“Somewhere, someone is practicing and when you meet him in head to head competition, he'll beat you”
True. Even more so, somewhere there is probably somebody working harder than you, even if you ARE working. Even if you are working harder than that person, have you been working that hard for the past four decades? Because somewhere on the west coast of Canada, Larry Street has.
“Somewhere, someone is practicing and when you meet him in head to head competition he'll beat you” reads a poster that hangs in the Georges P. Vanier Secondary gymnasium in Courtenay, BC. It has hung there since the 1990’s when the Varsity boys basketball head coach, Larry Street first stepped foot in the Comox Valley. It’s the mantra that has guided him to 3 Hall of Fames, a gold medal with the Canada West masters team, 5 provincial appearances, countless wins and a 40 plus year career in BC High School hoops that has taken him across the globe and back again. This season, Street will go into his 24th campaign at Georges P. Vanier Secondary and 41st overall in BC - with another group of blue-collar young basketball enthusiasts. One thing all of his teams have had in common, whether it's during his 17 years in mainland schools or his 24 years at Vanier - is that they all believe they can punch their ticket to the big dance in March. No, this isn’t the NCAA, but the annual Provincial Championships definitely holds weight around these parts. Did your year make it? Why? Why not? Who were the best players? The questions every Vanier player works to make sure they answer the right way.
Coach Street, however, approaches each season with the same grind-it-out mentality, year after year, team after team. Northern Vancouver Island doesn’t exactly have a history of being a hotbed of talent, although it’s had its moments. Each year one or two players may have the tools or put in the time to play past high school, however, few actually do. The challenge for Street often remains the same each year. Can we take a group of good human beings, decent to good athletes and turn them into a great basketball team? Something he has been able to do multiple times as Street is the only coach in the history of the province to take 5 different schools to the B.C's.
For years, Vanier has competed in the tough, top 4A tier in BC, making it a challenge to grab a berth to the Langley Events Centre in March. Two births are given out each year to island teams. In order to qualify, you must place in the top two spots at the island championships in February. Vancouver Island, a land mass only slightly smaller than that of Switzerland, has long been dominated by a small, select group of schools. Each with its own legacy and its own respective founding fathers.
In the north, the now 3A Vanier Towhees and 3A Isfeld Ice both have long held a strong basketball culture. When we move to the more populated, less rural southern area of the island, there are dominant programs like 4A Oak Bay and 2A St. Michael's University School (former home of 2X NBA MVP Steve Nash). Given what some would call a geographical disadvantage, Vancouver Island basketball programs survive on the merit of individual pioneers who persist through both the up and the down years to keep the culture alive. Without a doubt, one of those pioneers is Vanier's Larry Street.
Coach Street has seen his fair share of both team and individual greatness within his small Valley. Over the years - Street has produced more than 50 college and 15 professional players, not to mention countless community, club, school and elite coaches who have continued to grow Streets legacy throughout the country and the world. From formerly ranked #2 male model in the world Simon Nessman to former European professionals Brandon Ellis and Stephan Makris (to name a few). All the way to other local outstanding players like Calvin Westbrook for example.
Westbrook is a player who Street will often refer to as one of his all-time best players. Without a doubt Westbrook had the talent and tools to play professionally, averaging 32PPG as a senior and earning All-Canadian ranks. After a successful college career at both Cal-State and Trinity Western, Westbrook, rather than try his hand at professional hoops, elected to start his teaching and coaching career in the Haida G’waii where he currently resides today spreading the game for the next generation of players. Much like Westbrook, Street hasn’t always called the Comox Valley home, in fact, he actually started his coaching journey right here at home in East Vancouver in 1976 where he took on his first basketball team at Notre Dame Regional School. Where he enjoyed seven great years of both success and growth at the school. However before coaching, Street was a force at playing the game as well. Playing his high school career at local secondary school - Burnaby South. After high school, Street went on to play out his college career at Simon Fraser University with Canadian hero Terry Fox.
Unfortunately - shortly after his time at SFU, Street was diagnosed with the disease himself while teaching and coaching in Port Coquitlam, which he later continued to fight and eventually conquered the disease.
After graduating from SFU, Street moved his coaching talents to Notre Dame for seven seasons before taking on the Varsity program at Terry Fox Secondary, or as it was known at that time - Port Coquitlam Senior Secondary. Then followed by a short stint at Port Moody, Street eventually landed in Courtenay, BC. This is where he met his beautiful wife, Peggy Street in 1999, only a few years after starting his own basketball program at G.P Vanier and launching his local legacy. Larry and Peggy have been happily married 17 years now and both currently still reside in the Comox Valley. You can find them both at the gym this season, as you can usually catch Peggy on the sidelines snapping photos for the Towhees as the team photographer.
109 teams later. Larry Street has solidified himself amongst the provinces best and longest standing coaches. 109 teams in over 41 years of coaching which averages out to a little over 2 teams per year. Which would include provincial teams, regional teams, and various stints in other high school sports. Ask any teacher or community member at Vanier: Larry Street would never let a team go without a season due to lack of a coach. He consistently had his hand on the pulse of the sports culture at the school as he served as a teacher and athletic director for a large part of his time at the school.
As of June 2015, Street has retired from teaching and shifted his focus to this season and his next campaign with the Vanier Varsity boys as they dive into both season fundraising and preseason training. A team that hosts an exciting core of grade 12 seniors ready to make their run, headed by University of Saskatchewan commit, Levi Timmermans. You can catch Vanier here in Vancouver defending their title at the annual Cambie Tournament over the January 18th weekend or facing off against Notre Dame on February 2nd.
Producing greatness consistently throughout a 40-year coaching career is no fluke. It takes being in the gym at 7 AM to work players out, it takes film sessions, season fundraising, late night team practices and much, much more. Consistently. Over FOUR decades. That type of consistency is rare and even rarer when personal gain is not involved. Truly, one of the most important and inspiring aspects of what Street has done over the past 40 years, is that none of this has been for personal, or financial gain. Like many other coaches around the province, time and time again Street has lost money on his local school basketball initiatives. However, he would be the first to tell you - it has been far from a loss in his life. Witnessing and contributing to the development of individuals as both players and citizens within his program is worth every dime. That willingness to work for free, or pay to build his program and change lives, will ultimately be a keystone in what has become a priceless legacy for Coach Larry Street.
All photos via Peggy Street
COMMUNITY
