Mark Wacyk, Garnet and Grey Sixth Man Club
After a 12-year absence, the Gee-Gees men’s basketball team returned to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport National Championship in March 2005. Team members have also also been volunteering in the community all season long.
One of the program’s major community volunteering efforts this season has been visits to local elementary schools.
Every two weeks since early October, Head Coach Dave DeAveiro and four or five players have been featured guests at school assemblies. DeAveiro and his players tell their stories about how they overcame difficulties in their own lives and turned adverse situations, such as learning disabilities and racial discrimination, into positive ones.
The response from local elementary teachers, principals and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) administrators has been very positive.
“Our students need this,” commented Charles Austin, principal of Pinecrest Elementary School in Ottawa. “This assembly gave our children the opportunity to hear what it means to be a student first and to see that visible minorities and students with perceived disabilities can become successful in the world through effort, commitment and dedication.”
DeAveiro developed the concept for these assemblies in partnership with OCDSB consultant Merrill Mathews.
“We want every student athlete who passes through our program to understand that leadership goes beyond simply what you can do on the basketball floor,” DeAveiro says. It’s a way for players to be “positive role models by sharing their experiences with children who will benefit from hearing about those experiences.”
