. During those 3 years, there really wasn’t any doubt about the strongest provincial programs and I was introduced to the vocal concerns of the other provinces as they examined whether or not they would continue to participate. I can confidently tell you that the quality of the experience for my team as A #1, with players and their families making life-long memories.

SIDENOTE: One of the great pleasures during this time was the Barrie representation on each team, many of which were Central kids. In 2007 there were Taylor Paris + Jesse Twigg from Central; in 2009 and a new crop of players, Mack Chown from Central, Mark Laing from Bear Creek, Madison McCarthy from North and Johnny LaPlaca from Nantyr Shores continued the Barrie invasion.

Rugby Ontario 2010

After 3 years of defeats at the hands of the “Empire”, I was really ready to change the final outcome. We were heading out to Calgary for Nationals and we had a really talented group … Was this the year? The Calgary Rugby Park is quite the facility and the stadium was rocking on the day of the finals. Like the previous few years, the finals pitted ON vs BC, but what was different this time was both U16 and U18 were hosted in the same place! This meant that the players I had grown to know so well during their U15 and U16 years were now stalwarts on the U18 team! We were up first and, like so often before, each team took turns taking a lead but as the clock slowly counted down to the end, BC had a narrow lead and I must admit that I grew anxious that we could end up with Silver yet again. Those fears were laid to rest when our FH, Mike Perelli, found a crack in the defence and scampered 20 m for the try and the Gold Medal! I was smiling pretty widely and stood at center pitch letting the moment wash over me when a tap on my shoulder startled me to attention. It was Taylor going out of his way to give me a great big hug as congratulations, and then true to Paris fashion, reminded me that his team had their own Gold to win and I could go watch from the fully licensed patio in the southwest corner of the park. Wait! I can bask in the glory of Gold, with a pitcher in my hand, and watch my former players kick the “Evil Empire” to the curb? Had I died, gone to Rugby Heaven, and not realized it? A quick pinch proved that theory wrong … Get the Mastercard out and get ready for kick off. You might be interested to know, however, that the plethora of U16 parents on tour with us made sure that my own Mastercard stayed safely in my pocket! The day got better and better by the minute as I thoroughly enjoyed watching the U18's DESTROY the Empire in their game. 

2010 Rugby Ontario U16's - National Champions
There are more than a few faces here that went on to some pretty impressive rugby things!

Rugby Ontario 2011+2012+2013

2011, 2012 and 2013 were my Rugby Ontario “Golden Years” because Keaton had finally decided that rugby was his passion and asked to try out for Team Ontario. Was it a little awkward, being a coach of your son’s team? Sure, it definitely was, but my coaching mates went out of their way to manage it all, and I had a front row seat to watch KP make some of his best friends throughout those years.

In 2011, Rugby Canada was trying some new things and it was decided that Rugby Ontario would represent at the Eastern Canadian Championships to be played in Moncton, NB. When we first got the coaching staff together, we found out that we would selected enough lads for two teams; one to go on the traditional Newfoundland tour (like I did the first time I coached U15) and the other team would compete in the Eastern Canadians. KP worked really hard that summer to develop into a tidy SH and was selected to be a part of the team to travel to Moncton, and much to my relief, I was asked to travel there too! I like to think of it as a little gift for siring a stud like KP ... HaHa! The tour was awesome complete with some touristy things and some fantastic rugby! It would be the beginning of a string of awesomeness for the next few summers.

2011 Rugby Ontario U15's - Eastern Canadian Champions

2012, the Nationals were to be played in Sherbrooke, QB, at Bishop’s U and I was really looking forward to having a front row seat! The lead up went pretty much how everyone expected and the final was once again ON v BC with the odds makers giving a slight edge to BC. Barrie was represented by Keaton, Alex Charest-Pekeski and Corbin Valyear … all Central players who were fresh off winning the Jr High School Barbarian Cup. The game lived up to the billing with BC taking an early lead before ON stormed back in the second half, only to fall just short in the final minutes. I was silently thrilled that Keaton a whale of a game when he got in early in the second half, but we would both feel the Empire’s sting at the final whistle, falling just short … For me, AGAIN! It was a personal gold-plated moment being able to represent Ontario as a coach AND a father.

