Interview with a Grizzly coach: Why being a coach is a rewarding experience

• How long have you been coaching at Georgian? This will be my eighth season as head coach at Georgian. I spent four seasons as an assistant coach prior to that.
• Why did you decide to get involved in coaching? I always knew I wanted to be around the game of basketball. As my competitive playing years started nearing the end, coaching seemed the logical next step.
• How early do you start practising with the team? We don’t start practising as a team until after tryouts are finished in September. But we do occasionally work out with the returning athletes who are staying in Barrie for the summer. As well, we stay in touch with the out-of-town guys to see that they’re staying in decent shape for the upcoming season. So, training is a continuous thing year round although we aren’t actually competing from April through August.
• When is the season opener – and who is it against? Our season opener this year will be Friday, Oct. 19 on the road versus the Seneca Sting – the defending Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) and Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) champs. A very tough test to start the year. Tip-off is at 8 p.m.
• Who do you consider your main competition this year? Seneca is obviously going to be very strong again this year, as I expect George Brown, Centennial, Loyalist, all to be very good. There are no easy games in the OCAA anymore. It will be a very competitive year as teams like St. Lawrence and Algonquin are always tough as well.
• What’s the most rewarding part of being a coach? The most rewarding part of coaching? Very tough to say. Watching young men become successful, happy people after they’ve left your program and having been a small part of helping them get there is very rewarding. Watching a group of individuals come together and become a team is also a big part of what motivates us to come back. Then there are day-to-day things. The comradery with the guys. And being someone my players can talk to always has me going home in a good mood.
• What’s one thing you’ve learned from your team or from coaching? The one lesson that coaching – and playing for that matter – has reinforced and is also a lesson that life continues to teach as well, is that you can’t dictate the outcome of an event. The best you can do is prepare as much as possible and then deal with the events as they unfold as best you can.
• Are there any coaching skills that are helpful in everyday life? Being able to deal with the ebbs and flows of a basketball practice, game, season and all it includes is very similar to my role as manager of a small business.
• What techniques do you use to inspire and motivate the team? There are many techniques used depending on what we feel the team needs at that time. Sometimes it’s a pick-me-up pep talk when they’re down on themselves. Sometimes it’s wind sprints because they aren’t bringing energy in practice. It’s amazing how a couple of sprints can bring up the energy in a practice. Some years I will surprise the guys at practice with a game of flag football or dodgeball when they’re expecting a grueling practice, but we know they need a break. We try to vary the ways we use to motivate them.
• What values do you set for yourself as a coach? We set the same values for ourselves as coaches as we set for the players. Be responsible, be respectful, and treat others as you wish to be treated. And from a competition aspect, work to improve every day, and compete to be the best. Compete to be the best player, coach, and team that you can be.
• How do you know as a coach if you’re doing an effective job? You know you’re doing an effective job if your players and team are responding to you and working hard for you. When that isn’t happening, then you know you need to make some changes. You must take your pride out of the situation and evaluate what changes you should make to get them competing and playing together again.

• What do you enjoy most about working as part of a team? The best part of team building is the journey. All the steps it takes to get from day one of selecting the team to the final moments of the last game. The practices, the bus rides and team meals all make being a part of a team enjoyable. Watching seniors help new players learn the system. Watching a shy first-year player become a fourth-year senior who never stops talking on the court. That’s what makes being part of these teams worth the time we invest.
• How important is winning to you? As competitive as I am, and as much as I enjoy winning, I’ve learned to base my standard of success on the quality of teams we build, the quality of people we help mould, and the job we do as a team in getting the best out of ourselves that we can. Although the Georgian Athletic department deserves much of the credit for the measures they’ve implemented, the academic success of our teams has been very good, and we take pride in that. We hold a weekly study session for two hours, so we know they’re getting some extra quiet study time at least once a week. From the beginning of my coaching career, now spanning 17 to 18 years, some of the seasons I enjoyed the most were the over-achieving 12-10 teams than the underachieving 16-5 teams. As much as I want to hang some championship banners in our gym, I will not consider my coaching career a failure if I fall short.
• What’s the most difficult part of being a coach? Without question, time away from my family is the most difficult part of coaching. My wife and I have two boys, a four-year-old and a one-year old. Coaching takes a lot of time and commitment, and it gets harder each year.
• What would you like to achieve by the end of this season? Our goal for this season is to constantly improve, be playing our best basketball of the season in late February, and be as prepared as possible to win some games when we host the OCAA Championship in March.
• Why should people come out and cheer on our Georgian Grizzlies? People will want to come see us play this year because we will play a fast-paced, entertaining basketball game. We like to get up and down the court and we also will play some very gritty defence.
• What are some of your favourite memories coaching at Georgian? Many private ones. Watching individuals play the best game of their lives is always fun. I’ve had the pleasure of watching some very good players play fantastic games – makes my job quite easy on those nights.
• Have you kept in touch with any former athletes? I keep in touch with many of my former players. Five of them were at my wedding this summer and a few have become some of my closest friends, (from my early days as an assistant). It’s great watching the success they’re having. It’s a point of pride for sure.
• What do you like to do outside coaching? Outside coaching and work, I love being with my family. When we find the time, you can find me with them at our family cottage, on vacation or a road trip somewhere.
• Who would be on your fantasy starting lineup? Fantasy starting five: Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis.
• Did you participate in sports when you were a student? I participated in every sport I could get my hands on since the age of three: hockey, soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, football, rugby, track, etc. I played varsity basketball at Lakehead University for three years and one year for Georgian (2003 to 2004). I was an assistant the following year.
• How excited are you that Georgian is hosting the OCAA men’s basketball championships this year? We’re very excited to be hosting the championships. We have a great facility, great fans, a tough basketball squad and we look forward to showing that off.

The 2019 belairdirect OCAA Men’s Basketball Championship will take place from Feb. 28 to Mar. 2, 2019 at the Georgian Athletic Centre in Barrie. Mark your calendars! The top eight Ontario college teams will be there. Georgian will play on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m.