I'm honoured and humbled

Sometimes we're good, but more often than not, we've surrounded ourselves with good, and that often leads, to coin a phrase from my good friend Kevin Simms, to SUPER good! Those are the things that fill our hearts with warm fuzzies, feed our souls with positivism, and prompt a 1000 watt smile. Thanks to many quality choices over my 35+ year coaching career, I wa
s blessed with relationships that made me a better human, and a prime example of that was a deep friendship that blossomed thanks to our love of a fringe sport here in Canada ... Rugby.

Ron Andrews and I met while pounding the sidewalks out front of Barrie Central just days after making the leap from the elementary panel to secondary, a partnership formed over a passion for coaching and a love of rugby. Moving forward, we got up to a host of shenanigans over our 20+ years together, many of them immersed in high school sports as we co-coached our way through teaching careers at Barrie Central then Barrie North. In my personal truest personification of the saying "the whole greater than the sum of its parts", we shared in a lot of success and jointly created portions of our resumes that prompted my nomination of Ron for the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame in 2019, and his reciprocated nomination of me here in 2024. 

My induction ceremony is still fresh in my mind.

Below is the acceptance speech I gave at the behest of the BSHOF committee on that night. I decided to share it here because it makes some poignant points which I feel strongly need to be heard by as many as possible.

Members of the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame Committee, fellow inductees, esteemed guests, beloved families, and cherished friends,

As part of the input from the Hall of Fame committee, it was suggested that a small acceptance speech would be appropriate … emphasis on small. Those of you who know me well are astutely aware that I don’t shy away from the microphone, so I’ll do my best to keep to an acceptable time frame. 

My apologies in advance, be they required.

It behooves me to open with a heartfelt, sincere thank you to my former colleague, co-coach, mentor and incredible friend, Ron Andrews, for not only nominating me, but leading me, supporting me, and embracing our friendship over so many years. We are kindred spirits, he and I, with nary a disagreement during our entire relationship, something I have come to know as extremely rare and special.

Without that relationship, there wouldn’t be this honour.

Any person bestowed such an honour has a lengthy list of those in their lives that sacrificed to allow the bullet list of accomplishments leading first to nomination, then enshrinement. I am no different, but considering that my experience permeates a number of organizations, sports, and institutions over 30 plus years, to list individuals would inevitably mean that some may be missed, and that would not be my wish. My ever-present goal was to ensure that each of the coaches and athletes I interacted with came away with an understanding of how much I appreciated them and their efforts so I am confident that they know how much our shared time meant, and great a part they played in the pathway to me standing before you tonight.

I thank each and every one of them with all I have.

As such, I do feel compelled to declare my sincerest and profound gratitude to my wife Joyce since it was her willingness to become SuperMom in those early years that made that resume possible. She's the rock that we built our Life on together as she shouldered the load of our toddler's needs and all that comes along with that, while I was chasing my passions. It's considered corny to say, but I absolutely grow more in love with her each and every year. 

My gratitude also absolutely extends to my children Maddison and Keaton, since they each sacrificed hours with dad and tolerated me swooping in for dinner, bath, and bedtime routines, before I bolted out the door again for a night game or practice. When they were a little older, some of that time was spent sharing their chosen sports, and they shouldered that “blessing” like Champions, enduring the tenuous combo of DAD-COACH, each blossoming in the circumstances as we jointly realized more than our fair share of success. I will never regret coaching my kids, but you’ll have to ask them if it was worth it. I will unequivocally state that standing here before you is one SUPER proud dad.

To be here today is a dream come true, but not for the reasons that some might surmise at first guest. Having this incredible honour bestowed upon me and my family, in my mind, is the ultimate justification for the countless hours invested in other people's children in my determination to ensure that the young people I had opportunity to work with came away from their athletic experiences with the same pride, satisfaction, and sense of accomplishment that was gifted to me when growing up in this amazing city. 

For me, coaching has always been about paying it forward, a lesson I learned at the knee of my dearly departed father, gone now 18 years. He would be sitting there in the front row, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. I am wearing his Queen's Football Hall of Fame ring tonight that a part of him is present to 'see' this.

Let’s not call it by any other name … I was, and continue to be, blessed. 

Blessed to have had life-altering moments as an athlete thanks to the coaches who gifted me hours out of their lives, igniting the flames of my own coaching desires.

Blessed to have had all those parents trust me with their greatest treasures over 35+ years of coaching, supporting the team’s efforts with such positivism and joy ... and, of course, with their financial sacrifices.

Blessed to benefit from so many gifted, dedicated, focused, enthusiastic, and determined young people for willingly accepting my guidance and input, applying it with such skill and poise.

Blessed to have coached with some giants who allowed me to stand on their shoulders, accepting me and all of my quirks, sharing their expertise, and bolstering my passion with theirs.

As I am sure any of the members of the Hall in this Builder Category can attest, enshrinement is a singular recognition of a team award, or more appropriately, teams. No coach can be successful without athletes and families willing to embrace his/her teachings and recommendations, no championships or accolades earned without the singular, unified mindset of the many.

I accept this honour with a humbled heart on behalf of what I estimate to be thousands of athletes.

Being a Barrie Boy through and through, I have been attended a number of these Hall of Fame ceremonies for athletes or teams I've worked with, vicariously celebrating their recognition as they shone the spot light on our beloved city's sporting successes, daring to dream if that could be me at some time in the future. For the Hall to acknowledge that my career’s good fortunate was worthy of special attention makes my heart swell with pride, and for that there are no words of thanks that will suffice.

To everyone in the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame that played a part in this, not the least of which is the artist, Sheila Romard, who’s talent created the picture behind that curtain, you all have my sincerest thanks for making an old coach’s dream come true.

To my fellow 2024 inductees Dan Mariouelli, Emily MacTavish, and duo Mitchel Islam & Alexandra Paul, if you've come away with the same feelings as I surrounding this incredible recognition, you'll most certainly have spent the day after taking stock of your blessings, a profound sense of humility flooding your soul. You all spoke along similar themes in your acceptance of your induction, and as I hung on your every word, a flood of warmth filled me from the toes up as I realized how blessed and fortunate we all were and are to have Barrie to thank for helping make our lives spectacular.

I can't say enough about the volunteers that comprise the committee that guardians the Hall. Your efforts, energy, and time are remarkable, generous, and appreciated. In fact, I am so moved by the entire process, I publicly  profess that I will offer my own energies to the committee that others will be gifted this experience in the future. 

Would any of you Barrie Boys or Girls care to join me? I can't think of a more worthy endeavour!