Ray Chateau and members of the Humber golf program. PHOTO BY JESSE THOMAS

Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter

Ray Chateau, head coach of Humber men’s and women’s golf team, was recognized as the top college coach and awarded the Canadian Coaching Excellence Award for his contribution to the sport and raising golf’s profile at Humber.

In the last 12 years, Chateau has won three women’s and nine men’s national championships. The men’s team has won the Golf Canada University/College Championship three times and he hascoached Team Canada at the World University Championships six times.

This is the first time a Humber coach and the first time an OCAA coach has been recognized with the national honour since Humber Hall-of-Fame men’s basketball coach Mike Katz won in 2001.

“I don’t look at it as just myself, I am lucky to have two great coaches with me,” said Chateau. “It’s been a pretty amazing year and half, this was probably the best team I will ever coach.”

Chateau began coaching the golf team in 2001 and took over the head-coaching role in 2003. Chateau is also the coordinator for Humber’s professional golf management program.

“[He] has just taken the bull by the horns, changed how we do things and has taken the program to another level” said Humber athletic director Doug Fox. “He started workout plans and the guys are in the  gym three times a week on top of a multitude of tournaments he has applied for.”

As golf is a higher profile program, Fox admits that if the high school students don’t go south to the NCAA in the U.S., chances are they will stay in Canada and come to Humber.

“Golf has become one of our flagship programs,” said Fox.

Ray Chateau with his wife and children. PHOTO BY JESSE THOMAS

Chateau said that a successful coach must earn everything.

“There just aren’t any shortcuts,” he said. “This is a winning environment, and this is a big reason why a lot of people want to come here.”

Chateau receives strong praise from his players and colleague alike.

“He is a player’s coach and he will always go to the bat for his players,” said Adrian Cord, 25, a golf management student. “I don’t look at him as just my coach—he is also one of my best friends.”

Cord is now a professional and will be playing in the Canadian tour-qualifying tournament in May. He’ll work with the Humber team through the summer and help as an instructor at Copper Creek, where the team practices.

“Chateau is extremely competitive and he has a great rapport with his athletes,” said Fox. “Second is not an option for Ray. He works extremely hard to make sure our talent is there.”

Ray Chateau with Left, Humber president John Davies and Wayne Parro executive director Coaches of Canada. PHOTO BY JESSE THOMAS

The BEE Fit Incentive Program ran for two decades before being cancelled last school year. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE SCHIFANO

Sasha Lindsay
Sports Reporter

Humber’s BEE Fit Incentive program was cancelled last year after two decades due to low student participation but the athletics department is currently working on a new initiative to replace it.

“When we ran the BEE Fit program, it was an incentive program that changed yearly as to how we ran it and different things would happen where you would collect points on a chart,” said Leanne Henwood-Adam, fitness co-ordinator and facility manager.

Henwood-Adam said that staff participation was always high, but students did not find the program appealing.

“They weren’t interested in getting things that we were giving – like a t-shirt, stress ball, or a gym bag,” said Henwood-Adam.  “Nowadays, students want more big ticket items like an iPad, iPod, MacBook, or mountain bike.”

The program that was designed to encourage people, especially students, to work out will be restructured to try to accomplish that.

“Our goal now is to try to get student participation but not by giving out prizes,” said Henwood-Adam.  “We want them to get excited about the different things that we’re going to offer, like theme months, workshops and events based around those theme months.”

The range of activities offered by the program may expand in the future, which will be finalized over the summer and advertised in September.

“We might do a rock climbing event or get a bunch of people together and go mountain biking or canoeing somewhere.”

Athletic director Doug Fox helped develop the BEE Fit program about 20 years ago and is now working with Henwood-Adam in the restructuring.

“Unless we’re giving away TVs, the incentive’s not there, so you regenerate and try to go in a new direction to create specialized programs,” Fox said.

Fitness trainer Stephen Jeffrey said getting students to make fitness a high priority means aligning the program with their interests.

