A little about me, cause after all it's my home page isn't
it? I'm a retired soldier/sailor, having spent 42
years in serving the armed forces of Canada; 19 ½
years in the Army; 14 ½ in the Navy; and another 8
years was spent working as a civilian Public Servant for
the Navy in the Tribal Class Update & Modernization
Project. (PMO TRUMP for those into acronyms) As a soldier I
got to see this vast and most beautiful country of ours from
coast to coast and spent three years in Germany, seeing
Europe close up. As a sailor I got to travel both the
Atlantic and Pacific seaboard, as far North as the Pack Ice
off Hamilton Inlet opposite Goose Bay, Labrador; as far
south as Venezuela and Panama City; visiting almost every
port of call along the North American coasts; and some South
American shores as well... tying up at St John's Nfld; New
York City; Norfolk, VA; Charlestown, SC; Jacksonville, and
Fort Lauderdale in FLA; New Orleans, Louisiana; almost all
of the Caribean Islands, my favourite of which was Aruba off
the coast of Venezuala. Off the Left Coast, visits along the
inland waterway along B.C.'s coast; Vancouver, Nanimo,
Nanoose, south to Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon for the world famous Rose Festival; Manzanillo,
San Diego, Calif; Puerto Vallarta, and Acapulco, Mexico, and
south even more to Panama City.
I traversed the Panama Canal twice, made four trips to the
Carribean; went to Hawaii three times; sailed up the
Mississippi from the Gulf of Mexico and up the Columbia on
the West Coast from the Atlantic Ocean; and put my toes in
the St Lawrence River which sails all the way to the Atlantic
Ocean. I hope my kids appreciate now, why I made them dip
their own toes into both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as
we visited the sea shore.
My youth was spent in Hamilton, Ontario; Philadelphia, PA,
in the good ole US of A; moved to Penetanguishene at four
years of age, and to Orillia at five, Toronto, Willowdale,
back to Orillia and finally to North York, all in Ontario,
for those formative years of 13 to 16, before joining the
army. Then the army took me to Camp Borden as a "boy soldier"
at 16. A member of the Army's Soldier Apprentice Plan, "the
Green Monsters" as they were sometime less than lovingly
called. Then off to Petawawa, and Meaford, in Ontario; on
to Winnipeg at the tender age of 18, Portage la Prairie,
Rivers & Shilo (both near Brandon) and back to Winnipeg,
all in Manitoba. From there the army posted me to Saskatchewan
at 20 serving in Regina, Dundurn and Saskatoon. Later
attachments at Wainwright and Edmonton Alberta. Along the
way a stop in Vernon, British Columbia was made to complete
my tour of Western Canada. Alas I never made it to the
Territories.. almost got to the Alaska Highway with a trip
to Grande Prairie, Alberta in the spring of 1995. Next time
I'll go all the way. I promise. *smile*
I met and married my wife Etheleen during my stay in
Saskatchewan and just after telling her mother we were there
to stay, our next posting was to Soest, Germany where we
lived for three years from 1963-66. Back to Canada, a half
year in Gagetown and a half in Fredericton, New Brunswick
and then back to Ontario in the summer of 67, to the place
of my birth, Hamilton. After a short stay there we moved two
towns down the road to Oakville and then to Downsview in
Toronto in 71. From there in my last army posting in 1972, I
was transferred to St Bruno, Quebec, the place that I
encountered the most exciting sport of ringette for the very
first time. (but that's another story all of its own!)
You would think that quite enough travelling for one career.
But No !... the Navy took over my life in 1974 and took me
to Halifax, and Dartmouth in Nova Scotia. After a two year
tour of duty at sea on the good ship HMCS ATHABASKAN, a
destroyer, I was transferred to National Defence HQ in
Ottawa, moving for the very first time to the beautiful
township of Gloucester, Ontario in 1976, now a thriving city
of some 100,000 people. We moved to Ottawa for a couple of
years, living on the Air Force Base at Rockcliffe and then
Surprise!... the Navy wasn't done with me... off to Victoria,
B.C.; Esquimalt actually (living in Colwood Corners) to
serve on the small Destroyer HMCS TERRA NOVA for the entire
years of 1980 and 81. Imagine Etheleen's relief when the end
of that commitment brought us back "home" to Gloucester to
stay at Christmas of 1981.
Sounds like a travelogue huh... and for those of you
keeping score, yeah I did miss living in two of our
provinces; and as mentioned before, the Territories are
still on my list. The two Provinces we didn't get to live
in were visited in the course of my military duties. We
sailed to St John's, Nfld three times during my tour with
the ATHABEE. I was a member of the Admin Inspection Team
while stationed in Fredericton and saw PEI from one end to
the other, visiting every army reserve unit on the Island.
How proudly I remember visiting Confederation Hall in
Charlottetown, PEI, reading the name "quot;James Cockburn"quot;
above the main doors, a Father of Confederation, and the
first speaker of the House of Commons from Confederation in
1867 to 1874. (and no, I wasn't around then *Giggle*) Turns
out he is a long lost relative... a great, great something.
