Reinforcing Faith!

If you and I are acquainted outside of this Blog, you'll already be aware that I spent a good portion of my years in education behind a whistle, coaching a variety of sports. If pressed to choose a favourite, I'd struggle quite a bit because while I spent more time in a couple, there were aspects of the others that were extremely appealing. Having said that, I'm sure it will come as no surprise to those close to me that rugby is near and dear to my heart.

Something happened in the Gold Medal game of this year's AAA Boys' Rugby Championships that reinforced my faith in humanity and young men.

Setting the scene, it's important to know that I still follow the local high school rugby scene, especially the teams led by coaches that are good friends, so deciding to make the 2.5 hour trip to Peterborough to take in the 2024 AAA OFSAA Championships and support the Vikings of Barrie North was a no-brainer. Making the experience all the better, I met my bestest buddy and longtime coaching partner, Ron Andrews, in Peterborough for a sunny, warm day of rugby along the touchline to take in the first round of games at the tournament. After so many years of guiding our Central teams to podium finishes, it's always a pleasure to immerse myself once again in the exhilaration of OFSAA rugby, unconsciously comparing mental notes about how Ron and I would have approached this version of the championships. I don't mind admitting that the ego takes a healthy dose of back-slapping when we make a return and run into so many ex-contemporaries, reminiscing about this year or that, with inquiries about how retirement is progressing and how much we miss the action.

As with all OFSAA Championships, the seeding of the 16 teams has a significant impact on the outcomes because a mistake here or there results in stronger teams facing one another in earlier rounds of the tournament, so when the seedings were released and the first round match-ups determined, we noted a conspicuous absence of traditional rivals like Saltfleet HS and Brantford CI, their replacements indicating a 'changing of the guard' as it were. One of those new faces was Kitchener CI who came out of the powerhouse CWOSSA region that featured Uber-talented programs like BCI, St John's, and JF Ross, and although we were astutely curious about their pedigree, the games we chose to watch because their coaches were old friends conflicted with KCI's games. We did enjoy watching old 'friends' compete like OTHS, Medway, and Adam Scott.

Although I couldn't manage a multi-day affair, I followed the rest of the tournament as both Adam Scott and Kitchener were on a collision course for the final, besting all comers (including BNC ... Boo!), demonstrating they were the class of this year's tourney. I was able to enjoy the action-packed final thanks to the OFSAA organizers posting the video of the game after the fact, and as I watched the game play out, I have to offer my sincere appreciation of both side's skill and execution, each solidifying their reputations as elite programs. In a see-saw battle, regulation time ended in a tie, resulting in a 10-a-side 10 minute overtime again ending tied, culminating in a match of kicking prowess to settle the test. After 1-1 from both 22m - center makes and 22m - left misses, the KCI kicker slotted his 22m - right, putting all of the pressure on the AS kicker to send it into another 3 kicks. 

Unfortunately, the kick sailed left and he dropped to his knees in exasperation.

Now, this is where the crux of this piece comes to fruition. In the middle of the bedlam of KCI's celebration at winning the OFSAA Gold medal, their Uber-talented scrum-half divorced himself of the melee and sprinted to the despondent AS kicker, locked him in a bear hug of sympathy, and attempted to help with the crushing sense of letting his mates down. A lot is said about the cruel effects that social media and the pandemic has had on the generation of teens attending today's high schools, with many a finger pointing at the misgivings that appear to be rampant, but scenes like the video above are proof positive that there's still boat loads to celebrate about today's teens!

For me, this was the truest essence of sport in a single moment, and I felt a pang of gratitude for the empathy and humanity of that young man from Kitchener. I don't know for sure, but I'd wager it is a moment that the AS kicker will remember for many a year to come.

Thank you young man, and congratulations you and KCI for what I think is your first OFSAA Gold.