“If I had to create a fitness program to encourage students to work out, I would base it around activities they enjoy doing,” said Jeffrey, 22, a second-year fitness and health promotion student.  “I give my clients a choice as to what they want to do.”

Jeffrey added that students are more focused on grades than fitness and this might be one of the reasons as to why the BEE Fit Incentive program failed.

All fitness programs are fully funded by the athletics department.

“It is free to the students because they pay a fee as part of their tuition that comes to athletics,” said Henwood-Adam.

“Students can be assigned a fitness trainer at no cost, who will work with them to achieve their goals,” said Jeffrey.

Athletics department remains dedicated to promoting an active lifestyle to students: “Keep fit, stay in shape, the only winner is a participant,” Fox said.

Former Humber professor Robin Young demonstrates some of the moves his self-defense course has to offer. PHOTO BY ELTON HOBSON

Elton Hobson
Sports Reporter

Former Humber paramedic teacher Robin Young is the creator of a self-defense program specifically crafted to assist paramedics and first responders.

Thinking about first responders bravely rushing into a dangerous scene, the usual images come to mind: the firefighter charging into a burning building, the police officer entering a potentially violent and dangerous situation.

Yet more and more often, paramedics are subject to abuse and assault situations as they arrive on the scene. While other first responders like police officers are extensively trained in self-defense and in handling potentially violent situations, paramedics often are not.

“My aim in creating Paramedic Self-Defense is to give a paramedic the tools to confront or enter a dangerous situation with awareness and confidence,” said Robin Young, creator of the Paramedic Self-Defense program. For 21 years, Young taught in the Humber paramedic program, where his self-defense course was a day-long required course for all students.

Today, Young is the coordinator of the paramedic program at Conestoga College and is also taking his paramedic self-defense program to the greater public – in the form of classes, seminars, and a book to be released this fall.

“There’s a difference between the general stress a paramedic encounters every day, which is non-focused, and a more focused stress, where [an assailant’s] behavior is aimed directly at you,” Young said. “Teaching someone to recognize the difference is one of the most important aspects of paramedic self-defense.”

In many emergencies, paramedics are first to arrive on the scene – and the dangers they face are very real.

A study published in a recent issue of Prehospital Emergency Care journal asked 1,300 paramedics in Ontario and Nova Scotia if they had been the victims of violence in the past year.

More than two-thirds of those questioned reported experiencing abuse.

Sixty-seven per cent of paramedics surveyed reported verbal abuse, while 41.5 per cent were faced with intimidation. Nearly 26 per cent of those polled reported being physically abused, 14 per cent reported sexual harassment, and about three per cent reported sexual assault.

“With my varied background in martial concepts, I’m in a unique position to look at the topic of personal safety as a paramedic,” said Young, who has spent more than 40 years studying martial arts like Hung Gar kung fu and wrestling, in addition to his experience as a paramedic. “My course is geared towards the kind of situations paramedics find themselves in on a regular basis.”

Despite the potentially misleading name of “paramedic self-defense,” much of the course focuses on how a paramedic should act before an assault or dangerous situation erupts.

“I want to help students to improve their situational awareness,” said Young. “That includes understanding body language, detecting signs of pre-violent behaviour, identifying a potentially violent person. What do they look like? What are some signs that this person is physically going to attack you? What are some signs that they are scared? And how do you read that quickly and accurately?”

It’s that increased awareness that may be most important for paramedics rushing into unknown situations.

Former Humber student Pat Tyrrell, 55, is a 911 operator in the Waterloo area. Twenty years ago, Tyrell served as a paramedic after graduating as a student of Young’s in the paramedic program.

“I never had to actually physically defend myself as a paramedic,” said Tyrell. “But there were a couple of times I got a bad feeling about a certain situation and decided not to go in and put myself at undue risk.”

This mentality highlights a central theme of Young’s course: the ultimate priority for the paramedic is his or her own safety, even trumping the well-being of their patient or patients. If possible, conflict should always be avoided or diffused, even if it means paramedics wait for police before entering a scene.

