InFocus Magazine — A Sporting Chance
Apr/May ‘14
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A Sporting Chance
Dr. Peter Parke coaches high school kids to excel at sports and in life
By Terri Perrin • April & May 2014
I do this simply because I absolutely loved playing sports while I was in school and I want to ensure that other kids get to enjoy some of the same opportunities that I did,” says Peter Parke of starting the Comox Valley Athletic Association. Photo by Boomer Jerritt
It is 8:00 pm on a Tuesday night when I sit down with Dr. Peter Parke at the Tsolum Mobile Veterinary Health Clinic, on the Old Island Highway north of Courtenay. I would have enjoyed asking Parke about his life as a large animal veterinarian who treats cattle, horses, sheep, hogs and a myriad of other barnyard creatures, but I am not there to ‘talk shop.’ Not only is that not my assignment, I am genuinely intrigued to find out why he would dedicate so much of his free time volunteering to work with young athletes.
“A typical weekday starts around 8:00 am—provided I haven’t been called to an emergency,” explains Parke. “I do farm visits and paperwork, monitor what’s happening with my small animal practice, then wrap up my duties as a veterinarian in the early afternoon. Then I head over to G.P. Vanier Secondary School or the nearby Sports Centre where I coach junior and senior boys rugby, junior girls basketball, Comox Valley midget lacrosse or the Comox Valley intermediate lacrosse. I also coach or manage regional and provincial basketball, rugby and lacrosse teams.
“At about five o’clock I may stop by the clinic to follow up on the day’s cases. Then, I head home to feed my cattle and do the farm chores. After that, I’m in my home office making phone calls, sending emails and doing paperwork relating to the various teams I coach, as well as fulfill my role as president of the Comox Valley Athletic Association. I would guess that I volunteer at least 20 hours a week… but who’s counting?”
Parke, 50, explains all of this rather nonchalantly, as if this is a typical day for most people. I am exhausted just listening to him!
“No, I don’t have kids in the school system,” he replies when asked why he volunteers so much. “I don’t have any kids at all. I do this simply because I absolutely loved playing sports while I was in school and I want to ensure that other kids get to enjoy some of the same opportunities that I did.
“Team sports,” he adds, “teach people about the spirit of cooperation and the importance of working together to achieve established goals. But, more than that, it teaches students that playing isn’t always about winning. I know from experience that when young people are involved in sports they have a better chance at and more interest in attending college or university after high school. I recognize that advanced education isn’t right for everyone, but I think it is important for everyone to have a chance to go… something to strive for. Sports can be the gateway to provide that opportunity.”
Parke grew up on a dairy farm in Richmond, BC, where he helped his family care for a herd of 60 to 100 Guernsey cattle and an assortment of goats, chickens, dogs and cats. It was here that he developed an appreciation for hard work and a keen interest in animal sciences. But farm life wasn’t all work and no play for the Parke kids—especially for young Peter.
His father loved sports and he made sure that his children did too. Peter played basketball, lacrosse, rugby and ball hockey. He played for the Vancouver Burrards and the New Westminster Salmonbellies Men’s Senior ‘A’ lacrosse team in the Western Lacrosse Association.
After graduating from high school, Parke earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from UBC in 1987. That same year, the Parke family sold their farm, leaving Peter without a place to work. For the next few years he worked as a dairy farm laborer in the lower mainland.
In 1990, he moved to Ontario to play senior lacrosse with the Brooklin Redmen Lacrosse Club, while completing a Masters in Animal Breeding at the University of Guelph. He graduated in 1995 and was accepted into vet school, where he focused on dairy medicine and surgery. He graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. During his studies he worked dairy rotations at Cornell and Kansas State Universities and attended a number of North American veterinary conferences. All that time he continued to play rugby at the University of Guelph, as well as pro lacrosse in Detroit, Rochester and Buffalo.
A move to the Comox Valley was facilitated in 2003, when Dr. Pat O’Brien was looking to retire and sell his well-established large animal practice here. At the time, Tsolum Mobile Veterinary Health operated out of a farm on Nelson Road. O’Brien contacted Parke about buying the clinic and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.
“I have several relatives on Vancouver Island and—like most people who move here—the climate was very attractive to me,” Parke recalls. “I loved the thought of being able to play sports outside almost year-round. So I purchased the practice and moved out west again.”
In the summer of 2013, the clinic moved to its present location on the Old Island Highway by the Merville General Store and, with the hiring of Dr. Alecia Ducharme, Parke expanded to be a mixed animal practice.
Despite the challenges of running a then new (to him) veterinary practice, like a true sportsman Parke hit the proverbial ground running. In addition to his work as a vet, he began networking to connect himself with various sports teams, offering his services as a volunteer coach. It wasn’t long before his skills and experience were recognized and several local teams welcomed him.
In the 10-plus years he has coached local athletes, Parke estimates that he has worked with more than 1,000 boys and girls aged 14 to 17. Many of them have gone on to bigger and better things well beyond the Comox Valley. Many have gone on to play club, college or university athletics. Some have completed their degrees with sports scholarships. All have been inspired by Parke’s infectious team spirit and energy.
When asked if any of the kids he has coached particularly stand out, Parke becomes as animated as any proud parent.
“Max Maund went on to be a star player in soccer, track and field and rugby for St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia,” he says. “Thyssen deGoede plays on Canada’s national senior rugby team. Adam Backular-Evans is now a dedicated senior athlete and pro lacrosse hopeful in the USA.
