Tuesday's With Dave

 Anniversary at Olympia A personal journey in this entry. Today, Aug 30, is our 44th wedding anniversary. I'm proud to say that. The greatest thing Joy and I were blessed with was our kids, Nicole and Daniel. . I wrote in A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp that I saw the best version of my kids when they showered their Nan with love in her final months, but seeing them now as adults, and especially Nicole a mom, makes a parent proud.  The newest joy in our life is Nicole's daughter, and our granddaughter, Mia Lillian Mayes. People who are grandparents know this but the instant Mia came into the world our appreciation of life, and love, changed. I now see Nicole as a beautiful mother and Mia as the beacon for what the future will bring. Part of your journey, of course, involved many years at Olympia, and there's a typical coaching connection to our anniversary. I was a week nine coach and our anniversary fell during week nine. I missed 6 ann...

 I'm writing this from beautiful Miramichi New Brunswick. On the banks of the Mighty Chi as they say. I'm writing from a little cafe called Creative Grounds. A great coffee shop, it is a place to spend quiet moments to reflect, enjoy company, or, in my case, write my book A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp . In Chapter 12: The Return, I wrote about some of the inspiring places I got to write. Creative Grounds gave me the energy, and mindset, to get a lot done. It was a setting in which I had planned to write more than just that one summer but plans changed by something called COVID and I never got back to my east coast lifestyle coffee shop before book deadlines had to be met. A full-circle moment for sure, It feels great to be here again, reflecting on Olympia and its impact on people.  People like Mere Bawks. I knew Mere as a long time athletic therapy staff at Olympia and I especially remember  sharing a great discussion over lunch, each at ...

The impact we have on each other At the book signing event at Indigo last week a moment took place that makes the whole journey of writing A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp an inspiration. Yes the process is about promoting and selling books but sometimes the universe points us in a direction that is far more valuable and long-lasting. The societal scorecard that Dave Grace always refers to in his Hero's journey talks would ask how many books were sold but when an angel from my past walks in, who cares! Some of the greatest things in life are not things. Case in point: Oskar Cieslewicz walking into Indigo. Here's the back story: I was coaching at Bishop Reding HS in Milton and we were playing in the All Ontario Catholic tournament in St Catharines. Unbeknownst to me our team was being watched by an interested family who were looking for a place for their three boys to get the best HS basketball experience they could. Our teams were known for p...

 Last weekend I held a Book signing event at the Indigo Bookstore on Brant St. in Burlington. It felt like the start of getting A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway And Olympia Sports Camp into the Big Stores. I love independent book stores, and they are a great way to enjoy the book-buying experience, but as an author I've always visioned, maybe in my dreams,  seeing my book sold at places like Indigo. With the thousands of people who have attended Olympia and those who enjoy the philosophy of Joseph Campbell, a big store exposure would be awesome way to spread the word and for Olympia alum and others to get a book. I've been on Indigo.ca and that is great way to shop, big there's something about the brick and mortar franchise stores that attracts. When you are on a journey, there are those who have inspired you to toward your goals. There also may be those around you whose love and support is all the inspiration you need to complete a task you set out to accomplish...

 The people we get to meet on our journey. In my early years of coaching at Olympia I switched weeks, fitting in wherever Dave Grace needed me. A few years I went week 8, not knowing at the time that week 8 was the 'originals.' As a young coach I felt like I was with royalty, the best of the best. Olympia started with one week of basketball and then added a week of football at the old Winnebagoe site. For basketball Dave put together a who's who of Ontario coaches and he wanted, no needed, to do the same thing once he started football. Coaches with CFL experience, university coaches, and coaches who wanted to grow the game while growing the Olympia community. Coaches who had personalities bigger than the game, and brought that personality on a daily basis to camp.  Coaches like  Peter Martin. Coach Martin passed away this past weekend at the age of 83. Coach Martin attended Western before playing 104 games for the Argos from 1965 to 1972. After his playing days he served ...

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...

 The people we get to meet on our journey. Jackie Zicaro is one of  the 12 coaches whose journey is outlined in Chapter 4, Meet The Mentors, in A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp . Her content looks at the arrival of allies and ogres in our journey. Jackie is surrounded by allies because that is what  she is to so many. Jackie's ( nee Shaw) Olympia journey began as a babysitter for Gary Southworth. She went as a camper for three years before being hired as a counsellor when she was in grade 11. She worked at camp for four years, years that made her who she is today in many ways.  As with many long-time Olympia people, Jackie's connections at Olympia led her to so much in her life. She was recruited to Lakehead University by Olympia coach Stu Julius. She had Patty Pangos as a coach at Olympia when she was in grade 8. When she graduated teacher's college Patty helped her get a position  at Dr Denison in Newmarket. She got the job withou...