By Lawson Hunter
Chris Dooley, well-known basketball coach, has a side gig — author. Recently, Dooley invited friends and family to help him launch his second book, A Hero’s Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp at Loch Side Bar & Grill.
Dooley has coached many of Burlington’s high school students for, in his words, “a long, long time.” He then coached the men’s team at the University of Guelph, and later coached the Ontario Provincial team from 1994 to ‘97, was head coach of the Canada Games team, and was on the coaching team at the Canadian National level for three years.
“And even though I thoroughly enjoyed coaching,” says Dooley, “I always had a yearning to write a book.” And so he did — Can’t Miss: The Kevin Pangos Story.
From the liner notes of the book: “Can’t Miss is not just a biography about a young basketball phenom. It’s about the family values of the Pangos family. It’s about the great coaches and trainers who helped Kevin along the way. It’s about the opportunities that Kevin was given and it’s about how Kevin took advantage of all those opportunities in pursuit of his basketball dreams.”
In that book, notes Dooley, was one chapter about Kevin’s experience at Camp Olympia, a recreational facility located north of Huntsville that included basketball training at a time when it was the only place in Canada that featured basketball in this hockey-mad country. “I had coached there for 36 years,” says Dooley, “and the message that’s captured in the book is that there has to be a connection we foster with others. If we have a passion for something, we have an opportunity to impact other people.”
Chris was greatly impacted by the camp’s founder, Dave Grace. Grace started the camp back in 1974, taking out a lease on the former recreation camp used by the Royal Norwegian Air Force during the Second World War, hence the name “Little Norway.”
While aircraft training originated at Toronto Island airport, it was subsequently moved to the Muskoka airport with the rugged outdoor camp used for physical training and downtime for the young men. Many of the pilots-in-training felt the terrain around Muskoka reminded them of home.
Interestingly, the Fairchild PT-26 was used for training pilots. A refurbished Fairchild trainer, painted blue and yellow (the colours of Norway) is housed at the Canadian Heritage Warplane Museum in Hamilton.
A Hero’s Journey is a collection of stories of people who were connected to Camp Olympia in one way or another, over the years. The book is broken down into twelve chapters, to echo the twelve steps in Dave Grace’s philosophy of a hero’s journey. Themes such as “Leave the Ordinary”; “Your Commitment to Your Calling”; “Slay the Dragons”; and, “The Reward of the Hero’s Journey” are highlighted through the personal stories of people Dooley interviewed.
“You can turn to any page and hear the stories of people who were impacted by the camp or went on to influence others, and in many cases, they impacted hundreds of others,” explains Dooley.
Nowadays, Dooley adds, Camp Olympia features a magic camp, an archery camp, and at one time some thirty-nine different “camps.” “The Olympia message,” says Dooley, “is ‘take the bat off the shoulder.’ Have the guts to take challenges on. And, you can do whatever you want if you really, really want it. A lot of people think they want something but they don’t show it in their behaviour behind that desire.”
Obviously, Camp Olympia and the hero’s journey has influenced Chris Dooley and he hopes it will inspire you as well.
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Local-news.ca also spoke to Chris Dooley about his new book, its theme, and Chris’ own hero’s journey in writing the book. Here is what Jennifer Arnold spoke about with him.
Through Chris’ coaching career, including his time at Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School in Burlington, he always thought sports psychology was key to excelling in sports. Perhaps this is why some of Olympia Sports Camp founder Dave Grace’s messages really hit home, as the theme of the messages were about personal development, striving to be one’s best, and contributing to the next generation, the greater good.
Grace talks about the societal scorecard, the status of those who have and strive for money and material goods as being only temporary and thus meaningless. On the other side are those who work hard to reach their goals, strive for personal growth and making themselves better, then pass on their gifts and knowledge to impact others — and that is when, in Chris’ words, “the sky is the limit for the world.”
The hero’s journey is an effective vehicle for delivering this message, and Chris’ new book, A Hero’s Journey, underscores the importance of that message while following the steps that occur on the hero’s journey, the last of which is the reward, the gift of sharing with others. The impact of having a community of caring people who want to help those around them is clear throughout the book. There are success stories, stories of overcoming obstacles, but always, the Olympia community, people helping other people, is the essential ingredient to getting through, to achieving.
For Chris, this community opened up to him to tell their stories. He says the interviews were the easiest part of book-writing process. People shared fun and inspiring stories — but also a lot of emotions. The hardest part of writing this book was actually finishing the book, “the end of the race,” but feeling like there were “still miles to go.”
For awhile, Chris couldn’t write: his mother-in-law, Nan, was ill, and all the energy and focus went to her and Chris’ wife Joy. When Nan passed away, Chris said he could practically hear her saying “buck up” as she always used to, to move him forward. And it worked. He pulled his focus and energy back to those last miles.
Of his wife Joy, Chris says that she was essential to the writing of this book. He says, “Her support for me is inspiring. If you marry right, you are a lucky person.” It is clear that Chris is certain that he married right.
When asked about his favourite place in Burlington, Chris chose Spencer Smith Park, and “the whole core area of Burlington,” where he and Joy enjoy walking and biking everywhere. A sufficiently active answer from this former coach and now two-time author.
A Hero’s Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp is available through Amazon and locally at A Different Drummer Books, published by Friesen Press. You can also listen to more of Lawson Hunter’s Burlington Now radio at https://www.bnowradio.ca/.