“A dead or injured paramedic can’t help anyone,” said Young. “In fact, that’s really what my course is all about: giving the paramedic the best chance to stay safe, so they have the best chance to help others.”

The Hawks won both the indoor and outdoor championships. PHOTO BY ELTON HOBSON

Elton Hobson
Sports Reporter

One of the most remarkable stories in the OCAA has been the growth – in interest, talent, and dedication – of women’s soccer over the past two decades.

“The increase in interest in women’s soccer goes hand-in-hand with the increase in talent,” said Marlene Ford, OCAA women’s soccer conveyer. “In the early days, some teams couldn’t get enough people trying out to even make a team. Now most teams will see 40 to 50 girls come out for tryouts. So of course, the overall level of talent has gone up as well.”

Women’s outdoor soccer began as an OCAA sport in 1988, with indoor soccer following suit in 1990. In that time not only has the level of talent increased, but the level of regulation as well.

“I remember playing indoor soccer when it first started and we were playing in gymnasiums, playing the ball off the walls and bleachers, with teams having two different-sized nets,” said Ford.

Ford has been involved with soccer at the OCAA level for over 20 years and has witnessed the change.

“The thinking used to be ‘hey look, she’s tall, let’s put her in net’,” said Ford. “Teams used to have one or two good players you had to watch out for, but that’s completely changed now.”

With the rise of interest in women’s soccer, commitment and dedication from coaches, school athletic programs, and the OCAA itself have all gone up as well.

“The quality of coaching overall has gone up. Now we have women’s soccer coaches with lots of experience who are known across Ontario,” said Ford. “Schools like Humber and Fanshawe, with really deep, supportive soccer programs have raised the bar for every other school.”

This year the Humber Hawks won both the women’s indoor and outdoor provincial championships. And that success on the field was only possible because of the hard work that went on off the field.

“The key that a lot of people don’t see is all the hard work that goes into recruiting,” said Hawks co-head coach Vince Pileggi. “All the scouting, watching players at the club level, and trying to ensure that we replace [key players] so when they graduate, we have other girls who are ready to step into their places.”

“The girls themselves attract players to come to Humber,” said Hawks co-head coach Mauro Ongaro. “It’s a good program, with a good reputation. When we bring them in, and they see the positive environment, and the support they get from Humber Athletics, I really think that helps to draw good players in.”

Triple-sport athlete Amy Walcott won provincial and national gold medals with the varsity cross-country and indoor and outdoor soccer teams. PHOTO BY JESSE THOMAS

Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter

While some students focus on achieving excellence in either sports or academics, triple sport star athlete Amy Walcott has effectively done both.

Walcott, 18, competed on three varsity teams at Humber this year, winning three provincial titles and two national gold medals. The fitness and health promotions student had an equally impressive school year, achieving honour roll grades and being named an Academic All-Canadian.

This year, as a member of the women’s outdoor and indoor soccer teams, Walcott won three provincial titles.

“She is a very talented athlete who can run the field and to compete in cross-country would be a perfect fit,” said Vince Pileggi, co-head coach of both women’s soccer teams.

Walcott had never competed in long distance running before this year, but her cross country coach said the transition into the sport came naturally.

“Amy is very committed and extremely motivated.” said Monique Haan, head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country team.  “She would finish up at soccer practice and then she would run over and join the cross-country team.”
Walcott finished seventh at the provincial cross-country meet, helping Humber win the overall OCAA provincial championship.

“We tend to finish pretty close together,” said teammate Becky Tindall, 24, a kinesiology student. “She brings a competitive nature with her and we try to push and motivate one another.”

At nationals, Humber repeated as the team champions with Walcott finishing in 15th.

To carry a full course load and compete on three varsity teams can be a grueling task and being able to manage her time wisely has been a major factor in her success.

“Amy is mature beyond her years and she puts in the mileage on her own and at practice,” said Haan. “There were many mornings when I would come in and she would be already done her workout.”

Walcott plans to return home to Erin, Ont. for the summer to play for the Georgetown soccer club.

