I LOVED coaching my kids!

I have always loved coaching! My earliest coaching memory was working at the YMCA, coaching basketball, when I was maybe 13 or 14 years old. By the time my children came along, I was an "old hat" and, in all my arrogance, I felt that I could do a better job than most, so I chose to coach my own children in the host of activities they participated in. A lot of my colleagues are pretty quick to spout that they think coaches should let contemporaries work with your kids, but I beg to differ, and I've got hundreds of great memories to support that opinion. It wasn't always smooth, but it was always fun, and I am confident that the experiences shaped them into the great human beings that they have both have turned out to be.

I should begin by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed coaching my daughter Maddison in swimming, and I am proud to tell you that she qualified for OFSAA each year she represented Central, despite the lack of talent her father displayed at the poolside. She and her Barrie Trojan team mates were well beyond my ability to enhance their skills, but I comfort myself with the thinking that I was able to assist a little with the mental side of competition. The ironic thing about me coaching swimming is that I sink like a rock and that almost lead to me not obtaining my PHE degree at Queen's ... but that's another story for another time. I have loads of good memories from those days, but being brutally honest, rugby is my true passion and she didn't choose to play.

I had the best of both worlds in coaching and fathering my son, but the stretch from 2012 to 2016 was pretty F'n awesome, I must say, with a host of amazing memories, humorous stories, and a scare to keep me on my toes. For me it was the penultimate experience combining two of my greatest passions. Both Maddi and KP were troopers for handling their highly demanding father ... most of the time ... but when like minds work that closely, as is the case with KP and I, there's bound to be some fireworks. Both of us are pretty stubborn, believe strongly in our abilities, and are not at all shy about voicing our opinion, but we navigated the choppy waters without capsizing. He has shared with me that he would like to pay if forward some day now that he has retired from active duty, and that's something that I am extremely proud of.

I reluctantly stepped away from coaching with the ORU in 2013 quite simply because KP had decided to invest himself full on into rugby, and I felt that my involvement would create conflict of interest issues for my co-coaches. It was the provincial team, after all, but that didn't mean I stayed away because I replaced the whistle with my camera, becoming team journalist.

Here are some memories that come to mind about the things we shared during those years:

2012 Barbarian Cup (Jr Provincial HS Championships)
When Sean Anderson scored a try in the final seconds of the championship, KP had to slot a left sideline 35 m conversion to win ... which he did, prompting me to announce loudly, "Who's kids just won a provincial championship for his team?"

When we later shared a hug and I marvelled at the "ice in his veins", his bugged out and replied, "Holy sh*t! I thought we were up one!" That left us both giggling.

2012 Ontario Summer Games 7's Gold
Although relatively new to the 7-a-side game, KP secured a spot on the Toronto side competed in the Ontario Summer games held at York University in Toronto.

Continuing to bask in the sunshine of success during the spring, KP and his team mates beat the other Toronto side for the OSG Gold when team mate Riley DiNardo scored a late try to seal the win. It was a pretty cool thing to experience, one that I didn't experience when I was a player.

I'm pretty confident that this was the point he decided that rugby was it!

2013 OFSAA Gold
Central had a brilliant season and earned a spot in the final against one of the largest high school teams I had ever seen in Moira SS out of Belleville.

After brilliantly "steering the ship" as a G11 scrumhalf, we shared a kiss and hug as we basked in the glory of Gold, and like a chip off the old block, he lamented, "I should have made that kick" referring to the PK he missed in the waning moments.
Lofty goals, people, lofty goals.

2014 OFSAA Silver
A parent's worst nightmare!
Finding him after the final whistle sounded, signalling a last minute loss 7-0 to Erin, I found KP hyperventilating and looking bewildered. The conversation went like this:
KP: "Did we win?"
Me: "No, bud, we lost 7-0"
KP: "How did I play?"
Me: "Pretty damn good, but you made some weird decisions at the end."
KP: "Did we win?"
Me: "No we lost."
KP: "How did I play?"
It would be this major concussion that kept him from playing anymore that year, and would be the beginning of the end of his playing career, 3 concussions later.

2015 OFSAA Gold
Keaton and Robbie Andrews, Ron's son, were one of the best 9-10 combos that we would coach, and both took their turn being the last second hero, on home turf, in an OFSAA tournament. Robbie scored late in the semi to ensure we would fight for Gold while Keaton scored on the last play of that final to seal the program's 9th OFSAA Gold, easily topping my personal coaching memories.

2015 National Championships
As the starting scrumhalf for the RO U19 side vs the Evil Empire (again), KP's performance made me one "slap happy pappy", and would earn on him a trial with the U20 Canadian team, a step that would culminate in achieving his dream of being selected to the National team.

Unfortunately, the Canada U20's dream of the World Trophy Tournament was destroyed by the no-time-on-the-clock 55 m miracle kick off the boot of U20 USA's flyhalf Ben Cima.
CLICK HERE to see the game in its entirety.