2012 Rugby Ontario u16's - National Silver Medallists
Central's Keaton Porter, Alex Charest-Pekeski and Corbyn Valyear

2013 was another set of firsts in my coaching career since KP and I had a long chat that year, agreeing that the family rugby torch had to be passed from father to son, and I would step away from Rugby Ontario so he could “find his own way” … Which is code for Butt Out Dad! HaHa! This posed a proper problem, however, since I now had to fund my own way to the National tournament which were being hosted at UBC in Vancouver. My mischievous little mind conjured up a plan to deal with this … fund the flight out and offer myself to Rugby Ontario as videographer in exchange for room and board. Thankfully, a deal was struck, and I was a very happy camper! Representing Barrie this year were Keaton and Alex again, but they were joined by fellow Centralites Garret Slingerland and Gabe Beneteau plus Ian Smith from Innisdale. Unfortunately, the “Evil Empire” bested us again and Ontario had to settle for Silver. Damn you, BC, damn you!

2013 Rugby Ontario U17's - National Silver Medallists
Central's Keaton Porter, Alex Charest-pekeski, Garret Slingerland and Gabe Beneteau PLUS Innisdale's Ian Smith

During those wonderful years with Rugby Ontario, I met a whole cadre of talented players, formed rugby friendships with a host of coaches, collected some pretty awesome memories and even had a front row seat to my son’s rise as a nationally known player. Despite how busy it was during a time that most in education were recharging, I wouldn’t change a thing! Well … other than beating the Empire a few more times!

Besides, by this time, Georgian College had come calling, but that, as they say, is another story.

My last Parent Interview Night ... Too crazy not to share ...

Some of my colleagues have confessed to me that they are not in love with Parent-Teacher interviews because they often can't get the families they really need to meet to come in. I can agree with that sentiment, but I really enjoy what has become affectionately coined "Meet the Creature" night. I love being able to "connect the dots" with the parents and children because it gives me a much greater insight into how to effectively interact with my students. I'm pleased to tell you that, while I didn't get to meet the parents are REALLY needed to see, I had a wonderful visit with each that was able to make it.

That's not the crazy part, though. I decided to stay at school instead of going home and filled the time in by taking some action shots of the two boy's football teams and the girl's basketball team that were hosting opponents. As a reward for making it to my final P.T.I. I decided that a large Tim's was in order so off to the nearest Tim Horton's I go. I'm in the drive through and there's a purple Soul (really doesn't matter to the story) ahead of me waiting for the car at the ordering microphone to finish when a small Mazda comes roaring up from the other direction and proceeds to stick his nose in and cut off the car in front of me, narrowly missing the front fender. The Soul gave the young man driving the Mazda a beep or three of the horn, to which, the window was rolled down and a 20-something male started hurling profanity-laced insults are the driver of the Soul. At this point, the window of the Soul comes down and loud, albeit less verbally repulsive, retorts are offered. This goes on for a little until the Mazda's driver side opens and a left leg comes out ... At this point I'm unbuckling my seat belt in case something goes down ... when POW the Soul's door flies open, a 30-something lady catapults herself across the lot and pops the young man right in the beak! WOWSERS! To my surprise, the young man can't get back in the car fast enough and is frantically rolling up the window. The lady is now pulling a Gramma and shaking her finger in his direction. Eventually, she tires of him and returns to her car while he has rolled the window down a crack and continues to (safely) hurl profanity in her direction. I'm dying from laughter and cheering her on when the passenger side of the Mazda opens and a teenage girl gets out and approaches the Soul. Curious to see what she'll do, I'm surprised to see her tap gently on the window and begin to (what I can readily tell from body language) apologize for her friend's (boyfriend's?) ignorance. She eventually returns to the Mazda, all the while "Tough Guy" is still verbally belching excrement from a cracked driver-side window.

