Tuesday's With Dave

Dyer Memorial Centres and Refreshes  On a bit of a personal pilgrimage this week. Dave Grace invited me up to camp to discuss my book and the book writing process, so I decided to combine this with reflecting on this beautiful place and the journey of writing this book. As usual, I came away from dealing with Dave and the whole trip a better writer, and a better person.   On my way to Interlaken, I took a detour so that I could see the Dyer Memorial. Greg Rogers told me stories about the site, and many staff have told me about the power of visiting the memorial, so I had to experience it.   The Dyer Memorial is a beautiful 42- foot stone structure in the middle of the woods about 6km along Harp Lake Road, which is just a few kms from the Limberlost Road turn on    Hwy 60 east of Huntsville. You make your way to Dyer Memorial road, which is a tricky dirt road with ruts that make the experience even more powerful. I was proud that I actually found the place. ...

An Olympian in many ways   At Olympia Sports Camp, every coach and their family, every counsellor, every staff, and every camper are Olympians. But in some cases, they truly are Olympians. This week we highlight the journey of long time Olympia coach and 1964 Tokyo Olympic team member  Barry Howson .                                               Barry Howson- front row, second from right Barry had many life challenges that could have been dragons, but he slayed them all. The youngest in a family of nine, Barry lost his dad when he was 15 and his journey became a relentless process of athletic excellence. After high school Barry was offered five US scholarships. He also was invited to the Detroit Tigers training camp but decided to stay home in London and help his mom and go to Western.   After his undergrad he attended teacher’s college and at the s...

Generational Leader Here's a Soul Of Olympia Story from a coach's kid whose engaging personality and passion for leadership was evident from the very beginning of her hero's journey. What Andie brings out about Olympia is that the family culture knows no generational boundaries. We are all Olympians and bring our talents and passions to help the week, and the camp, be a better place. Andie seemed a natural to be a future Olympia counsellor ( And maybe director) when she was about about five! Her journey, though, has taken her to Queen's University and a recent recipient of a Leadership Thank Q Award in her athletic therapy program, taking Olympia lessons with her along the way. Thanks for the story and the support. What bears?                                                  Andie MacPherson When Chris asked me to write about my Olympia story, ...

 Best Friends  Forever Early in the process of writing  A Hero's Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Cam p,  I sought stories from Olympians in a chapter that will be called The Soul of Olympia. Good friend and week 9 rugby coach Erin Murphy provided me a story. When Erin's friend Maggie Murch forwarded her this letter after mailing it to Dave Grace in the spring of 2019, Erin said she should send it to me and get it in the book. I'm glad Erin believed in this process and proud that Maggie is sharing this beautiful letter. I am humbled to be able to share it.   Hi Dave, I am a former Olympia camper and counsellor (1989) and I wanted to reach out to let you know this story. Although I wasn’t a long time counsellor, just one summer - 1989, Olympia had a big impact on my life as I think working there has for a lot of people.  After that summer, I started my first year at Western and met another former Olympia counsellor ...

It's Gotta Be Fun It’s Like the Master’s. Once you win, you’re always invited back.   Al Overwijk’s ‘win’ is a win for Olympia. Olympia coach Al Overwijk is in the Lindsay, Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. He was a star at Carleton University in Ottawa. He coached at Carleton. He runs basketball day camps in both his hometown of Lindsay and at his summer cottage in Lac Sam, Quebec. He is an inspiring teacher and basketball coach at Ottawa’s Glebe High School.   But he is also a world champion. This national level basketball player and coach is a world-class prankster with a heart of gold and a passion for helping kids and having fun, usually at the same time.    Overwijk is a high school math teacher who brings stories and humour into the classroom daily. As he says on his blog, he has two passions: basketball and math. When teaching geometry, he was tired of drawing circles on the blackboard using a compass so one day he just tried a free hand circle, and it was…perfect...

MENTORING 101 One of the greatest things about Olympia Sports Camp is the opportunity to impact others. Here is a story that depicts that the impact we have on others can lead to an impact for generations to come. There is much more of this story in the book A Hero's Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp but suffice to say that the hundreds of players that Paul Melnik has coached owe a debt of gratitude to John Petrushchak. Thanks for sharing this Paul! Anyone who attended Runnymede Collegiate Institute between 1972 and 1999, quickly learned who John Petrushchak was, even if you couldn’t spell his name.  Coach P, as he was affectionately known, was like a father to many of us.  If you were in his class, if you played any sports, or if he had any opportunity to interact with you, he became a caring adult; a mentor; a father figure.   I lost my father when I was 15 years old, and I needed support & guidance.  Coach P warmly assumed that ...

Forever Friends This entry is a story told to me by Ainslie Thomson, original coach's kid, camper, counsellor and coach.  Ainslie's story takes us down memory lane and shows that friendships forged at Olympia create lifelong allies as we go through our own journey. Ainslie also provided me with a picture. In looking at that picture I see love and friendship but I also see a picture that so many people can replicate within their circle of Olympians. Literally hundreds of groups have sat at those same picnic tables for a picture. Also, a proud papa moment as Ainslie shared with me a side story about Olympians now in reflecting on my son, Daniel.  Forever Friends by Ainslie Thomson   Olympia to me is family, lifelong friends and a community that you are part of regardless of where you are.  I was fortunate to experience Olympia for 15 years as a coaches kid, 2 summers as a camper, counsellor for 3 years and now as a coach. My father was one of the original coaches who s...