One eye on the past ...

 I was recently doing a favour for a former BNC colleague, covering his absence as a supply, and part of the duties involved proctoring study hall. Lost in my thoughts about how things have morphed into an alteration of what I had known for so many years, the cobwebbed corners of my memories settled on the highlights of my years spent in elementary school like Maple Grove and Portage View. In that portion of my educational development, I still embraced the notion that Primary (grades 1-3) was where I wanted to be, but I had already come to terms with where I wanted to focus my coaching energies ... with teenagers. I regularly acknowledge that I have been blessed over my career, both inside and outside the classroom, with my greatest feelings of belonging centered in the toils of athletics. My passions for coaching was due largely to the tremendous positives I enjoyed being on the other side of the clipboard as a player ... a desire to "pay it forward". My years at MGPS and PVPS gifted me with opportunities to help a host of great young people realize their own growth and development through competition. Sharing some profound successes didn't hurt our recollections, either, as the trophies and banners piled up.

Secondary School education these days looks and feels quite a bit different from what you and I might remember from our own experiences, not the least of which is the absence of extracurriculars. That realization hit home as I sat in the vacant space of the study hall in the off chance that some students might find value in a safe place for their studies after classes were done. For my entire career, students had hurriedly rushed to the change room to prepare for the activities of that day, be it practice or competition. A deep sense of melancholy cascaded through my soul as it occurred to me that the joys, elation and satisfaction of those times are lost to today's students.

My meandering thoughts soon settled on the vivid images of those initial teams from what seems so long ago, as I recalled the faces of those that I knew had gone on to become Vikings, with MGPS and PVPS being feeder schools of Barrie North. A quick search of my laptop revealed that I didn't have many images to assist with the recollections, likely more of a statement of where we were with technology than anything else since so many of us carry a quality camera in our pocket or purse wherever we go these days. The search did reveal proof of two highlights from those years.

Based on accolades, the penultimate memory was going undefeated at the Boy's Basketball Simcoe County Champions in '93-'94, after my Portage View Panthers narrowly beat Prince of Wales (including Bryan Taylor, Derek Cool, Taylor Armstrong, to name a few) in the area finals, in a mildly controversial final. As I scan the photo at the left, I confess that age has stolen the names of some of the strapping lads enshrined in it. Some of them resurfaced in later years as they transitioned to Central, many becoming key figures in the successes of those years, but others were sent to North and I haven't seen them in almost 30 years. It's a sad reality that, in my particular case, I have great recall of faces and achievements, but I often need help with names. I'll likely catch flack for any omissions or errors, but here goes:
Back Row: Chad Hickson, Aaron Pilgrim, Matt Koster, Joe Santoro, Craig Ball, Darcy King, Yours Truly
Front Row: Ryan Griffith, Rob Boyle, Jon Miller, Adam McNamara, Joe Breedon, Darren Bryan

Social Media being what it is, I have maintained contact with a few of the boys, but there are some that I have not communicated with for quite some time. The ones that I have traded life's events with are now in or around 40 years old and are deeply in the throws of parenthood. They were all pretty awesome kids ... a couple got under my skin as a teacher but that was minor ... so I hope that life has been all they can handle. Regardless of what life has thrown at them, they can always relish that fateful Saturday in Eastview's gym when they hoisted that championship trophy.

I started my teaching career at Maple Grove. In that first year, I coached a boat load of teams but the basketball team has become a special memory. It would turn out that the players would eventually become integral to the success of Barrie North's success in the mid to late 90's, when BNC won a string of GB titles and a few trips to OFSAA. With players like Ian Bryan, Seretse + Seneca Aaron, Todd Pain, Jeff Fisher, to name a few, the MGPS Grizzlies were well represented. It pains me greatly that, for some unknown reason, I do not have any photos from that team. I am connected with a few of the lads on Social Media so maybe this post will prompt someone to share what they have.

When I was "traded" to Portage View, thanks to the roller coaster life of a young teacher, I had no idea that I would eventually return to Maple Grove in the late 90's. Upon my return, I "inherited" all of the same teams I coached that first year as more seasoned teachers stepped aside to allow me the opportunity for more growth. A talented group of athletic students was bolstered when Nick Burns, an Uber talented young man from Midhurst, arrived on the school's doorstep for his grade 8 year. If you look at the photo above on the right, you should immediately recognize that I was blessed with two "early maturers" ... Nick has the dark hair; Sean is the redhead. Nick would turn out to be the missing ingredient for success and were it not for the incredibly talented group at Codrington (Dan Eves, John Michael Irving, Ben LeRoux, to name a few), a second Simcoe County Championship might have been captured. After a narrow 3 point loss (at least I think it was) to Codrington in the semifinals, this group brought home MGPS's first County banner. Again, my memory is lacking, and I am in contact with far fewer of these lads, so hopefully no one will take offense if I can't recall their names. To those I am in contact with, feel free to share.
Back Row: Jordan Sills, Craig Morris, Kevin Boyko, Nick Burns, Sean Eatch, Matt Clarke, Corey Laxtall, Yours Truly ... Front Row: Kyle Turner, Stephen Parsons, Ryan McArthur, Mike Elsey, Ryan Green, Simon Lauder

If you read this post and you know some of these fellows, can you point them my way? Coach Porter on FB or @coachsteveporter on Instagram. It would be nice to see how they are all getting on.