The whole thing happened so fast and I was belly-laughing so hard that I completely forgot to record the escapades ... I could have made some $$$ from YouTube for sure ... but I am reminded of a social media post I have seen multiple times of an incident between a group of elderly ladies and a young man somewhere in the southern states and features "Mother Goose" using an umbrella to make her point -- Have a listen https://youtu.be/Yj-6nJCQYdo

When I finally got to the window to get  my coffee, the poor young girl inside the Tim's was smiling an shaking her head. As I reached for my coffee I said, "Man, tough night in the drive through!" and she started chuckling that they had heard the whole thing through their headsets and they were busted up about it because the Mazda wanted them to call the police but they couldn't stop laughing ... which of course pissed him off even more.

All of that was the curtain raiser to the actual interviews, and I have to say that I had a pleasant evening of well wishes from the parents that came since many of them knew that I was retiring in January. I even made it out to some post-interview libations with 10 of my colleagues where my story was followed up with a near-miss when two feuding families with kids who attend our school almost came to blows in the hallway. Was there a full moon? Who knows ... All I know is that I'm THREE months, TWO sets of reports, ONE holiday break and ONE last set of exams from becoming a man of leisure ... You know what? I will miss all of this, of that I'm sure!

I bleed RED, BLACK and WHITE!

By now you’re likely well aware that I made the jump from teaching elementary to teaching high school, at my alma mater no less! I had a GREAT high school experience! I made loads of friends that I still stay in contact with, played on a bunch of teams that were successful, was mentored by some incredible teachers, and loved that Central Mystique! To cap that off with being hired to teach/coach at Central and experience all of those incredible memories was surreal. As the title indicates, I bleed RED, BLACK and WHITE.

I don’t mind sharing that when the final stroke of the pen sealed the fate of Central, I was not a happy camper. When they ultimately chained the doors for that last day, I felt a big black space inside. I had nothing but incredible memories of Central, memories that future generations would never have an opportunity to get. I have accepted that the decision was made by those in charge of the SCDSB at the time, but I live in Canada and am free to disagree with things that I feel are wrong. I will never forgive that decision … NEVER! I completely understand that buildings wear out and have to be replaced ... I can accept that the BCC structure had to go ... BUT the atrocity of snuffing out a 174 year flame FOREVER with no plan to enshrine those memories, accomplishments or traditions is my own personal purgatory and, IMHO, an act so heinous that I cannot find the requisite forgiveness in my heart.

When Central closed, we were distributed to other schools in the SCDSB, based on our qualifications. I was asked to fill out a form that indicated what schools I would prefer to be transferred to. I had done a great deal of thinking and talked to some friends from other schools to arrive at a short list of choices. Unfortunately, when the first decisions were publicized, I was not chosen for one of those I listed. It wasn’t that the school I was earmarked for was a bad choice, I just wanted to make my final years teaching be as close as possible to the feel I got from teaching at Central. I must have lived a faith-filled life because the fates intervened with an offer of full contract at Barrie North, my number one choice. All I had to do, it turned out, was take over a full time ASD teacher contract. Even though I immediately said yes, there was a wee voice in the back of my head that was aghast. As it would turn out, while not my favourite year of teaching, it was a good experience to have added to the list of interesting times of my life.

I was now a Viking! I didn’t ever think I would say that, after all of those epic battles throughout my Central playing years. TBH, when I arrived that first day of school in September 2016, I have to say that the feel of the staff was pretty close to the feel we had at Central. Sorry, North colleagues, pretty close is not the same thing but HUGE thanks for opening your arms and welcoming me into the fold. It took a while to get used to Green and Gold everywhere. A special shout out to the guys and gals of the HPE department at North … You folks made a tough situation A LOT easier and I will forever be in your debt … Glassman, Simmer, Tammy, Hammy, Maz and Blaker are all A-Okay in my books.

