Tuesday's With Dave

Brendan Morris and Martin Paul     One cannot look at the modern-day Olympia Sports Camp staff without looking at the importance of staff recruitment and understanding the increased role of the international staffing process.  To do this we talked to two examples of the quality of that process in Martin Paul and Brendan Morris.    Martin, originally from Edinburgh, Scotland and Brendan, from Sydney, Australia have seen the growth in the international flavour of the camp and are a big part of making it happen.  Martin has been on staff for over ten years and his duties and role at camp, like being Robin to Dave’s batman in the “Dave Talk,” has grown exponentially and now he oversees all hiring. A daunting task.      Brendan Morris                  Martin Paul  Brendo, as everyone at camp calls him, started as one of those international hires 5 years ago and now is a major leader as a full-time staffer. So how does one get from Scotland or Australia, or Iceland, Norway, Mexico, Italy and

Three Generations   Olympia Sports Camp is recognized as almost family with the people we share a week with every summer, but some of the great stories are when it is actual family that shares in life on Oxbow Lake.    Such is the beautiful story of Melanie Gardner and her daughter Kerra Wadley.   Melanie first got introduced to Olympia through the basketball tournaments in the fall. She was teaching at O’Neill Collegiate in Oshawa and took her team for years, always with a built-in water-girl on the bench in daughter Kerra. Dave Grace liked what he saw in the way she handled her teams and offered her a spot coaching week 4 in the summer.   The Gardner family Olympia journey started in 1991. Kerra was 8 and younger sister Melanie was 5, and it’s still going strong with Kerra’s daughters Maddie and Riley in tow. More on the third generation later.   Melanie learned very quickly that part of the culture of Olympia is the light-hearted approach to life off the courts. Six hours on the cou

Second Chances Many thanks for the support from so many Olympians, like Kris Potter, who have shared their heroic journeys at Olympia for a chapter in "A Hero's Journey: from Little Norway to Olympia  Sports Camp" called the Soul of Olympia....Oh the people you get to meet at Olympia! Thanks for this Kris. Your honesty gives us memories... and lessons...     My Olympia story began when I was 16 years old and had been hired to work in the Tuck & Pro Shop.  To say that I was a model employee that summer would be a significant stretch.  The truth of the matter is I was homesick and didn’t want to be there.  I remember calling my mother on a consistent basis pleading with her to let me come home. I was insecure, didn't know anyone and didn't want to risk looking silly doing among other things, all those dances - I felt uncomfortable and like an outsider. I was being forced to step out of my comfort zone on a daily basis - it was very tough for me. Fortunately, my