This blog entry is a reprint from one written on Dec 12, 2022. The reason for the reprint is that the annual tournament is coming up this weekend. Doug and Sandra Ranton have done a lot for the WRSPC over the ten years since their son's death. They have decided, with heavy hearts, that, although the tournament will continue in Jacob's name, this will be their last fund raiser. They want the 10th  to be the best ever, and I hope this blog helps. Please like and share to help spread the word. 

You Are Never Alone on your Journey ( written Dec 12 2022)

This Friday we will be at the Jacob Ranton Memorial Basketball Tournament at Waterloo Collegiate. The tournament features 16 teams from around the area but a more important aspect is that the tournament raises money for the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council. 

The title of this blog: "You Are Never Alone"s serves two purposes: One is that there is always someone with whom we can share our vulnerability in times when life can be overwhelming. The second is that as parents who have lost a son to suicide, Doug and Sandra Ranton need to know that the community is filled with allies for them and the support for this tournament is a perfect example. The support of friends and the community at large has helped Doug and Sandra and son Trevor on this journey. It takes a village.

A bit of history here. Doug Ranton and I formed a friendship through a mutual respect of our coaching.  Doug coached in Waterloo and I coached in Burlington and we would often set up exhibition games against each other as we knew it would be a great game, with both teams working hard and playing the right way. Process over result. Recollection says that Waterloo got the better of us most of the time. Their guards were always tough and they had great size inside. Probably their coaching too.





One of their excellent inside players was Doug's son, Jacob. At 6'8" he could shoot, put the ball on the floor, move without the ball, seal the inside, and was a great teammate. We often ran into each other at regional team camps and I always loved how respectful a young man Jacob came off as.  He drew people to him. What a leader.

Our Burlington team had a lot of talent but one player in particular always caught Doug's eye. That was my son Daniel, the point guard whose high IQ  set the table and someone Doug saw as having a great future in the game. I loved the way this great coach and better person talked with Daniel whenever they saw each other.

After finishing high school Daniel went to the University of Guelph while Jacob took his talents to Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland. Chance would have it that Memorial came on an exhibition tour of Ontario and they played Guelph so Daniel and Jacob got to play against each other again.

On Dec 23 2014, Jacob died by suicide. As Doug so painfully yet eloquently said, Jacob died of  a terminal illness, an illness that isn't talked about enough. I remember picking up Daniel after a Guelph practice to go to the funeral home in Waterloo. The love for Jacob and the Ranton family was obvious as the Waterloo and basketball community came out in droves. Daniel had hurt his back in that practice and we stood in line for over three hours but Daniel never complained. He had to see Doug.

That love for the family has never stopped. The Jacob Ranton Memorial tournament has raised $200,000 for the WRSPC and the goal is to make sure that this terminal illness that took Jacob is something that has to come to the forefront of discussion. It's good to talk about it. The WRSPC and Doug, Sandra and Trevor Ranton should be proud of what they have done and continue to do. Their resiliency and commitment to helping others is inspiring. And we need to let them know they are not alone.

The 2024 tournament runs this weekend, Dec 13 and 14. It has grown to an incredible 32 teams, including Gonzaga H.S. from St John's Newfoundland,  a team coached by one of Jacob's former teammates at Memorial, Patrick Slaney. This will be the team's third trip to Jacob's tournament. 

If you want to help support the WRSPC, there is an online auction with lots of great prizes to bid on. The auction ends Saturday at 5pm. Go to wrspc.ca to check out the great items available. You can also make a direct donation to the WRSPC if interested. 

The tournament host school is Jacob's alma mater, Waterloo Collegiate. It's at 300 Hazel St in Waterloo. At 10am on Friday former professional basketball player and motivational speaker Marke Freeman will speak to all 32 teams in a packed auditorium.  The tournament's legacy of outstanding guest speakers is amazing.

Here is the link to the auction:

10th Annual Jacob Ranton Memorial Tournament and Online Auction | ClickBid Mobile Bidding (cbo.io)

I'll be at the tournament Friday and will have a few books with me if anyone is looking for a copy. Hope to see some basketball and Olympia friends there.

Many thanks to Olympia Sports Camp Associate Director Michelle Stockstill for using her talents to produce this Christmas book sale information. Like I said. It takes a village. 







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 thoug...
Read more
Image
World Class Athlete, World Class coach What is the signature part of Olympia Sports Camp? Is it the Norwegian-inspired main dining hall? Is it the Zip Line or the Big Tower? Is it the 5 basketball courts laid out with OxBow Lake as a backdrop? For many, including Stand Up Paddling ( SUP) coach Ariel Amaral, it is the 1,500 feet of shoreline  that captures the true beauty of life at Interlaken. The A Frame docking system that is the centre point of activity throughout the day and the many paddle boards, canoes, kayaks and sailboats make it an aspect of Olympia Sports camp that is the envy of most camps in Canada. And It's where Ariel shines. It was the waterfront that attracted Ariel Amaral to Olympia in the first place. Never having come to Olympia as a camper, Ariel visited a friend who was a counsellor at the time, went for a quick swim, and that's all it took. Ariel has been coaching at Olympia coming up to ten years in the summer of 2025. She has never missed a year; not wh...
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 t...
Read more