Now, I have to be honest with you, that the transition to North was made Uber easier by having so many of my Central colleagues make the jump with me, not the least of were (a) coaching mate Ron Andrews and (b) Principal Greg Brucker, my old buddy from Central VB and Snow Valley Ski days. Having said that, there was also Drew Forsyth, Jen Campbell, Rich Jessome, Barb Sturrock, Lisa Perry, Marilyn Murray, Mike Ramsay, Jen Weening, Guiliana Potvin and eventually Doug Woods who were familiar faces with a host of shared Central memories.

One of the things that I am not looking forward to in retirement is the inevitable downsizing and, with it, the vetting of 20+ years of RED, BLACK and WHITE clothing. I am quite confident that I could fully outfit a small village with the SWAG I have gathered over the years. Rugby has a saying, “It’s all about the kit!” and we embraced that at Central ... and again at North! I sometimes look into the closet and have fears that I might be turning into a hoarder with the sheer volume of tees, jackets, sweatshirts and such in stacks upon stacks. At some point I am going to have to choose the FAVs to keep and donate/give away the rest … That will be difficult! Truth be told, I wear my Green + Gold Monday to Friday but weekends are all about the Central Mystique, Baby! I’m proud as hell to be a former Redskin + Phoenix! Always have … Always will! “… And when I die, I’ll be Central Dead!”

I've stood on the shoulders of giants ...

In case it escaped your notice, I’ve taught in a few different places, both elementary and secondary. During all of those varied teaching assignments, I have met a number of awesomely talented colleagues who, by the way, are also amazing human beings. Just like I can’t prioritize my favourite coaching moments in lieu of upsetting someone, I can’t prioritize the following wonderful people … So, in no particular order …

Ron Andrews was my long-time coaching mate and a dear friend. Having said that, please believe me when I tell you this guy is a Shrek in a little-bodied, good guy sort of way … he’s like an onion … He’s got loads of layers. Those who know both of us already know most of the coaching stuff BUT in case you don’t know, here’s a small snippet … He’s been the head coach for 21 OFSAA medal finishes: 9 OFSAA Gold, 5 OFSAA Silver, 5 OFSAA Bronze, 1 OFSAA Antique Bronze and 1 OFSAA Consolation Championship. He’s coached with Rugby Ontario and Rugby Canada since he started back in the late ‘80s. FUN FACT: Ron is second only to fellow Canadian born, national team coach John Tait (Canada’s Women’s Sevens) in the total number of international matches coached … and he stopped coaching Canada in 2008! What a lot of people don’t know about Ron is the off-field stuff like the kind of family man he is, how generous and kind he is, how much he adores card and “Minute to Win it” games, and how loyal he is. It would take an entire post to effectively outline all of the lessons that I have learned through our friendship. It was a complete “No Brainer” to me to nominate him for the Coaching Association of Ontario’s Coaching Excellence award that he was presented with this fall. It was equally easy to nominate him for induction into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame as a builder, an honour that we will celebrate together recently. I’ve said it many times before, but like the song goes, “Thank you for being a friend. Traveled down a road and back again. Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant. I'm not ashamed to say, I hope it always will stay this way. My hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow.”

In a previous post, I introduced you to an elementary colleague named Don Montgomery that I taught with at Portage View PS. For those that didn’t read that post, the “Reader’s Digest” version is that Don and I taught in side-by-side “Cottages” … His term a portable because it has a better feel … where he would gently challenge my thoughts and ideas about a plethora of subjects as we leaned against the railing of the little wooden porches for a few minutes after school each week. To me, Don’s compassionate, caring way made a huge impact on my early development as an educator, demonstrating how to capture the respect and attention of his class with “disguised learning” … lessons that the students would learn when they didn’t realize he was teaching. When both of my children were born, Don gifted each with a book of children’s stories that I still cherish to this day. I can say with complete confidence that I wouldn’t be the man or teacher I am today without his influence.

