I wonder if Scott Madill knew what he was creating when he wrote the recipe?

Scott Madill is an english teacher. He is also the driving force of the Sir Oliver Mowat high school dragon boat program which operates out of Scarborough, Ontario. I spoke to him a few days ago about the possibility of having 7 crews from Mowat attend this year’s Ontario Championships.

In one of my favourite sports books entitled ‘Moneyball,’ there is significant time spent referring to University of California, San Diego, the college Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane attended – referring to it as a baseball factory. Any acclaimed baseball or football ‘factory’ in the US College system is a result of major marketing, heavy recruiting and most importantly brinks trucks of money. The athlete factory featured in this blog is only comparable to those in one facet … success!

Mowat's dragon boat program is simply the most successful sports enterprise I have witnessed in the past 2 decades!

A couple facts:

- Sir Oliver Mowat is the only school to have ever won the Ontario High School Dragon Boat Championships (OHDBC’s) … 5 consectutive years

- Sir Oliver Mowat finished an unprecedented 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th (all 4 championship finals lanes) at the 2008 OHDBC’s

- More athletes on the Canadian National Junior Dragon Boat Team (since 2002) have originated from Mowat than the rest of Canada combined

I believe this success is directly attributable to the creation of a positive culture emanating from a single source; coach, founder and inspirational leader Scott Madill.

Having been the race organizer of high school dragon boat for several years the one major difference I find between Mowat and the also-rans is STATUS. Status is critical to the life of every high school student and at Mowat you gain athletic and social status in dragon boat, while at most other schools you gain such status on the football, hockey or girls cheerleading teams. This desire for the status to be on the dragon boat team creates internal-competition within the dragon boat program and ensures individuals in it maximize their potential, thus creating a nice mixture of recruiting athletic potential and creating athletes from raw material.

As mentioned earlier, I feel the culture emanates from one individual, Madill. His infectious personality, funny delivery, uncanny ability to relate with every kid in the classroom and boat, and pure passion for individual development. I believe these qualities come to Madill naturally, I also believe these qualities are the core values or culture represented by Mowat dragon boat. Part by design and part by osmosis the athletes witness and adopt these traits and create an environment that is welcoming, fun and demands success. Surely this is the culture of a club we would all want to be a part of, gaining athletic status, social status, international dragon boat opportunities and an abundance of learning!

Mowat is not simply a dragon boat factory but also an athlete factory. Congratulations Mowat and congratulations Madill!

More on Madill, my first flatwater coach in future blogs

I fell in love with the sport of dragon boat racing in 1996 – even though I never got into a boat until 1997. Having followed the Canadian team play in the World Junior Hockey Championships recently, gave me a shot of adrenaline, it reignited the sporting enthusiasm within, it served as the tonic, the ideal elixir, the perfect aphrodisiac for a Canadian dragon boat coach.

That’s right, I said dragon boat coach! What stands out most to me about the World Junior Hockey Championships, is the overwhelming sense of camaraderie, togetherness and accomplishment Canadians derive from rooting for a team of young athletes. Canadians really do savour this opportunity to unite in common purpose through athletic achievement.

As a Canadian and a dragon boat coach, the final game highlighted both the preeminent reason we enjoy the great sport of dragon boat racing, and where my eternal passion for this sport began. In the summer of 1996, I was 18 years-old, the same age as sniper John Tavares, the on-ice leader of our heroic Canadian junior team. A mediocre flatwater kayaker on the local club circuit (think Adam Vankoeverden … but a whole lot slower) I had an overwhelming single-mindedness – to accomplish only one thing – win Canadian Championships … in Juvenile Men’s War Canoe.

My entire training regimen that year was designed to accomplish my goal, and never in my entire athletic career had I been more committed. I think it was at that time that I began to realize, it was the journey, the process; that meant more than the result. The personal growth, the discipline of mind and body, and beginning to understand the complexities of sport were the things I truly gained from the experience. The National Championship and my pursuit for the elusive gold medal certainly became an important ingredient for the impression branded in me in the summer of 1996: it sparked a serious emotional connection to this sport and left an indelible passion in me for team watersport; enter dragon boat racing. It’s these experiences that I had as an 18-year-old that I was reminded of in last Monday’s Canadian win.

Of course, all of this brings me to the obvious connection to dragon boat racing: the importance of camaraderie, togetherness and collective accomplishment. It is these attributes that we gain from dragon boat racing that in my eyes make it the perfect sport to coach.

The journey can be made so valuable because the sport is so intrinsically tied to the importance of camaraderie, togetherness and collective accomplishment – three things that the World Junior Hockey Championships inspire in Canadians every year. So that’s how my love and passion for dragon boat racing began: the mentality of a hockey player put into a competitive war canoe crew competing on a National level. 

More on my coaches, my teammates and my introduction to dragon boat in upcoming blogs.