Having travelled to those last two provinces, I'm happy to
say that serving on duty in every province in Canada in the
course of my military service is for me a wonderful
accomplishment.
Our two daughters, Joanne and Cathy were born in Saskatoon
starting their own travelogue there; ... and Germany was
where son Dan arrived... count the cities and towns after
Germany and you can see they too have been like the song:
"I've been everywhere" it was not an easy life
changing schools so often, and I thank them for turning out
to be such good kids and now adults.
What is beautiful to know is all this travelling has given
me an opportunity to see and judge for myself what the
United Nations has been saying in their reports for the past
few years.. CANADA is indeed the most bestest place in all
the world to live. And if you will permit me a slightly
prejudiced view, Gloucester, Ottawa, and the Ottawa Valley
are the best of the best in terms of where to hang your hat.
Sounds like all I did was work in the boardrooms, eh. Wrong! Between Coaching and Instructing, I had a travelogue with ringette that every bit matched my military travels. Instructing in outreach and coaching and Player Development Clinics in Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, B.C. and Helsinki, Finland; and then Coaching in tournaments & games in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. Sounds just like the military eh, missing out on the territories, PEI & Newfoundland again.
I began coaching in St Bruno enjoying the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat and everything in between... Here as we speak.. some 28 years later I have coached or assisted 60 teams over those 28 years, some 848 players on those teams; some obviously more than once... a total of 499 individual players. In our first year of play, our Petite A team in St Bruno never won a game all year; the next, it never lost a game in Quebec, losing only to Sudbury in the then famous Oshawa Ringette Tournament, the forerunner to Nationals in the minds of many at the time. I can't count the number of medals won over the next 26 years. and really, if you think of it, medals are only a small indication of how you have faired. A far better indication is what kind of citizens did you help mold... I am proud to say... MANY of excellent quality, including a former Executive Director of Ringette Canada and a Director of Coaching as well!
1976 - Off to Ontario and back to the Boardroom. In my first year in Ontario I was appointed to the ORA Coaching Committee following that the next year by being elected to the ORA Board of Directors as Director of Coaching and a member of Ringette Canada's Coaching Committee. It was during this time I helped author the ORA Level 1 Coaches Clinic, the forerunner to Ringette Canada's Level 1 Tech Certification Program. In the spring of 1979 at the First Ringette Canada National Championships, I did a Study of Wasted Time during the then two 20 minute Straight Time Periods. A direct result of the Stop Time rule change, the first of many rule changes I was instrumental in helping change.
In the summer of 79 I was elected as Vice President Technical to the Board of Directors of Ringette Canada. In December of that year was transferred from Gloucester to Victoria,B.C. and instructed at Coaches Clinics and assisted the coaches and players of the Junior and Belle teams going to Nationals. The following year became the Head Coach of the B.C. Debs, taking the first Deb team from B.C. to the 1981 Nationals. You cannot imagine the logistics of living in Victoria and conducting all practices in the Lower Mainland. At Nationals we won one game, an 11:00 pm, empty arena, match against N.B.; our Championship. *Smile* oh yeah... and we won the Sportsmanship Award as well. *Bigger Smile*
81-82 Moved back to Ontario at Christmas, lucked into finding a couple of teams that needed a coach; a Belle B team and a "Ladies" team. This team was the first Adult team to join ORA and participated in the very first ORA Regional Championships for Women. In 1982 I was honoured to be inducted into the Ontario Ringette Association as a Community Builder. How very nice to be recognized and thanked for many years of doing something I truly love, and would do for free if they weren't paying me all this money...
The next couple of years coached and instructed at coaching clinics helping to author and massage articles for Ringette Canada's first Level III Technical Program Manual. In 1984 became the Eastern Ontario's Regional Coaching Co-ordinator and a member of ORA's Coaching Committee. And in 1985 to 87 once again took on the position of ORA Director of Coaching Development and leading the Coaching Committee.
I had the good fortune in 1986 to take two teams to the very first Ontario Ringette Association Provincial "B" Championships, which is now our "A" Championships. The Debs came home with the Gold Medal and Petites won the Silver, a great extended weekend, eh?
In 1987/88 I tried something new and became the Referee-in-Chief for the Gloucester Ringette Association. Just had to get my teeth into something new. I knew from past experience as a basketball ref and being a umpire in baseball and softball, that refs don't always have it easy, what I did learn was that neither do those assigning games, but if you always do in your own mind what's best for the athletes, it will all work out for the best. The following summer got to Instruct at the Ladies Quanahar "Getaway" Camp... Being a "Bernie's Bunny" was a thrill I think during the wrap up tournament. In 1988 another first.. the very first Provincial Ladies Ontario Ringette Ladies Championship. The team I coached was fortunate enough to win the Gold Medal. Another thrill that year, I was selected as the Head Coach to coach Eastern Region's Team at the Ontario Winter Games.