If you’re a part of the Central family, I can say one word and it will cause you to snap your head around, look at me and nod approvingly with a massive smile … CHESTNUT! The recently retired phenomenon, and 2019 John Crawley Award winner, that is Brad Chestnut spent the bulk of his teaching career at Central in both the HPE and Comm Tech departments while also shaping the futures of 100’s of aspiring athletes while coaching wrestling and rugby. The stories surrounding the escapades of Chestnut are stuff of urban myths, becoming larger and more incredible with each retelling, but unlike Bigfoot (although he exudes qualities of similarity), all of those stories have a rock-solid foundation in the truth. It would not be professional of me to put those stories out there in cyber-land, but trust me, they are fantastic! Truth be told, Brad has a heart as big as a whale, generous to a fault, devoutly loyal, and a truly wonderful friend!

Peter Kalbfleisch and I started teaching together at Barrie Central around the same time and we quickly found out that we shared a bunch of commonalities in both teaching and coaching. A tireless and talented teacher, Peter is also a loyal friend who is there whenever a helping hand is needed, but it is his quiet competency that wins you over as it slowly dawns on you that he knows a lot about a lot. We shared a ton of laughs together over the years, be it teaching, hanging out in r119 (the HPE office), preparing ridiculous skits for the annual Central Teacher’s Assembly, or sharing a "social" beside a pool or lake. I am really blessed to have a friendship with Peter because he taught me how to take great pride in my teaching … and he’s a great human being to boot!

If you’re paying close attention, you’ll notice that this list of great humans includes a number of Central colleagues … It’s not a fluke that so many of us who worked together there have fantastic memories of the people. To soften the masculine edge of the “Rat Pack” that was Central’s HPE department, Sue Berardi occupied the only non-HPE desk in the office (Sue was the Art Leader) and she fit in with us goons, to quote Forest Gump, “like peas and carrots”. Sue brought the Fine Art touch to the shenanigans that rolled out each and every day, but TBH, it was the birthday cakes she supplied sealed the deal! I first met Sue outside of Central since she was married to Frank Berardi, a basketball buddy from my early days in teaching, but it was our collective scheming that really cemented our friendship … Oh and allowing me to coach her 3 awesome kids didn’t hurt either. She is a sweetheart and keeper!

I have been blessed to know a wide assortment of great humans during all of these years and it would just take too long to acknowledge them all. I’d like to say a blanket THANKS to all of the people who gifted themselves to me by way of their friendship but, at the risk of offending someone, I’d feel it very important to include a small note about Craig Shaw. Craig was on the staff at Central and, during the years that my children attended BCC, was both the Transportation Tech and Photography guy. This meant that he had an impressionable young blond kid in “Auto Shop” … KP. Craig is one of the most genuine, thoughtful, and intelligent people I have interacted with and he shared those amazing qualities with KP for 3 different semesters. He is single-handedly the reason why Keaton is, and loves being, a mechanic. We have had opportunity to sit and chat on dozens of occasions and hash out our likes, dislikes, opinions and biases on a huge variety of topics, something that was quite simply incredible but it is the indelible influence he had on KP that makes him one of my favourites. He’s a “glass is half full” type of guy and I wish him all the best as he enters his own retirement situation.

I’ve worked with and for a number of outstanding administrators, but the two that head that list are Russ Atkinson (BCC 2007-2014) and Greg Brucker (BCC 2015-2016, BNC 2017-2020) for a variety of similar reasons but with a few distinct differences.

