By RON FANFAIR
In his acceptance speech at last April’s Scarborough Walk of Fame induction ceremony, Canadian Men’s Basketball team’s General Manager Rowan Barrett acknowledged his family and others for their support.
That was expected. He, however, went a step further, profusely thanking Richard Dean who coached him at West Hill Collegiate Institute.
“There are many people who poured into me, but none more in my young life than Richard Dean,” he said. “So many of us have had productive lives because of his time and effort. He came into our home and told my mother he would not let me fail on his watch. He devised a plan to get me where I needed to go and helped me hone my skills. He promised my mom I would do my schoolwork.
“He took me to elementary schools when I was in high school to speak to kids, he helped me manage the expectations of being the number one player in Canada and the 65 scholarship offers that came from schools across North America. He protected me from all the adults that came, some with good intentions, some with bad. He always told me the truth without sugarcoating it. He did everything he told me and my mom he would do and I accomplished all the things he said I would.
“Thank you Coach.”
After graduating from the University of Ottawa in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Dean returned to the Greater Toronto Area and was encouraged by West Hill Coach Jack Eisenmann to consider coaching.
“Jack asked me if I had ever thought about it and when I said ‘no’, he told me I could come to his school to be his assistant,” he said. “That is where my love affair with coaching began. More than just coaching, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to make young people aware that there is more in life than just playing basketball.”
When Eisenmann left after two years to coach Lebanon, Dean took over a team that included Barrett and Alex Beason.
“In Grade Nine, Rowan was hanging with the wrong guys and could have easily gone the other way,” he said. “But his strong family support and basketball brought him back on track. It was obvious that he would become an outstanding basketball player, but his biggest goal at the time was to make the national team. While talking to him recently, he told me his son (R.J.) was thinking about making the NBA from a very young age.”
After a year at the Scarborough high school, Beason transferred to Bathurst Heights and became a standout player. He played three years in the United States and was the leading scorer a season at Southeast Missouri State Division One team.
Beason’s basketball progress was, however, derailed, by run-ins with the law.
“Alex was off the track in high school, but he didn’t have the support that Rowan had,” said Dean. “He was a very smart guy. There was a time when he could not play for Bathurst because his marks were low. He buckled down for a few weeks and got them back up.”
While an assistant coach at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), he helped secure Beason’s early release from prison and enrolment at the university where he played basketball.
“This guy was one of our hardest working players and a leader,” recalled Dean. “He was very committed to our program.”
About six years ago, the coach was walking down Gerrard St. at night when a van pulled up next to him.
“Someone jumped out and said, ‘Coach’,” said Dean. “It was Alex who I had not seen in years. He introduced me to his partner sitting in the front passenger seat and his three boys at the back.”
That moment encapsulates the high esteem in which the coach is held by ex-players and peers in the basketball community.
When Dean retired from TMU last January after more than three decades, the university celebrated him.
For 17 years, he coached varsity basketball teams and 17 were spent facilitating operational, infrastructure and development processes on the campus that houses 38 buildings.
“I was surprised, yet appreciative of the big farewell they put on,” he said. “In addition to doing my assigned tasks, those who got to know me would ask for other things like how their daughter could get into a program and who they could talk to. I relished my time there.”
Born out of wedlock to biracial parents 72 years ago in Orangeville, Dean started playing basketball in Grade Six at Victoria Public School in Kingston which was later remodelled as Queen’s University School of Business.
Gym teacher Neal Neasmith, the grandson of Canadian James Naismith who invented the sport in 1891, introduced him to the game.
“That was the first time I learned about the game and was shown how to play it,” said Dean. “Now, the kids learn to play at ages three and four.”
Not good enough to make the team in Grades 7 and 8 at Fern Ave. Junior & Senior Public School in Toronto and Grade 9 at Colonel Irvine Public School in Calgary, he got his opportunity in Grade 10 in Banff and Grade 13 at Georges S. Henry Academy in North York.
“I was a late starter, so it was difficult to break into teams earlier,” he said. “I had to work hard in the gym and bide my time.”
From Austria known for its mountains, Dean’s single mother, who passed away in 1998, was drawn to mountainous Alberta where she spent a few years.
While ‘hacking’ around a few years later in the gym at George Brown College, the late Vince Drake who played in the National Football League with the Philadelphia Eagles before becoming the athletic director at the college when it became one of the original seven Ontario Athletic Colleges Athletic Association founders, recruited Dean to play at the downtown Toronto college.
During his two years, the team was unbeaten, capturing the inaugural Community Colleges national men’s title in 1974-75 with a convincing 91-71 win over the Langara Falcons from Vancouver, British Columbia.
The championship teams included guard Val Pozzan and forward Marv Snowden whose jerseys were retired in October 2014.
“We had phenomenal players who could do it all,” said Dean. “Vince was not an X’s and O’s coach. He was a motivator and the players responded to him. Being around a winning program inspired me.”
Off the court, the basketball players competed in the two-year Fitness Instructor program and a few interned at the now defunct Vic Tanny gym.
After the internship, Dean spent seven years with Sport Canada as a Fitness Evaluator.
“I was part of a team that conducted fitness levels across the country,” he said. “I also got the opportunity to work with Harry Jerome who came to my high school in Banff and was my hero.”
Jerome set seven world records in track and field and helped create Canada’s sports ministry. He was slated to be the keynote speaker at a celebration to mark the record performances of Canada’s athletes at the 1982 Commonwealth Games when he died suddenly.
“Harry was easy to communicate with and an all-around great guy,” Dean said. “I enjoyed being around him because there were not a lot of ‘brothers’ around then in that circle. He left us way too soon.”
While at Sport Canada, Dean kept a promise to his mother to attend university.
“I just concentrated on my studies because I was not disciplined enough to do that and play hoops,” he said.
In preparation for retirement from TMU, Dean transferred his basketball coaching skills to the business world.
As a Business Startup Coach, he has been helping individuals get their businesses off the ground using the subscription economy that is fuelled by evolving consumer preferences in the digital age.
By offering customized experiences, constant updates and adaptable services, these models are setting the stage for businesses to build lasting relationships while securing predictable and stable revenue streams.
“I am coaching people the same way I did on the court,” said Dean whose late father, Marvin Whaley, was a member of the Toronto Argos team that won the Canadian Football League 1950 ‘Mud Bowl’ Grey Cup at Varsity Stadium. “If you are committed, consistent and coachable, I can help you get to where you want to go. I can help you to be successful, whether you want to make $300 extra monthly or $10,000.”
Last summer, he relocated to Portugal and is working virtually with clients around the world.