1989/90 I managed to coach three teams, all medaled at their particular Provincial Championship... Ladies A - Bronze; Tween AA - Gold; and the Belle AAA Regional Team bronze at the first and only Ontario Elite Championships (I was unable to attend due to another commitment but they done good under the capable hands of the other coaches). I had the pleasure of watching the very First Ringette World Championship from the All Star Selection Committee Booth. A wonderful year for Ringette and for me. And it wasn't finished. In the summer of 1990, I was proud to be asked to come to Finland, to attend the Grand Youth Games of Finland, as a Player Development and Coaching Instructor. It was an unforgettable 10 days. (I often wonder what happened to those young ladies at those games, that camp, are they still playing our exciting winter team sport.)
In 1991/92 I was volunteered for the position of G&T Co-ordinator for Eastern Region, the start of six years with the best committee I have ever served on... 5 of those years as the Chairman of Games & Tournaments for the Ontario Ringette Association, 3 of them as the Chair of the Elite Development Committee. In 1992 I had the very distinguished honour of being inducted into the Ontario Ringette Hall of Fame as a Provincial Builder, the only member so inducted as both a Community and Provincial Builder, a fact I am still extemely proud of.
If you've been keeping track again I was very fortunate, in the eight year period from 86 to 93. I was blessed with a group of superbly talented Petite, Tween, Junior, Deb and Intermediate teams taking ten of them to Provincial Championships, coming home with 3 Golds, 6 silvers and 1 bronze medal and 4 sportsmanship awards. The following year I was selected to be the Head Coach of Team Ontario preparing for the 1995 Canada Winter Games. We came together as a team in the summer of 94 and went till we came home from Grande Prairie Alberta. We didn't win but we certainly had the journey of a lifetime during those two incredible years. Ask me the three best things about the experience... Getting to know the players and coaches on such a personal basis; conducting 5 Player Development Camps the first year and 12 the second, seeing those bunnies, petites and tweens look up to these excellent role models; and finally having the chance to be "the best we could be" It was a thrill I shall remember for my entire life.
Life since the thrill of a lifetime... Coaching Gloucester's Tween AA's and a rebirth of sorts for myself in once again coaching "Ladies", the Gloucester Spitfires Intermediate B team... players playing the game at 11:00 pm for the sheer love of sport. It helps you focus on why you're here.. and why you have made this fabulous 28 year journey with 60 teams, 848 players, 200 coaches, and I can't count the coaches and people encountered on Coaching and Outreach Clinics; nor those that I have served with on committees, and various executives. Total numbers that I have come in contact with in the course of my journey? Too many to count ...but indeeed they all do COUNT!
Reflections. I was reminded this past year that time indeed is marching on and perhaps it is of value to ask myself at age 60 if I am becoming to old be helping 14 year old athletes excel and become "as good as they can be" on the final weekend of their seasons. After a summer of much reflection, I have decided that I do have something to offer the youth of our city, and this game I love so incredibly much and will be back for at least one more season. My days in the executive boardroom are past though, even if I did consider volunteering one last time to serve on a Provincial Committee. There are others, much younger and vigorous who can and will lead our sport into the new millenium... ME! Well just give me a team, any team... and we will enjoy the season like never before, learning one of the most important lessons in life. "being a member of a team".
If you will permit a man in the twilight of his career as a coach, administrator and friend of the sport to give you his view of what it means to be a "a member of a team." I have written and said this before to various members of teams I have coached. Now here it is for all cyberspace to to read.
All your life, girls, you are going to be a member of a team. Whether you become a doctor or a lawyer, or a member of their staff, a teacher, nurse, ambulance driver, housewife, plumber, parent, secretary, geologist, whatever... They all have "teams".
You're going to have a role to play in making that team a success. Nothing as simple as being a goal scorer, or stopping the other team from scoring, nor being a playmaker or checker, but a role as part of a partnership, helping one another succeed.
Part of Ringette, part of all team sports, is gaining those life skills. I believe a huge part of my job as your coach, is helping you learn those skills. Hence the reason for the lessons learned over the course of a season when you are 12 or 13 years old; or 22; or 45. The consequence of our lessons will be reflected later in life. Were they worthwhile. Only time will tell. That time may well be in the Championship Game of the Nationals later in your ringette career, or in an operating room, or a company board room. You may not even remember the lessons learned here as a member of a childhood team... On the other hand... maybe you will.
One final thought... In my view "Team Excellence" is not bound by winning or losing a game, or a medal. If we have really tried our very best and that wasn't good enough, there is no shame. "How" you win, "how" you lose, "how" you progress is far more important than the scoreboard. A team is a team not by the goals it scores or the medals it wins, but by the effort put into the pursuit of those goals and medals; by the amount of sacrifice you give for the common good of being a team member.
(to be continued as life progresses)
And me, I will continue to ask myself, Am I doing good here?
I hope so!... I believe I am.... Have I passed my usefulness? Am I getting too old to teach
a 14 or 15 year old new tricks, new skills... God, I hope not ...
Bernie,