Russ came aboard the Good Ship Central in 2007 and immediately pressed hard to leave an indelible thumbprint by resurrecting the then defunct football program. His leadership style really fit with me, on a personal level, and we hit it off pretty quickly. I soon found out Russ was a “doer” and had high expectations for his staff … It didn’t matter what you chose to do but there was a firm expectation that you were doing something outside of class that enriched the experience for kids. He did two TPAs (Teacher Evaluations) with me and he was great to bounce ideas off after some useful and honest feedback about how I was conducting business. It was Russ who came to me asking for a favour, would I consider taking over the school Yearbook course? I wasn’t qualified to teach Comm Tech then, but little details like that never bothered Russ and he really thought I could do it. “There aren’t a lot of people I can give a job they don’t wish and have faith they won’t F&%# it up … You’re one of them.” That’s an awkward sounding compliment but I took it that way. Russ was also the one that brought SPARK to Central after some summer reading about research that Harvard’s Dr John Ratey was doing about the connections between exercise and learning. He even hand-picked a few of us to travel together to just outside of Boston for a week of intensive SPARK training … Some of those people are listed in this post and “Birds of a feather” as the saying goes. As the rumours of Central’s impending doom transitioned from hearsay to reality, it was Russ who took on the Board, butting heads with Sr admin, all in an effort to find a way to keep Central’s doors open. Not many people know this, but he was so successful at ruffling feathers that he was told, unequivocally, to ‘back off”! Russ had some health challenges following his retirement in 2015 but he’s way too determined to let anything get him. We’ve been able to stay in touch through the transition to North and I am humbled and honoured that he chooses to be my friend!

Greg Brucker and I first met in Elementary school since his childhood home was 4 doors up from my mine on Sunnidale Rd in Barrie. We ended up at Central together, we shared some volleyball teams, skied together at Snow Valley and even got hooked by the skateboard fad of the late 70’s building a driveway ramp and frequenting Tony’s Skate Shop on TO for the latest and greatest. While I was doing my educational thing, Greg was doing his own in the science department at Eastview before making the jump to administration in the early 2000’s. When we were told that Russ was retiring and that Greg would be the replacement, I thought I’d won the lottery! Seriously? Greg’s a dude’s dude, Uber cool, one of the smartest people I know and a true buddy … And he’s a chip off the “Ol’ Russ” after working as a VP with him at Bradford. Way cool! Greg was the perfect person to navigate the Good Ship Central through the Maelstrom of the closure, becoming one of the driving forces behind the 2016 spring’s reunion (with MEGA help from Joanne McLaurin and BCC’s teachers) and the year-end carnival for the 400 or so students who braved the closure. By now you’ve probably figured out that I’m a two-time lottery winner because the SCDSB saw fit to move Greg to North where we’ve continued our wonderful friendship journey for the past 3½ years. If I ever suspected that I was completely biased (I am, BTW) about Greg’s wonderfulness, those fears were put to rest as the North staff have often confided in me that they are astounded by how awesome Greg is to work for. The icing on the cake, selfishly, was when he came to me last spring and actually inquired about which courses I would like to teach for my final semester. “Of course, I can’t guarantee it, but I’ll do my best.” said he with a wink and that great smile of his. I’m one lucky guy!

I would be remiss to not mention the people who helped make the transition to North almost seamless, although the time together was short. The North HPE staff led by Peter Glass went out of their way to make sure that I (and Ron) felt welcomed, appreciated and valued during the past 3½ years. Gary Hamilton, Tammy Laurin, and Kevin Simms were the full time folk but shout out to Kelly Maslen and Scott Blake as well. There are many others who also went out of their way to make me feel a part of a team (I immediately think of Mike Alcombrack and Burke Erwin) but these folks were the daily interactions as we shared “war stories” in the HPE office. I am very confident that, were things different and I spent more years at North, these folks would have become the influences that my Central cronies were.

The saying goes, “It’s not the minutes in your life but the life in your minutes that counts.” I consider myself one very lucky guy to have shared life during the minutes that I spent in education.

