An Olympian in many ways

 

At Olympia Sports Camp, every coach and their family, every counsellor, every staff, and every camper are Olympians. But in some cases, they truly are Olympians. This week we highlight the journey of long time Olympia coach and 1964 Tokyo Olympic team member Barry Howson. 


                                             Barry Howson- front row, second from right


Barry had many life challenges that could have been dragons, but he slayed them all. The youngest in a family of nine, Barry lost his dad when he was 15 and his journey became a relentless process of athletic excellence. After high school Barry was offered five US scholarships. He also was invited to the Detroit Tigers training camp but decided to stay home in London and help his mom and go to Western.

 

After his undergrad he attended teacher’s college and at the same time pursued basketball at the highest level. He was named to the 1964 Canadian Olympic team. Fresh out of school with a family of two, this created somewhat of a problem. He needed a teaching job, but he also needed time off for his Olympic journey. The London Board decided they couldn’t give a new teacher that time off, so a friend told Barry to apply to the board in nearby Sarnia. They not only hired Barry but gave him the five weeks off with pay!

 

Good move Sarnia. The result was a 34-year teaching career at St. Pat’s High School, where he impacted generations of students with his value system and work ethic  as basketball coach and guidance counsellor.

 

“There's no more rewarding, satisfying, and fulfilling activity than working with young people, whether it be sports or work. To be successful, kids need a plan to reach their goals and they need to look inside themselves for answers. Everything they do and the people they meet should be sources of feedback on where they are headed.”

 

Another stroke of genius was Dave Grace getting Barry up to Olympia. “At the start of Olympia Dave got a lot of coaches from his connections in Toronto but he also had great connections in the London area. Guys like Doug Hayes and Dan Colfax,” Barry says,” My main connection to Dave Grace at the time? His dad Hyman was our family doctor. I guess he knew of me and gave me a call one February and invited me to come to camp. That was 1979.”

 

Barry told Dave he would love to come but he needed to bring his family. That meant his wife Cheryl and their combined six kids.

“Dave didn’t bat an eye so once he agreed to house all eight of us it was a done deal.”

 

That deal ultimately led to three generations of the Howson name involved at Olympia. Their daughter Paula was the first to work at camp, spending an entire summer on the kitchen staff. Check out the ceiling of the coaches dining hall, where Paula inscribed her name oh so many years ago. His son Dave went for years and took over the reins at St Pat’s. In future years Barry brought up many of his 13 grandchildren, including future counsellors Chrissy McEwan and Kelsie Grace. 

 

“What I admire about Dave’s efforts was that he made sure we had a lot of fun, but he kept making the camp better and better every year. He’s living proof of the saying:

“Leaders make things happen. Followers watch things happen.”


Leaders like Barry Howson.



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

  1. UnknownJune 22, 2021 at 5:31 AM

    What a great story! Shaping a young one's life, what an important role teachers have! Love the quote: «Leaders make things happen. Followers watch things happen.» And I would add to the end of this quote ''Followers watch things happen and complain most of the times!»

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