Tuesday's With Dave

 I'm of the opinion that the summer of 2023 was a huge summer in the journey of Olympia Sports Camp. After two plus years of Covid affecting everything about the camp, 2023 was going to be, and turned out to be, a great summer of growth and slaying dragons. Our book A Hero's Journey: beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp has a lot of amazing stories of overcoming obstacles on the journey, but the summer of 2023 could be a chapter unto itself.  But, as always, Olympia is a people who. The word 'reunion' has been bandied about throughout this 50th summer of camp and no better reunion than one set up by Olympia veteran Krista Scobie with her dad, John Scobie and longtime friend and Olympia founder Dave Grace. Two Olympia legends. Two basketball legends. Both men have given so much of their heart and soul to developing the next generations. John is considered one of the greats in the Ottawa region for what he has done at virtually every level. It meant a lot to Dave ...

 Ever since I started writing A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp I have become acutely aware that there are indeed everyday heroes among us, if we take notice. A lot of time the heroic nature is based on decisions made on the path, or after it is a complete change in path. Case in point: Bryan Nichol Bryan stopped by my place the other day and he shared a journey he is heading on with his young family. It's a story that shows family values, healthy lifestyle, guts to take on a new venture when the comfort of the present is very... comfortable... So I wanted to share a bit of his story. Bryan graduated from MM Robinson High School in Burlington and went on to have a great basketball career at the University of Waterloo. He has worked for the Region of Peel for 18 years, a nice steady job with a great pension. I had the good fortune to coach Bryan on a local club basketball team for a few years. He was a consummate teammate and leader who made our tea...

 This blog entry has two invitations: Joy and I drove over 5,000 kilometres to her family cottage in Miramichi New Brunswick  and a side trip to Nova Scotia to do the Cabot Trail and to look up some relatives in North Sydney, where  my grandfather was born and where my great, great  grandfather opened a Funeral Home that still operates to this day. It was an awesome trip where we once again we saw the immense beauty that is this country Canada. Here's invitation number 1: The trip was made even more poignant as we finished  listening to the audiobook version of   A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp. If you've never listened to an audiobook I recommend you try it out. The miles go by as you  dive into the emotion and journey of the book. The book is 23 hours long, and can carry you much farther than a playlist or a podcast that may or not fit your mood. For us, listening to the stories of all the great people I had the privile...

  Joy and I have taken a couple of weeks to head to New Brunswick and her family cottage on the banks of the beautiful Miramichi River. Saturday night we arrived just before sunset and I caught this picture. This took me back to the fall of 2021 and a story about the cover of A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp that calls in the  heart-tugging experience that this whole process has been for us. People who have read the book know that it is dedicated to the hero's journey of my mother in Law, Lillian Kane, who passed away on September 19th 2021 Here's the cover. There is an orange border to honour the indigenous people who cared for the land of Interlaken for thousands of years. I added to the orange theme, and added a deeply personal touch to the cover, when in NB for Nan's funeral. Over the few days that we were in Miramichi saying good bye to Nan we witnessed several unreal sunsets that made it feel that Nan was with us, enjoying the beauty...

 The Power of The Logo  Last Saturday morning Joy and I met two huge allies on this next part of our journey for lunch at the Bronte Boathouse to discuss next steps for  A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympias Sports Camp . To do anything worth doing you need people in your corner whose own journey gives them perspective and insights that can help you  learn and grow. I'm happy to call Kristi and Suzy Petrushchak two such people.  When I was a young coach and starting at Olympia I was lucky to meet and be mentored by John Petrushchak. John's story is one of the coaches in MEET THE MENTORS in Chapter 4. One of the most impacting processes of writing this book is that I will have forever the memory of interviewing John for this book, honoured to be in his presence. The connection Joy and I have made with Kristi, Suzy, and Debbie since their father's passing takes on a feeling of Olympia-family, just like hundreds of other such stories over the 50 year ...

 Spreading the Vibration Whatever we do in life, whatever task, job, or vocation we decide to make our passion, is a vehicle to influence others and make their journey more defined and the community ultimately a better place. The release of A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp is a case in point.  Last week I was fortunate enough to be interviewed with YourTV Halton and it is another mechanism to get the word out about this book and about this fantastic camp that is celebrating its 50th summer.  Here is the link to the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRLp8v6WeIE Whatever our passion is, that details the journey we ultimately pursue. It's what we do, not who we are, so the results are determined by our energy and commitment to the process. This book came out just before thanksgiving of last year, but it is still in its infancy of its journey. Since the release we have done the Tour Of Olympia, where Joy and I shared of the story to Olym...

 OSC!!! OSC!!!  Olympia launches summer number 50 Joy and I headed to Interlaken to catch the last couple of days of staff development, talk to the staff, the week 1 coaches, and witness the opening ceremonies of Week 1 of a very important summer for Olympia Sports Camp. Olympia veterans, and people who have read A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp know that the opening ceremonies work to create and bring together the community through music and dance and crazy high energy. Light the flame and let it burn. The crowning moment, and it is an emotional scene, is at the end of the final song, "Olympia" when the staff come together and chant OSC!! OSC!! This time, it was especially poignant to watch these young leaders who we had made connection with over our visit, and many at camp for the first time, absolutely explode with energy and enthusiasm that the campers couldn't help but get swept up in. I was proud to watch. Bodes well for a great wee...