Tuesday's With Dave

 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 ...

 The process of writing A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp involved interviewing camp founder and director Dave Grace many times. That alone was transformative. After one of these interviews, which lasted about four hours and happened to be on a Tuesday, I made a flippant comment that I should write a blog and call it Tuesdays with Dave, a moniker taken from the popular Mitch Album book Tuesdays With Morrie. That flippant comment became an idea. Dave liked the idea, and TuesdayswithDave.blogspot.com was born. Today I am writing the 140th entry into Tuesdays With Dave. This blog has been and continues to be a great journey. Today, through the efforts of Greg Rogers and Michelle Stockstill I welcome all those Olympia alumni, staff, campers, coaches and parents that are on the Olympia Distribution list of more than 10,000. To put this in Olympia terms, we are taking this blog to a whole other level.  Those new to the blog can go back and read the man...

 The Legacy Outlives The Journey This week is not about an Olympian, but for sure it is about a hero, and other heroes who have followed in his wake. Jacob Ranton was a true 'gentle giant' who excelled in basketball with  the Waterloo Wildhawks and Waterloo Collegiate Institute before going to Memorial University in St John's, Newfoundland.  At 6'8" he could score inside or play on the perimeter and in his sophomore year he was third in AUS scoring when he came home for Christmas in 2014. Jacob Ranton had seemingly everything going for him. He was loved by classmates and teammates because of his helpful nature. He also was hiding what his father Doug called a 'terminal illness.' Jacob died by suicide on Dec 23 2014, and no one knew he was struggling. The Waterloo region and Ontario basketball community was devastated with the news and rallied to support Doug, his wife Sandra, and Jacob's younger brother Trevor. Teammates and opponents alike streamed to ...