“But not all the kids go on to excel in sports. Simon Nessman was one of my rugby players. He is now one of the top male models in the world and is the face of Giorgio Armani. These are just a few examples—there are many, many others that I am equally as proud of,” he says.
Watching how sports has catapulted so many kids into a world of further education and adventure, Parke couldn’t help but think about those who don’t get an opportunity to participate. All too often, he says, kids can’t commit to joining a team because of financial challenges at home. “You can’t attend after school practices if you have to work or you don’t have the money to buy athletic gear,” he says. “I don’t think that money should stand in the way of any kid’s future.”
Parke decided to create a program that would connect local businesses with the sports community to ensure that insufficient funding would no longer stand in the way of any students who want to play high school team sports. In January 2013, with the support of fellow sports enthusiasts and business leaders, he established the Comox Valley Athletic Association (CVAA). A Board of Directors that consists of Parke, as President and Treasurer, as well as Ken Erikson, Dwayne Mills, Heidi Zirkl and John Lewis as Directors, governs this registered non-profit organization. It is modeled after a similar and very successful program that operates out of the Cowichan Valley.
In its first year of operation the CVAA managed to secure both financial and ‘gifts in kind’ support from a number of local businesses and organizations. This includes contributions from several BNI Olympic Gold members: Jiffy Lube, Hollis Wealth Management, Sure Copy, Woofy’s Pet Food, Arrow Art Screen Printing, Ronnie Lister of Re/Max Ocean Pacific Realty, Dale Roberts Notary Pubic, and the Prime Chophouse, to name just a few. For anyone interested in adding their name to the list of supporters, the CVAA welcomes your call. There are plenty of opportunities to help such as having advertising space on the CVAA bus for $500 per year, donating tires, mechanical repairs, door prize donations for upcoming events and, of course, cash contributions. They are grateful for any support.
In addition to subsidizing travel, training and equipment, monies raised by the Association has facilitated the purchase of a 24-passenger bus that is used to transport teams to tournaments, athletic training and other events. It is primarily used by the CVAA but is available for other teams to rent. Parke hopes to buy a second bus in the near future.
It is important to note that the CVAA also welcomes a ‘hand up’ and the team members are willing to work. The athletes participate in various fundraising activities throughout the year, such as helping with the set-up and tear-down at the fall fair, moving hay bales at Therapeutic Riding, assisting with parking at special events, hot dog sales, packing groceries and more.
“I don’t think that money should stand in the way of any kid’s future,” says Peter Parke, with the junior and senior GP Vanier rugby players. Photo by Boomer Jerritt
Parke is adamant that getting the kids involved in fundraising through community events teaches them to be responsible for part of their participation costs. Each time they help at an event, they are credited a dollar amount in their own individual accounts. There is also a general fund, with money allocated for such things as athletic training, team dinners, bus maintenance and expenses, and (hopefully) a future annual scholarship.
With the support of the various schools’ Parent Advisory Committees (PAC) and sports program funding, as well as the CVAA and parent fundraising, Parke is able to take local teams on major trips.
In mid-March, for example, he and school coach Ken Erikson travelled to the United Kingdom with 12 young men from the G.P. Vanier Senior Boys Rugby Team. Local athletes included Dylan Coburn, Blair Schmelz, Brandon Grouchy-Johnston, Trevor Caton, Callum Passingham, Bradly Doig, Justin Thomson, Foster Dewitt, Jimmy Brazier, Joshua Illerbrun, Arne Neumann and Sean McGinnis.
A highlight of the trip was being at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on March 15 to watch world-class rugby action as Wales thrashed Scotland 51 to 3 in their biggest ever Six Nation win. They also had the opportunity to visit Rugby, Warwickshire, England—the birthplace of the sport—as well as tour London and play in seven-a-side rugby tournaments in Cardiff and Llanelli, Wales plus Richmond, Halifax, Bryanston, England. Nine out of the 11 nights they were billeted with local families, further adding to the cultural experience.
Unfortunately, while the team didn’t come home with a trophy, Parke says that is was an amazing once-in-lifetime experience for these young men. “We were up against varying levels of competition from state school teams equivalent to our public schools, to powerful private schools with several England national team youth players. In the end, we lost more than we won—but I still think all of my players are champions.”
Mike Caton’s son, Trevor, was one of the players who had earned a spot on the team that travelled to England and he is proud of what the team, under Parke’s direction, has achieved.
“Peter Parke is an amazing man,” says Caton. “He has been coaching Trevor for a few years now and, as I have had the privilege of getting to know him over that time, I have learned that he is very passionate and dedicated to his ‘job’ as a volunteer coach. He has played professional sports but he is pretty humble about this. He is always preaching to the kids about effort and being part of a team, being accountable and giving it your all. These are skills that they can carry forward in their lives.
“While his coaching might be focused on sports, it really has to do with life lessons,” Caton adds. “Pete is very community-oriented and he is putting back what he got out of a lifetime of being a team player. Through his leadership qualities he has shown my son—and others—that good sportsmanship is not only about setting an example but leading by example.”
Playing sports, winning and yes, sometimes losing, believes Parke, becomes a metaphor for life.
“My long-term vision is to see the CVAA become an organization capable of presenting scholarships, training and further education. We want to be able to support athletes’ dinners, trips and tournaments in an effort to encourage kids to pursue sports in university and the professional level. The Association is still in its early days but I believe that we are heading in the right direction.”
To learn more about the Comox Valley Athletic Association call or visit www.cvathletics.ca
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