With the end of the summer of 2022 Tuesdays with Dave wants to congratulate Dave Grace and Greg Rogers and all their staff for a job well done. In the hero's journey, following the process will lead to desired outcomes. After two years of upheaval and no camps, 2022 was a key year in the journey of Olympia Sports Camp. Judging by the fine work on social media and the posts sent by people who got to enjoy life on Interlaken this summer, two truths can and must be stated: many young people got to enjoy a week to learn about themselves and where their journey may take them, and seeds have been planted for a great 2023, when the camp will be celebrating its 50th year. The hero always thinking forward with planning and a great deal of hope, these two fine men are heroes, and we thank them.

The thoughts on Dave and Greg also conjures up an amazing story in chapter 2 of A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp of how these two great leaders met and formed a relationship that has lasted for 30 years and withstood and thrived through all the tests of time, with 2020-2022 among the greatest of said tests.

 

 " Now at Olympia for over 30 years, Greg Rogers' introduction to Olympia, and eventual connection to Dave Grace, came about in 1991 when Greg was the acting vice-principal at St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic High School in Toronto. The school had doubled in size inside of two years, and Greg was asked to come up with an idea to get almost 200 grade nines to buy in to what Brebeuf was all about. Having been a camp director at Camp Ekon in Toronto, Greg knew the team-building value of camp and thought that taking the students away for a three-day camp adventure would be a great way to accomplish this. Greg had been at the school for 10 years and was the rugby coach, so he had a bevy of senior students who could help make this happen. The senior would also benefit with the chance to mentor the younger kids and build up the Brebeuf community. It was suggested to Greg that Olympia Sports Camp in Huntsville would be big enough to handle the event. He got school and board approval and took the 200 grade nines and his senior leadership group up to Oxbow Lake. Greg added a unique twist to the experience.

 

“We had a great weekend where the grade nines were divided into families, where a couple of senior leaders would have nine or ten students in a cabin, with high energy challenges, games and activities.” Greg says. “There was this guy following me around all weekend, not saying much but observing everything. On that last day, he told me how impressed he was and asked me where I learned all this stuff. I didn’t even know who this guy was, but it turned out to be Dave Grace.”

 

That initial meeting concluded with Coach Grace asking Greg what else he did and when Greg’s rugby coaching came up, Coach Grace asked him if he wanted to run a rugby camp at Olympia. Greg guaranteed Coach Grace that the kids who would come would have the best week of their lives. Not knowing Olympia or the philosophy at all, Greg was a natural. His main belief was to teach rugby, yes, but also to coach the campers on how to be good human beings. Right out of the Olympia playbook. 

 

The sense that Greg Rogers was an Olympian before he knew anything about Olympia is real. His 10 years of being director of Camp Ekon gave him the experience, obviously, but it’s in his DNA to help others and promote growth. His leadership style is as obvious as it is a genuine part of who he is. He wants to engage kids and meet them where they are so that the students feel part of the discussion, thus empowering the kids to become the best versions of themselves. His leadership and commitment to students was noticed by the Toronto Catholic District School Board and he was seconded by the board for a one-year term to lead and develop student leadership initiatives. That one year? It lasted till he retired 26 years later.

 

Coach Grace knew he had a gem and hired Greg in 1996 as associate director. Like anything in the Rogers family, it was a package deal. Greg’s wife Eileen, a registered nurse, oversees the health centre and their seven kids have grown up at Olympia, playing leading roles.  Greg reflects on his 30-year involvement in Olympia.

 

 “I’ve been blessed to be at Olympia for so long. Dave is a true mentor and friend and he empowers me as he empowers everyone. That in itself is inspiring. I’m also surrounded by laughter and fun all summer long. The passion and energy of the counsellors keeps me young. Connecting to them keeps me current and emotionally young. Play is one of the best ways to build relationships and that is what Olympia is all about. I feel like I’m dancing through life.”

 

Thanks Dave and Greg. Two allies along the journey. The Hero's Journey.


 

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