Tuesday's With Dave

Olympia's Favourite Son Retires  Every copy of Can't Miss: The Kevin Pangos Story that I sold, from Spokane, Washington to Holland Landing, Ontario and everywhere in between I signed with the following:  "Kevin followed his passion. If you follow yours you Can't Miss." This is the lesson that captures the journey of Kevin Pangos best. He had a passion and a goal and did everything in his power to achieve it. And achieve it he did. It's a hero's journey..  As Kevin announces his retirement after a stellar career in Europe and the NBA its hard not to reflect on what he has meant to so many Olympians, myself included. The idea of Can't Miss came to me through a confluence of factors that made writing it a challenge I became excited to take on. At 16 Kevin had just been the youngest player to ever suit up for Canada's Senior Men's team on a tour of Italy while I was busy reading " Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. It hit me, that Kevin mig...

 If Ever There was a Hero:  First of all, if you haven't seen the video of the Bryan Adams song " The Ballad of Terry Fox" yet, check out Youtube. The song is beautiful and the lyrics are inspiring. The song is filled with powerful images of Terry but the last line says it all, " he ran for me and you." Joy and I  went to TIFF yesterday to see "Run Terry Run" a movie about the greatest Canadian and a person who impacted a nation, many Olympians among them. Terry Fox has been a part of our lives for 46 years. and my Olympia experience mirrors that. Inspiring; motivational, empathetic, athletic, setting goals, taking on challenges. It sounds all so familiar that it feels to me like Olympia is an extension of sorts of what we learned from a 22 year-old cancer survivor in 1980.  I hope this blog allows the reader to reflect on their Terry motivated journey. Everyone alive at the time has a journey connected to Terry in some form. Here is mine.  In 1980 whi...

 Mirror careers, different destinations, same Olympia This Tuesdays With Dave is about University of Vermont standout TJ Hurley. It's going to take a while to get to TJ  because the route his father Mike took is a big part of the story. That journey eventually got Mike to Olympia and TJ's passion for everything basketball took off.   TJ was recently named the player the Year in the America East Conference while playing for the  University of Vermont Catamounts. He was also named to the All- Conference first team, All- Defensive team, and earned All- Academic status  while surpassing the 1,000 point plateau for his career. There  is so much more to the story, and a lot of it has to do with commitment to others and love of the game that Mike and TJ mirrored in their years at Olympia Sports Camp. This picture is of father and son, but it is also about the importance and pride in local club basketball, and its about vision and commitment to a goal. Looking at t...

 Our Impact on Others Step 12 in the Hero's Journey in A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp calls to mind the impact a person's journey has on the lives of many others. What we bring to the next generation is as or more important as the accomplishments we have. Our goals become helping others reach their goals.  Such is the life and career of former Olympia Sports Camp coach  Peter Campbell. His passing last week has left a hole in the lives of many players who were fortunate to be coached by him or coaches who were inspired by him. I put myself in the latter group. There is a celebration of life set for this Saturday, May 2 at Lazaridis Hall on the campus of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, where Peter coached for the last 15 years of his storied career. The place will be packed by people like me, whose journeys were impacted by Peter. First the career.  Peter's impact on basketball in Canada took him from women's college and Univ...

The Only Way to Win For an NCAA basketball fan of a certain vintage there is a lot not to like about the new way of doing things in college basketball. The money now being paid to athletes through NIL has changed the whole culture of the sport, and the combination with the transfer rules is killing the team ideals of unity, skill development on a year to year basis, and team building. Allowing players to transfer as often as they want has taken player freedom to heights that makes it hard to see what team you are cheering for. And why are almost 40% of NCAA athletes transferring so much and often? Chasing the almighty dollar. It's like the recruiting process is continual, and filled with people with personal wealth and personal agendas.  Some players play at four different schools over the span of the careers! They are playing the selfish pro game in an attempt to someday become a pro. For some it works, for many it doesn't. To be honest I worry about the long term mental healt...

 A Career Well Served An Olympia Sports Camp coach for years;  10 years with the CTA prep team in Ottawa; coaching at two different universities- in the same city! National Champion at Prep and University levels. Named to the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.  And it all started with a card game.  Coach Trevor Steynor is exactly the type of volunteer and passionate coach that keeps youth sports going, and Trevor took the lessons of his youth coaching and turned it into a career working with athletes at the highest levels in Canada. I steal the opening of Trevor's speech when he was inducted into the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame in 2024 to capture the philosophy of this basketball lifer. This life coach. "Coaching is a collection of experiences and moments. It's these memories that makes coaching come alive.  Rugby Coach Sir Clive Woodward said “ How do you want to be remembered? “ Some players called me “Coach”, “Trevor”, “Trevorbaby”. I hope I've had an imp...