The Vanier Cup

I posted last week about my brother being a coach for the University that won the Vanier Cup.  He's also a teacher and took his experience back to his school with him.  There was an article in the paper about it.

Thursday, December 08, 2011 Archive

What does it take to boot a 20-yard field goal in overtime in front of 24,935 screaming fans to win your football team’s first national championship when you are 3,500 km from home?

Courage would be near the top of the list.

So it made sense when Queen Mary elementary invited members of the Vanier Cup-winning McMaster Marauders to a character education assembly this month, when the attribute of the month was courage.

With students packing the gym and staff snapping photos, students presented a short history of the cup, and used all of their senses to talk about courage. Grade 5 students like Tommy P. said courage sounds like “doing the right thing.” Taylor R. said courage matters “so you don’t live your life in a shell.” Jeremy R. said courage is essential for standing up to bullies.

Introduced by Vice-principal Richelle Bratusz, Marauders quarterback Kyle Quinlan and receiver Matt Peressini brought in the Vanier Cup – and highlighted the east-end school’s connection to the win.

The distance from Queen Mary to the final played in Vancouver is smaller than you would think. Teacher Al Anonech is also the Mac receivers coach, cramming his time outside of school with reviews of game films, practices, more game films and plenty of travel. He says character matters, in football as in life.

“For these players, character really comes from their experience,” said Anonech, explaining the hype before Mac’s game against the impervious Laval Rouge et Or. In BC Place Stadium this year, Laval suffered its first national championship loss in school history. Mac stopped Laval from winning a seventh national title.

“Courage is about being able to execute, taking it down a notch, and just getting out there to play your game,” Anonech said. “There have been some very good speeches, and encouragement is good on the sidelines, but every player will have different buttons to push. You could call it differentiated motivation.”

Peressini, in front of the assembly spoke about how much courage it took growing up to believe that he could play at the next level. He was never as big as some coaches thought he should be. But he made up for it with heart. “Without courage, I would not be here,” he said. He also said football is a team game, and no matter how good a single player is they will always depend on their teammates.

Quinlan added, “everyone knows about courage in sports, but you need a lot of courage outside of sports as well.” In life, you will face challenges, he said. “You can complain or you can get better,” added Quinlan, who had to work for his starter’s position at Mac. He said football is a game that requires discipline: you have to work hard, practice and focus for success.

The players and coach met students, signed autographs and posed for countless photos after the assembly. Bratusz, a Western graduate, happily said the Vanier Cup game was one of the best she had ever seen.

She and Principal Darrin Griffiths agreed that their school was lucky to have the day’s special guests – great examples of the kind of courage it takes for success on the field, in the classroom and beyond.

PS - He's in the back row at the left.  The adult...sometimes.