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 get the job,” Blaine recalls. “It became a goal for me to get the job the following summer and I did. I worked as a counsellor for four years, became a unit leader and was the first-ever evening program director. I also was asked to organize stuff for the staff on Saturday nights in between weeks. I remember one time organizing a sixathlon, where there were six events done in teams and Dave provided a steak dinner afterward.”

 

Blaine Scatcherd and Chris Peskun

 Two great friends entertaining on skit night in 1998. Blaine and Chris did a song every week at skit night. The hero shares of his talents so that the wisdom he has picked up along his journey can be used to make the community a better place. Proof right here!

Olympia is a place where. Olympia is a people who.

After working at camp all those years, Blaine was away from camp for a long time as he followed professional football and had young kids, but there was a yearning to get back. He got his Olympia fix every spring by bringing his girls touch football team from St. Joseph’s High School to camp. He wanted his girls to experience the place, but he also loved getting back to a place that he calls home.  He remembers telling his principal that they were going to a tournament, although it was just a team-building weekend, then came back to school saying they won the tourney! 

 

He knew a lot of his good friends were now coaching week 5. He felt he needed to give back to the camp, but also, he wanted to reconnect with these lifelong friends. He contacted Dave, got hired as a coach, and is now a mainstay in the week 5 football camp. Watching him coach and interact with campers is priceless. I hope they know how lucky they are. Having allies along his journey has made him an invaluable ally to many.

 

He also owes Olympia for the start of his teaching career.

 

“The networking possibilities at a place like Olympia are amazing. Two months at camp is like two years of connections with people. In one of those Olympia conversations about the long view of life, Patty Pangos asked me what I was doing now that football was done, and I said I was looking for a teaching job. She made a call and two days later I had an interview at Dr. Denison, where Patty taught. I didn’t even know where Newmarket was, but I got the job and taught at Denison for two years before moving back home to Ottawa and have been teaching at St. Josephs High School ever since.”

 

The best part of working at Denison for Blaine was that it was like a little Olympia, with fantastic coaches Jackie Zicaro, Rich MacPherson, Kelly Pfenning, Patty Pangos, and one of Blaine’s best friends, Brent Evans, all on staff. What a great means to a beginning of what is now a vocation for Blaine. His teaching is an extension of his teen years at Olympia.

 

“Kids relate to anyone who connects with them on their level, who make the effort to empathize with where they are. I remember one time I had a cabin of 7- and 8-year-olds who were all in taekwondo. They were so into discipline that they followed me around like I was Gulliver’s Travels. I showed them that working hard and having fun are not opposites. They grew and we had a great week. “

 

But it’s what took place in week 7 of his first year as a counsellor and the subsequent lessons learned that defines Blaine Scatcherd and says a lot about Dave Grace. 

 

“After having a great summer, me and a few other counsellors decided to grab a few beers and head to the pro’s cabin. Of course, the pro cabin is right beside Dave’s, so he heard us and caught us. Not the brightest bulbs in the pack. It was an impulsive act with not much thought, and we paid for it,” Blaine says, “I was fired and sent home right away.” 

 

How is such a traumatic experience seen as a positive all these years later? Blaine learned that you can’t take things for granted and you need to follow rules, and as a leader you must establish rules and demand they be followed. The Olympia rule was that if you ever got fired, you’d have to take a one-year sabbatical before reapplying. For many, getting fired would be an ending, but for Blaine it was a beginning. Dave and Greg taught him a lesson that he uses daily in being an ally for others in his teaching and coaching: everyone deserves a second chance.

 

“I spent that off-year working at a day camp in Ottawa, and I was determined to get back to Olympia and right the wrong I did. Luckily, Dave and Greg believed in me, and wanted me back. I remember in pre-camp they asked me to speak to the whole staff about my experience. I felt honoured they gave me the forum to tell my story to this new staff. That second chance clarified to me that as a teacher, parent, or coach, you can’t label kids and you need to know what may be going on in their lives. Not only did they hire me back, but also gave me more responsibilities and opportunities to grow.”

 

For this impact on his life, Blaine credits and thanks Olympia and Dave Grace.

 

“When I first met Dave, I thought he was the hardest man on the planet to read, but after growing through him and because of him, I see Dave as someone who really wants the best for everyone. Dave paved the way for me, and for many others. Olympia changed my life and for sure I take the lessons learned to passionately care for my students. There is no other way to live than to build relationships and build communities.”

 

Blaine walks the talk. He has started a week 5 tradition where he hosts a wine and cheese evening for coaches row. To Blaine, the reasons he does it speak to the values Olympia has taught this coach.

 

“The wine and cheese is just a vehicle for the community of coaches to come together. We get to come to camp and work with kids in the sport that we love, but it still comes down to relationships. I get more out of hosting than I put in because I see all these great people enjoying the journey.”

 

Blaine the counsellor to this day remembers a priceless connection that took place on the 17^th fairway at Deerhurst Highlands golf course that says all you need to know about this fantastic teacher and better person.

 

“I was helping with the golf camp and one of the campers was a 12-year-old from Quebec City named J.P. It was starting to rain pretty good and everyone else had left. I told J.P.  that if he wanted to keep going I would too. We agreed to continue and then it really started to pour. On hole 17, J.P. hit a shot from about 125 yards that went into the hole for a birdie. We danced around in the pouring rain like he had just won the Olympic gold medal,” Blaine recalls. “If we hadn’t decided to stay, we would not have had that shared experience. I’m sure that moment meant a lot to J.P. but all these years later it still means a lot to me.  Helping a kid have a special moment like that is what Olympia can inspire. 

It’s like the echo Dave used to talk about in Dave talk. What you send out you get back.”

Pay It Forward. 2022 will be a great year as the camp will return and flourish, but we need to be allies. The camp website is  www.olympiasportscamp.com Register your kids. Get your kids to get a few friends to join them at camp. Send a note to your club teams, your school teams. Do it for the kid whose life will be changed because they got to go to Olympia Sports Camp in the summer of 2022. Help spread the vibe that after two years the best sports camp in Canada ( with the four reasons we hear at every opening) will be back and be better than ever.  

 

 

 

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.