It’s elementary, my dear Watson …

I have spent 29 years teaching with the bulk of those years at the secondary level. I firmly believe that I was a better teacher in those later years because I spent the first 7 years in a variety of grades at the elementary level. IMHO, it gave me a better understanding of the ways that students learn, especially when they struggle. It allowed me to competently teach a wide variety of high school subjects. As one of my principals, Russ Atkinson, said to me, “I know I can give you almost anything with faith that you won’t (mess) it up.” I have a special place in my heart for Russ!

As previously written, I back-doored my way into York University’s Teacher’s College back in 1989 specializing in Primary-Junior. TBH, I thought that teaching primary was a pretty cool idea and at that time, my coaching-self felt that elementary school athletics was a great choice. I reasoned that I could give younger athletes a head start so that they could go on to bigger and better athletic things.

I’ve already told you about the interesting first interview … My recollection of it is that we spent quite a lot of time catching up and laying out a plan of how I could assist with extracurriculars. I’m sure we talked about competency, but I really don’t remember much about that. I was hired by the SCDSB to teach at Maple Grove PS under the guidance of Harry Hughes. I didn’t know it at the time, but Harry would be VERY influential in shaping my early thoughts about teaching … I had (and have) a HUGE amount of respect for him. I was given a Gr 2/3 split and I was in heaven! I was surrounded by colleagues that were quick to offer advice or assistance … Arden Grant, Judy Mansfield, Lesley Sova … and I stumbled my way through the year.

I was a young ex-football player with a buzz-cut, a big ego and loads of love in my heart. I quickly became a source of gossip … Not due to my teaching, mind you … because I wrecked 2 pairs of slacks in the first month. That’s an odd reason but here’s how that works … If you’ve ever been in a primary classroom, you will know that there’s a lot of crafty stuff happening. It turned out that 7-year-olds don’t know that they have paint all over their hands when they reach out to tug on the pant-leg of their teacher. How does a Queen’s University ex-varsity athlete deal with that, you may ponder?  I purchased 4 pairs of ZUBU pants! Only a few of you will remember them but, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

You know I can hear you giggling, right? Hind-sight is 20/20, so they say … I really was a NEWB!

It was during this year that a reporter from the Barrie Examiner named Marg Bruneman (likely spelt wrong) came to interview me for an opinion piece about getting more male teachers in the primary grades. I can only imagine what thoughts ran through her minds sitting beside this young man, military hairdo, resplendent in those god-awful pants. Anyway, the article would turn out to be ironic since, from that year forward, I was moved up the grade chain, with the reasoning that they wanted a “strong male influence” with the older students. Maybe they were just sparing my feelings? Maybe I wasn’t cut out for primary? You’d have to ask those families … I thought I did a good job!?!

That year at Maple Grove introduced me to a number of incredible young men and women through the times we shared in athletics. I am pretty sure I coached a host of teams … VB, BB, FB, TnF, SB … often occupying both my lunch and after school hours. I’m pretty sure that I rarely made it home to Joyce before 6:00 pm. Some of those athletes ended up having some impressive secondary and post-secondary careers and I am blessed that a few have reached out to stay in touch over the years, taught with some and I’ve even coached against some of their kids! If I tried to list them all, I’d forget someone and then feel badly so, as a blanket statement, I’d love to say a MASSIVE thank you to them all! The only drawback was that I sent them along all primed and ready to compete for North and not my beloved BCC!

Student populations often fluctuate, and this leads to some teacher movement if you’re in your first or second year of contract. I was “traded” to Portage View for my second year and was assigned life in a “cottage” … I had a Gr 5/6 split in a portable! What was initially a disappointment quickly turned out to be a HUGE stroke of luck! My “cottage” was beside the one being occupied by Don Montgomery, a “wily old vet” who immediately took me under his wing as we leaned on the railing of the “deck” on our “cottages” and talked about education and kids. I am deeply indebted to Don for his friendship, mentorship and compassion. 
SIDENOTE: As an elder in his church, he gifted us with two beautiful books as each of our children were born that I still cherish to this day. I’m going to make a public promise to look Don up and treat him and his wife to a dinner, just to relive those great days! He was (and is) a great human being! There were a lot of great role models during those PVPS days … I’ll likely hurt someone’s feelings by forgetting them but people like Andrew Lindsay, Tom Stockdale, Terry Martin, John Brundage, Kim Campbell, and Cherin Harris really helped guide me during those PVPS years..

