Tuesday's With Dave

Happy Birthday Pops! A personal blog this week as my family celebrates my dad's 100th birthday. John MacLeod Dooley was born Nov 1 1925. I say that Nov 1 2025 IS  his 100th birthday, not "would have been" as he passed away in 1996. This is a day to celebrate, reflect, and remember.  I write this blog to share a part of my journey, a pivot point one would say, but I also want to share this thoughtful memory with my brothers John, Steve, and Pat as well as the memories of my late sister Mary and brother Kevin. This blog involves part of my journey but my siblings all have similar moments they shared with a brilliant man we called Pops. Most of the moments brought with them a laugh or a smile, and some moments were very sad. Actually my dad was proud to be called Pops because his father had been.  A high school graduate at 16, and the youngest Chartered Accountant in Ontario at the time, my dad had a journey filled with achievement, success, and trauma and tragedy. We are al...

 Coach P Enters The Hall of Fame Olympia Sports Camp has just started a program they are calling" Coach of the Week" to highlight some of the great coaches who come to Olympia every summer. Great idea! Let me introduce you to the Coach of the Half Century: John Petrushchak Coach P was posthumously inducted into the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame this summer, recognizing his contributions and success in leading George Harvey and Runnymede Collegiates over this 30 year teaching and coaching career, including four OFSAA titles. But those of a certain vintage remember the impact he had on hundreds of others, and a generation of coaches, in his years at Olympia Sports Camp. In her induction speech Debbie Petrushchak spoke about her father’s lasting influence on young people, describing him as a steady presence during difficult times. She also spoke of the community of friendships that grew through his coaching career, many of which have carried on long after his passing in May of...

Take the Bat off the Shoulder We always talk about the amazing people that we meet on our journey. After decades, Olympia people can still hear Dave Grace telling the " Bat off the shoulder" story. The batter lets three pitches go by him, all called strikes. He then blames the umpire, says stuff under his breath, then throws his bat against the wall in disgust. The message is that the batter should take control of the situation by swinging at a pitch instead of putting his fate with another. Take the bat off the shoulder and you'll never know what happens. We are all heroes of our own journey and in order to reach where we want to go we need to take control and not let others, or the world, impact our choices or path. It truly is up to us. When thinking of amazing Olympia people and taking the bat off the shoulder I introduce you to Maggie Murray Murch. And Dana Stephenson. This blog may be one of the most heart-wrenching stories of love and friendship overcoming loss tha...

 In my journey of writing A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp I came across many uplifting stories of groups of friends who maybe started as a campers or counsellors years ago and have remained close ever since, and we are talking over 40 years in some cases.  I got to write about a group of friends who got together every March to watch some NCAA basketball as an excuse to have a blast and rekindle their groups identity. This despite the loss of two of their cohort to cancer. I learned of two people meeting in line at Weber's, the iconic hamburger joint that is a stopover for many on their way to Olympia, and because they sparked up conversation while waiting, have been friends ever since. They travelled to Europe together and attended the same university together, all because they wanted to buy a burger and fries.  I learned of two women in their 80's who still travel the world, just because their husbands happened to coach basketball at Olymp...

  The legacy of Olympia Sports Camp is inherent in the lessons that Dave Grace has shared for generations. It is in the deep friendships that are formed through the shared experience of enjoying a week, or a summer, with like-minded people. It is in the sharing of all of this with the next generation in what the Hero’s Journey calls The Return.  It’s in remembering the days as a counsellor and wanting to share what you experienced with others. It’s reconnecting with friends that were like family oh so long ago… and you find out they still are.    Need an example of all of this? I’d like to introduce Kate Wienburg.   Kate was a camper in 1995 and 96 and then got hired and worked as a counsellor from 1997-1999. The Return of this journey is that Kate returned to camp this past summer after 26 years to work as a week 5 coach. And the reasons she loved to get to coach week 5 are Olympian as well. Each phase of this journey carries with it the great friends and ...

Welcome Back!!  I have been taking a break from Tuesdays With Dave. It never was about writing every Tuesday, but rather when something or somebody Olympia creates a story idea to follow. For the past few months I have been dealing with a health condition that is called spinal stenosis that has really limited my walking, hence my lifestyle, so I just felt I needed a break mentally to help deal with the physical. Still doing lots of swimming and cycling but unable to walk much. The worst part is that for the first summer in a very long time  I was not able to get to Olympia. I've been an Olympian as a coach, headliner, guest speaker, book researcher, book promoter, and sometimes just to  visit to see Dave and Greg. But this summer, no first swim, no great food, no Dave Talk. I have found myself getting my Olympia fix vicariously through social media postings of coaches who are sharing the blast  of the week they've had at camp. It's great to see in pictures  the ...