Tuesday's With Dave

Re-using the picture to bring out a beautiful story. When this  process started I requested and collected stories written by Olympians about Olympia. Anyone was and is welcome to submit a personal story of 500 words and it will be in the book. The chapter is called the Soul Of Olympia because these people and their stories make up the fabric of this world-class camp. Per was one of the first stories submitted, a sign of how much this story and this camp mean to him Per Tøien, basketball coach, week 7 Meeting my past In 2008 I walked into the coaches’ room at Olympia for the first time – and met my father!   The pictures on the wall of Norwegian airmen in winter training – that might have been him! It dawned on me that I was standing at the same place where my father had spent many leisure hours on leave from Little Norway. Nora Sheffe, she of Week 7 and a Lady of Leisure, and I have a common past with our families in Zimbabwe in the nineties....

Family First   The Soul of Olympia chapter of  A Hero’s Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp  captures the stories of people who make up Olympia. They are the essence of life at camp. The amazing people you get to meet and become like family with. One such amazing person that I have come to know from week 5 basketball is Jackson Kingshot . Jackson is in the Sports Admin program at Laurentian. A classmate of his Parker Churchward interviewed Jackson for the school newsletter. I saw the article and was moved to ask Jackson and Parker if it would be OK to submit their article for my Tuesdays With Dave blog. A little long for a blog but inspiring to read.     Here’s his hero’s journey. Thanks Jackson…. And Parker.     I grew up in Brantford, Ontario with my mom and dad, and my younger sister Jordan. Growing up I played a bunch of different sports, but baseball has always been my favourite. I started playing at the age of 5. I played...

Leo Rautins Announced as Writer of Forward    Putting together a project like  A Hero’s Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp  there are so many people and so many stories to put into the book under the heading of coach, staff, A week at Olympia, The Soul of Olympia, that makes it a fun challenge to piece it all together. But to figure out who to ask to write the forward to the book, the list is very short.   It is a list of one: Leo Rautins   Leo Rautins has a basketball resume unlike anyone else in Canadian history.  He has been the colour commentator and media personality for the Raptors since day 1 in 1995. He played for the national team for 15 years and coached our national team from 2005-2011.  He was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft in 1983 and played professional basketball for almost a decade. He  was inducted into the Canadian basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.    But first and foremos...

  Chapter Three- Overcoming The Refusal of The Call Chapter 3 of A Hero's Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp  looks at the accomplishments of four athletes who got a big part of their start on the courts and gyms of Olympia and became national and international success stories that any camp  or organization would be proud of. The chapter, though, makes a distinct point: These athletes show that true success lies in the pursuit of goals and not just on reaching the goals. The Hero learns and knows to take any successes and failures as just part of the process which defines a hero. That is why we all have the capability of being a hero in our own journey. These athletes are shining examples. Society's scorecard would label all four as successful because of what they have attained but the Hero's Journey shows us that it is what we become along the journey is more valuable than the level attained. I must thank Olympia Week 5 gymnastics coach Linda Driscoll fo...