“[This year] has been really busy, if I don’t have one practice a day then I have two,” said Walcott. “It’s been great and I love being a part of both teams. They are so different.”

Summer leagues are available across the Greater Toronto Area. For corresponding listings, see link below. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION SCOTT DIXON AND JACOB GALLO

Andrew Millichamp
Sports Reporter

Over the summer many students will enjoy the warm weather by joining summer sports leagues, and with so many different sports ranging from badminton to water polo throughout the Greater Toronto Area, there are plenty of ways to keep active over the summer.

One option is the Toronto Sports and Social Club, which has branches in the York, Durham, Sudbury, Mississauga, Barrie and Hamilton regions.

The club has a multitude of sports including badminton, basketball, floor hockey and football.

Those sports, however, aren’t the biggest draws for athletes.

“We do softball in spring, summer and fall and it goes nuts,” said Jaclyn Marron, the evening league facilitator for the club. “There’s already a waiting list.”

Despite the high demand for softball, Marron said soccer is the most popular sport year round.

“We offer indoor leagues, outdoor leagues, turf leagues and grass leagues,” she said. “In the summer, it’s mainly just outdoor sports— our spring leagues do have indoor sports.”

Other sports hosted by the club include tennis, inner-tube water polo, volleyball, indoor and outdoor frisbee and more are being added.

As well as new fitness classes like crossfit, Marron said that the league has also added touch rugby and lacrosse for the summer.

Marron said the Sports and Social Club caters to athletes of all skill levels where an average night would see between 12-14 teams play in a league.

“We have various levels of competiveness,” Marron said. “There’s recreational, intermediate, advanced and some of our leagues have elite.”

Those wishing to register for a league need to move quickly, as spots are limited.

The registration deadline for the spring is April 19, while summer registration opens May 20.

It costs $519 to register a softball team with the Sports and Social Club per season, or $1079 for the “spring-summer combo”.

Pricing varies for different sports as leagues using facilities requiring permits are more expensive.

Not So Pro Sports, operating out of the Toronto and Niagara regions, is another organization that offers community sports leagues.

Spring leagues include indoor basketball, soccer, softball and floor hockey.

Lauren Camino, the events and registration manager, said that Not So Pro sports has over 150 teams among its leagues.

Summer leagues are limited to soccer, softball and ultimate Frisbee, with registration now open.

Volleyball is a specialty of Not So Pro, which has a summer beach volleyball tour.

“We are the largest beach volleyball tournament provider in Ontario,” said Camino. “We have about 150 teams that come to each tournament.”

Tournaments are held throughout the summer in Wasaga, Grand Bend and Toronto, and run from June to September. The Toronto tournament is expected to surpass the 1,200 players from last year.

It costs $462 to register a team in the Not So Pro Volleyball league or $62 per individual. Registration prices vary for each tournament throughout the season, with cash prizes offered for the top three teams.

Those looking for alternative sports can enjoy the summer with less popular sports such as dodgeball or kickball.

Lorne Kurtz, administrator for the Toronto Dodgeball Association, said that while the spring season has just started, summer registration is open until the Victoria Day long weekend.

“We have an average of about 45 teams for our three seasons,” said Kurtz. “[People can sign up as a] full team or as an individual and we’ll try to find you a spot.”

The Dodgeball Association has three different levels of competition and lasts eight weeks, from early July to early September.  A co-ed team can register for the league before the first week of play for $750.  The price increases to $800 after the league has begun.

While most summer leagues  charge a few hundred dollars to register a team, Toronto Kickball – also known as soccer-baseball – is a free alternative that runs from mid-spring to mid-fall every Sunday at 5 p.m. at Alexandra Park in downtown Toronto.

Playing is free and people are encouraged to bring friends to play or to watch.

The kickball league is designed around getting some fresh air and exercise as well as meeting new people.

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Flyer Amanda Watson used to be on Hype before switching over. PHOTO COURTESY HUMBER ATHLETICS

Sasha Lindsay
Sports Reporter

Despite the rumours of a feud between the Humber Hawks cheer team and the Humber Hype dance team, there is no bad blood between the two very different performance groups.