It was during those PVPS days that I formed some long-lasting friendships with some pretty incredible kids! Still coaching a host of sports, I was finding my way through the development of my personal coaching philosophy and, true to my nature, that meant we were “hunting for Cups”! PVPS was chock full of great athletes and those teams had their fair share of success in Simcoe County play but one of the most memorable experiences was winning the Simcoe County Basketball Championship in 1994. It was a team affair, but every team has a leader. Ours was Joe Santoro, a 5’11” hoops junkie with PG skills. He was surrounded by other great athletes, but Joe was center piece. We enjoyed a good lead up to the playoffs and found ourselves at West Bayfield for the area championships against Prince of Wales. POW was loaded with their own long list of tremendous athletes, many of which would become very good friends in later years when we all found ourselves together at Barrie Central. The game went back and forth with some really entertaining play and I distinctly remember thinking, “Yep, I made a good choice becoming a teacher!” Any great battle is fraught with controversy and this one was no exception. POW was hit with some foul trouble which directly influenced the outcome but, in the end, PVPS had its first chance at a Simcoe County title which would be held at Eastview the following week. All of the stars seemed to be aligning as we enjoyed a really good week of practice and, on the night before the championships I felt pretty upbeat. “NO, NO, NO!” said the powers that be, when Joe told me that one of our better athletes had decided that he “wasn’t feeling the tourney”. What? Well, some teeth gnashing aside, his team mates convinced him to come and the rest took care of itself. Joe was spectacular but I remember all of them playing their hearts out, finishing with the championship, birthing what would be a never-ending stream of PVPS Glory Days chirps.

Eventually, those student fluctuations sent me back to Maple Grove. I was affectionately coined “Ping Pong Porter” by my colleagues because as June rolled onward, there was a new list every 2 or 3 days that listed where each moving teacher would be going. My memory was that I was in slotted for 23 different placements before all of the dust settled. In the end it was Maple Grove for a 5/6 split team-teaching with Elanor Bro in a class with a number of IEP’d students. It was really fun working with Elanor, and I learned A LOT about Spec Ed that year. I was once again gifted a host of teams to coach which, naturally, was not a problem but the one team that stands out for me was the Int Boys Basketball team in 1998. There was a teacher at MG at that time named Bob Burns … GREAT guy and good friend … and he brought his son Nick came to MG for his Gr 8 year. Nick was a great person and a great athlete who was already bigger than either of his parents at 13 years old. He would be the cornerstone of a team that would end up losing to powerhouse program Codrington (with another host of players I would eventually coach with and against when I arrived at Central) in the Simcoe County Championship semifinals before beating Marchmount PS for MG’s first Basketball banner as bronze medallists. 
SIDENOTE: Nick and I struck up a lasting friendship and I proudly watched him enjoy an outstanding high school experience at Eastview then on to a CIS and pro career in Football. He’s a teacher with SCDSB now … And a pretty darn good one I hear!

As those elementary years rolled along, I was once again moved up the grade chain, inheriting Gr 7/8 splits, and despite the great mix of students that came and went, I could tell that a career in Gr 8 was being carved in stone. I don’t mind hard work, but at that time, I was putting in a ton of late nights planning. I wasn’t in love with the idea of an entire career of that when my old Football coach, Dave Garland, called. Long story short, with Joyce’s blessing, I made the jump from elementary to secondary when I was hired by Mary Ellen Smith to do Spec Ed full time at Barrie Central.

And the rest, as the saying goes, is history …