Local coach comes in second in a provincial contest

By Ken Johnston
Editor

As part of Ontario Coaches Week, the Coaches Association of Ontario called for coaches to submit essays about their own inspiring coaching journey. Rebecca Tolen of Rainy River did just that and made the final cut of six finalists! There were 50 entries overall.
Last week on line voting was feverish with Tolen leading several times. In the end she finished 2nd with 2,260 votes!
Jessica Taggio of CAO, said “I am working on getting her a smaller prize pack (it won’t be the money but some coaching swag)!”
Tolen finished second only behind Angela Policella of Windsor, Ontario, who had over 4,400 votes. She is a gymnastics coach. First place won $500 cash!

Here is Rebecca’s essay:
Notice the Moon
Coaching was something that I fell into almost by accident. I had signed my son up for rec. soccer and they needed coaches. I was never a big soccer player but I knew the basics. I was unsure of myself and worried about letting the kids down. One day it was all put into perspective. On the team was a mildly autistic boy who needed to be reminded to look at the ball. During a scrimmage, the ball was coming at him. I yelled, “Johnny look at the ball!” Johnny looked up, and backed up, and it landed at his feet. “Kick the ball!” Johnny kicked the ball, it flew, one of the forwards got the ball and scored. I felt so proud as Johnny came up to me, “Coach Rebecca,” “Yes”, he must be excited about setting up the goal. “Did you see that the moon is out already?” I was speechless. Johnny had reminded me that what I think is important to the kids and what they think is can be very different. I needed to keep them engaged, having fun and noticing the “moon”.
A couple of years later we moved to a very small town with no soccer program. I went to the Rec. Centre to see if one could be started. The Rec. Director said to go ahead. On sign up day we thought we would have 20 kids but had 102 kids. We only had eight balls. Thank goodness for the Legion donated 40 balls and we used the school’s field. It was amazing! Some parents were concerned that their children spent more time picking dandelions than playing but it worked out. Some of those dandelion pickers are our best high school players today. We just needed to keep it fun and interesting.
My second year in Rainy River the sr. girls’ basketball team needed a coach; I played but as a bench player. I didn’t know if I had the skills to coach but gave it a try. The goal was to win one game and to have fun. We won three games and had a blast. The internet and books became important resources in teaching me about coaching. Six years later my girls took me to the OFSAA playoffs. They played basketball and took the sites at Niagara Falls. Basketball gave them the opportunity to participate in high caliber sport and see the world outside our little area and I got to be a part of that.
I now coach the Sr. Girls and Boys Basketball teams, and the girls’ soccer team. If I hadn’t started with that rec. soccer team all those years ago I would never have had the confidence to coach in a high school program. This year when my girls won their division and ran up for a group hug I was overwhelmed by how much coaching has given me: friends, knowledge, confidence, and a reminder to keep life fun, interesting and to notice the “moon” everyday.