OLYMPIA ISN'T WHERE YOU LIVE, IT'S HOW YOU LIVE



I got this quote from Eric Johnston, who shares his Olympia perspective this week. Eric began going to Olympia when he was 4 as his dad coached week 7. He recalls when Limberlost Road  was just an old logging road and the camp had no high ropes stuff and the gym wasn't even there. He remembers as a little boy being devastated on Saturday when they had to leave camp after the emotional closing ceremonies. He looked forward to the days when he could actually participate in session and eventually he would work there. He did reach his goal and was a counsellor for seven years and then coached another 8 years, going week 7 himself.. Apparently he was accepted by the Tribal Council of week 7. 


Pictures and a thousand words? The first picture is of Eric and Jay Bentley at pre camp in their first year as counsellors in 1992. How many hundreds of counsellors over the years can relate to this moment, this feeling, and this exact place at camp. Eric and Jay were joined on staff a couple of years later by Steve Parish. They and several others became soul mates.


The second picture is taken 19 years later at Steve's wedding. It is of Jay, Eric, and Steve. Several notable Olympians,  namely Ryan Earthy, Brent Evans, and Blaine Scatcherd were also at the wedding but were not in this picture. They were probably cleaning up the dishes and wiping down the tables in true  Olympia fashion. These two pictures set the stage for Eric's story. Thanks Eric! 



 




Sergio Mendes comes over the speakers to sing a song that, to be completely honest, is not on the typical playlist for a wedding; except when it is…and then it is almost always a highlight!  The groom looks across the dance floor as a certain type of guest rushes the floor.  Onlookers have a confused stare as the dancers wave their hands like wheat that is in bad need of harvesting, and then just as mystifyingly, change to clapping their hands and jumping in unison as if there was some sort of mind-control in their matching tuxedos.

 Almost all of the groomsmen, one of the bridesmaids, the Master of Ceremonies, and a least two tables full of wedding guests are out there and they know every move by heart because, what the onlookers will come to understand, this is a song about friendship and beginnings. The title of the song is OLYMPIA.

In public school, one can only be a friend with their parent’s neighbour’s kids or parent’s friend’s kids.  Friendships made out of proximity.  In high school one migrates to those with shared interests like sports or music, friends of convenience.  But at Camp Olympia, those high school students get a chance to meet, bond with, and become as close as siblings with others who share their values and passion; friends by choice.

Olympia has a hidden gift for those qualified enough and lucky enough to work there as staff or as a coach.  Picture a high school comprised of only those who believe in empowering children to be their best, who espouse the values of social justice, and have been trained in leadership and followership on the forged fires of helping OTHERS on their hero’s journey.  Picture the world’s greatest physical education department of passionate and selfless coaches whose coming together for a week a summer is the highlight of their family’s year.

Picture my best friend Steve who grew up on a cow farm, in hockey country, who needed to convince his parents to let him spend a summer working for nearly no money instead of helping with chores.   He gave himself to Olympia completely, girlfriends, pranks, weekend work, unit leading, fall tournaments, and freezing springs putting the famous “A frame” dock in the lake.  

And now people dance for joy at his wedding to a song that not many know intimately, but those who do, certainly love it to their core.  The Onlookers join a can-can line which is forming for some reason (probably those pesky mind control tuxedos) and Steve is in the middle as a rush of memories flood his mind.   This song, and Olympia itself, is about friendship but also about beginnings; beginning of camp, beginning of changing yourself for the better, beginning of a journey, and the beginning of life long relationships you CHOSE. 

 And they reach out to each other, to make us all aware, that we celebrate our brotherhood in the struggles that we share (Mendes, 1984). 



The link to the blog is TuesdayswithDave.blogspot.com


This blog is about the journey of the writing of the book A Hero's Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp. The blog will contain excerpts from the book and my personal thoughts on what the place and the people that make up Olympia's journey is all about. The title comes from the great book Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom. The blog's title is recognizing Dave Grace as Camp Director, but all content is my own.

 





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
 Karl Svoboda began his rugby career at Belleville's Centennial Secondary School and the Belleville Bulldogs club team. When he started with the Bulldogs at 16 he was the club's youngest player. When he retired from the game he was the club's oldest, and probably most accomplished. Karl had success in rugby the world over. He won three OUA championships with the University of Toronto Blues and he first made Canada's national team in 1985. He ended up being team captain of the national team for years and played in the first three Rugby World Cups in 1987, 1991, and 1995. He also played senior rugby for the Ajax Wanderers and attended the prestigious Oxford University in England at the dawn of professional rugby in 1996. I gleaned this information from research because for a decade or more of sharing week 5 coaching duties and sitting around campfires this understated superstar would rather play guitar and talk about fishing or that day's bike ride or swim than boast
Read more
Image
In the summer of 2019,  Blaine Scatcherd  was introducing himself at the opening meeting of week 5 and told the assembly of coaches that he worked as a counsellor at Olympia for 4 ¾ years. People who knew the story, including Dave Grace, roared with laughter at the self-effacing honesty Blaine showed when recounting an incident that may have been the worst in his career, yet a defining moment that changed him forever and made him a better teacher and coach, and a better person.    Blaine Scatcherd is from Ottawa, where he was coached in football at Glebe Collegiate Institute by Olympia coach Skip Riddell. He went on to play football at Acadia University and played professionally in France for 2 years before embarking on his teaching profession.   “Skip recommended to me in grade 11 that I work at Olympia as it was a great place for an athlete and would-be coach, so I applied to Olympia with Skip’s reference. I went down to Toronto for a group interview and thought I aced it. I didn’t g
Read more
Image
They say that a picture tells a thousand words. How about two pictures? In the writing of A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp I got to interview a lot of people dedicated to Olympia and to the vision of Dave Grace. Out of this process I learned three things about the 50- year journey of the staff of Olympia: 1- Olympia inspires young people 2- Staff inspire others to do the same 3- Staff move on in their lives, carrying Olympia with them, while others replace  Staff like Randy Kipfer and Kevin O'Reilly This picture of Harlem Globetrotter Curly Neal with some amazing counsellors can be found in the book at the start of Chapter 6-Allies and Ogres . It captures an Olympia moment shared by good friends and a world-class basketball entertainer, but the insert is the key element of an Olympia journey that spans decades.  There are literally hundreds of stories of staff who have graced the lands of Interlaken. Every story is unique, every story is echoed th
Read more