“Dance is expression through the body and cheerleading is a sport with dance elements,” said cheerleading flyer Amanda Watson, 20, a second-year early childhood education student at Guelph-Humber. “Both teams are so different, it’s hard to compare the two.”

Watson switched from the Hype team to cheerleading, which emphasizes the athleticism of performers, to challenge herself and improve upon her 10 years of dance experience.

“My strength lies in classical dance like ballet and jazz, so this was one of the motivating factors for me to join the cheerleading team,” Watson said.

“It was really hard to switch,” she said. “A few of the Hype dancers are some of my closest friends, but I felt I wasn’t improving and my heart wasn’t in it so I decided to join the cheerleading team.”

Watson immediately adapted to cheerleading’s complex requirements and was part of the team’s Cheer Evolution Ontario championship win on March 2.

“I had to learn to parallel [feet point forward] instead of turning out [heels together, feet apart] within three weeks before competition,” she said.

“Only during basketball and volleyball games do both teams perform routines for the crowd,” said flyer Alix Pokol, 20, a third-year film and television production student.

One of the main differences between Hype and cheerleading is the fact that the dance team focuses on hip-hop style of dance, whereas cheerleading features various dance types and genres of music.

“You can find a happy medium with both teams, but for a dancer wanting to challenge themself and add to their skill set,” she said, “cheerleading offers more of an athletic element.”

Kayla Curran, 19, a second-year business administration student and member of the Hype team, was previously a cheerleader. She cited commuting challenges from Lakeshore to North campus as the reason for her switch last year, but said such changes are rather uncommon. Members tend to stick to their teams, said Curran.

In spite of their differences in style, both teams use dance as a tool to motivate players, entertain fans and support the Hawks during sporting events.

The cross-country crew celebrate their awards at Humber College’s 2012 Sports Banquet on March 31. PHOTO BY MATTHEW SMITH

Matthew Smith
Sports Reporter

With the OCAA season completed, the Westwood Arena banquet hall was glittered with glossy, shiny awards last weekend as Humber College’s varsity athletes arrived in style for the school’s 2012 athletic banquet on March 31.

Humber’s varsity athletes had a golden year in 2011-12 as they won 17 OCAA provincial titles and four CCAA national titles, bringing their total to an impressive 21 gold wins.

Over 70 awards in total were given to individuals from each team, recognizing rookies of the year, MVP’s and coaches’ picks.

After an extremely succesful season winning almost every race she participated in, cross-country runner Vicky Siemon had her hands full, winning a total of five awards including a Female Athlete of the Year award. She was humbled with the honour.

“I wasn’t expecting to get the Athlete of the Year award so I was really happy with that,” said Siemon, 23, a final year post-graduate journalism student. “There were so many other great athletes at Humber, I didn’t think that I deserved to win this award.”

Siemon is looking forward to participating in summer track and field with the University of Toronto track team.

Men’s soccer goalkeeper Peter Koumoulas walked away with four awards himself, including the Athletic and Academic Achievement Award, OCAA top goalkeeper, MVP for men’s soccer and the Academic and Athletic Excellence Award.

“I’m just glad we had a night like this,” said Koumoulas, 25, a first-year civil engineering student. “It’s a good accomplishment but it can’t be about me since it’s a team sport,” he said. “But it’s nice to be recognized.”

Koumoulas plans to play with his club team in the summer so he can keep in shape for a possible return to Humber in the fall.

His teammate, midfielder Roberto Galle, was one of the four recipients of the Hawk Heart Award, which is awarded to the athletes who overcome adversity or injury and  who show the most dedicattion to their respective sport(s).

The 21-year old, second-year recreational and leisure student is also on the cross-country men’s team. Galle will be keeping busy this summer by playing club soccer.

The next OCAA season begins in the fall, with a half-dozen teams set to kick off their seasons.

Women's volleyball assistant coach has coached at Humber since 1997. PHOTO COURTESY HUMBER ATHLETICS.

Shannon O’Reilly
Sports Reporter

Much of Humber’s success in athletics rests in the hands of the coaches for each of the teams.

“The ability to bring back players who are great leaders and great players, and great citizens, can only bolster your program,” said athletics manager and sports information director Jim Bialek.

“People have asked why Humber is so successful and the bottom line is we have great coaches and we have great coaching teams.”

Every current Humber team has at least one former player on its coaching staff.

Current women’s volleyball assistant coach Dean Wylie captained the men’s volleyball team for two seasons beginning in 1993. He graduated from the recreation leadership program. After a brief time at Seneca, he returned to Humber as an assistant coach for the men’s volleyball team a couple years later in 1997 for nine seasons, before switching over to the women‘s team in 2005.

“There’s no comparison to Humber College versus other colleges or universities around Ontario,” said Wylie. “Anyone (who) comes in and is lucky enough to be part of it totally understands where we’re at and what we’re trying to accomplish as coaching staff and as a team.”

Bialek said many graduates, especially some of the five-year players, ask to come back in some kind of a coaching position.

“When their career is over, they want to be part of it,” said Bialek. “If they’re going to be local, they’re going to ask if there’s an opportunity for them to be involved in the team”

Humber Varsity Hall of Famer Filomena Aprile was a triple athlete, playing indoor and outdoor soccer and basketball. She said she returned as an assistant coach to the women’s soccer team after graduating in 2001 because she wanted to give back to the school.

“Humber had given me so much during my time there,” said Aprile. “Athletics was just a family environment where, if you needed something, you had people around you to help.”

While Aprile enjoys the new challenge of being bench boss, she said at first it was tough hanging up the cleats.

“When you first make that transition it’s kind of hard because you still want to play but eventually its gratifying and rewarding to be that mentor for the students and for the athletes,” said Aprile. “To give back and help the future is worthwhile.”

James Buwalda and Justin Ramroop are trying to raise interest in lacrosse at Humber and start a club. PHOTO BY JESSE THOMAS

Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter

Humber’s campus recreation department purchased lacrosse nets and sticks with plans to develop a new lacrosse club last year, but a lack of interest cancelled the program before it could get started.

That experience left fitness and health promotion students James Buwalda, 22, and Justin Ramroop, 25, wanting more.

“I have always been looking for something to do with lacrosse on campus,” said Buwalda. “I was excited when the idea was brought up, but it wasn’t embraced by the students.”

Buwalda said the main problem was a lack of promotion for the sport from campus recreation to the student body.

“There wasn’t enough notice, except for a few posters in front of the gymnasium,” he said.

Both students were hoping to combine their studies with athletics and said they feel they are missing out on that experience.

“I like the camaraderie of a team game like lacrosse,” said Ramroop. “I like the physicality of the sport and I think it would be great to have a club on campus that people could belong to.”

Club teams and recreation sports are sometimes promoted to varsity sports if there’s enough support behind them.

“Women’s rugby began as an extramural sport and became a varsity team as well. Unless there is a strong population of people playing it, it is not likely to catch on as a college varsity sport,” said Jim Bialek, manager of athletics and sports information director.

In order for lacrosse to become a varsity sport, Bialek said that interest would have to expand beyond the Greater Toronto Area.

“It might just be one of those sleepers like baseball where I didn’t know there were any baseball players on campus until we ran it and then there were a million good players,” said Athletics director Doug Fox.
Fox said the cost associated with running a varsity lacrosse team has a starting base level of $20,000.

The Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) is growing and there was a team at Fleming College which hoped to break into the league before it fell through due to a lack of support from the school.

“The team had some interest in playing some games but it didn’t work out and they folded,” said Ryan McGrath, commissioner of CUFLA.

McGrath said that colleges are accepted into the league through a representative vote, but no colleges have applied so far.

For Humber, Fox said the most likely way to introduce lacrosse to the school is via intramural teams, but he has no immediate plans to add the sport.

- With files from Jacob Gallo