CAO’s Empowering Stories from Behind the Bench article series – October 2026
“One thing I won’t do as a coach is quit on a kid. We just have conversations, discuss things and work on solutions.”
By David Grossman
Anxiety.
Somehow in life, we have all felt the triggering of stress, the worries and the pressure that confront us. It’s not a personal thing. Everyone deals with it.
As for coaches, they’re no different.
Apprehension, uncertainty, frustration. The list goes on.
Coaches. Yes, those individuals tasked with the important job of educating youngsters in the world of sport. They feel it too. Coaches know there are times for success and enjoyment, but they do not always balance out with the irritations and struggles.
For the most part, it’s the coaches who are the ones who know how to pinpoint problems – and the athletes finally get around to admitting to it. Coaches have the procedures and techniques needed to subdue those they instruct and supervise.
Things tend to work out. Adjustments are not always easy. It’s not like flicking a light switch.
As a coach, it can take time, patience and a great deal of one-on-one conversations with young athletes. On most days, coaches can often see themselves performing additional learning duties – be it on the ice, the field, in the gym or pool.
These are items that tend to, or should, be handled by parents. In some cases, dealing with issues like coping with aggravation can also come from specialists such as guidance instructors and sometimes social workers.
Researchers claim the relationships between coaches and athletes, especially at the amateur level, can be quite rewarding. Even with an array of emotions and behaviours, living through change and adjustment, can be a lot to handle for young people who are learning to cope with victory and defeat.
Skills in resilience and how to cope can be overwhelming.
Let me introduce you to Oliver Prince.
As a youngster, he was gifted in skills, talent and common sense. Add on perseverance, diligence, fortitude and courage. Some referred to him as a phenom of the game. Prince was like most youngsters who got hooked on basketball.
At one time, considered one of Canada’s most versatile and gifted teenagers in the high school game of hoops, Prince was a former Athlete of the Year in high school. He was on the list of recruiting coaches and progressed rapidly as one of the best players beyond his high school days and well into the university game.
Then, after those playing days had ended, he saw an opportunity for what he called a rewarding job. Prince connected with young people fixed on learning how to upgrade and intensify their performance in the sport. His goal became a quick reality – coaching youth development programs in Brampton, Cambridge and now Richmond Hill.
“As a kid, I remember thinking about so much – what I wanted to do, how would I accomplish everything, figuring out about solving problems and responsibilities,” said Prince, now a 42-year-old father of three. “There were times when all I wanted to do was get a good education and play in the (National Basketball Association).”
But there was a moment in his life that changed things. It was August 25, 2001.
“I was 16 years old when life almost ended for me,” said Prince, while recalling an accident that occurred 25 years ago. “I was going to a family gathering with my brother, heard some screeching of a car, turned and saw it heading towards us and I pushed my brother, Brandon, from getting hit.
“(Brandon) still broke his right foot, but I got the full impact of the car, hit the windshield, tossed and was unconscious. I would later find out that I had suffered a blood clot on my brain, doctors told my mother that I required surgery to relieve the pressure and swelling and would be in coma for a long time.
“I was very lucky. I was at Sunnybrook (Health Sciences Centre) and then to a rehabilitation facility to learn to walk, talk – and live all over again.”
Prince would also spend several years, after that accident and recovery, building on his post-secondary education.
His basketball scholarship to Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. lasted a year. Then, he shuffled off to LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tenn. for another school year. The move continued.
This time, to Monroe College in Rochester, N.Y. where he earned a diploma in political science while also contributing, as a power forward, to the school team that won a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) basketball championship.
Prince wasn’t done yet. He chose to attend Florida A&M in Tallahassee, before deciding to play basketball with a club team in Australia.
“When my playing days came to an end, and I knew my dream of one day making it to the NBA wouldn’t happen, I wanted to stay with the game – but in a different way,” said Prince, who can’t be missed with a physical size of 6-foot-6 and 280 pounds.
“Coach and motivate young kids. Use my experience and skills to teach and make them better through a development program.”
As a stay-at-home educator for his eight, nine-and-10-year-old children, later in the day, Prince is instructing young basketball players through his On-The-Line GTA basketball program.
There are moments when Prince relives his early years of learning to play basketball. It was the déjà vu days when, in a grade six gym class, he dunked a basketball for the first time to the amazement of onlookers – or the time he joined his first club team in Richmond Hill.
“The fundamentals, the rules, the advice that I gained from so many coaches,” said Prince, who started coaching in 2014 and he now runs an instructional program for boys and girls at the Vaughan Sportsplex.
“Working with kids, it’s all so important and educating them so they learn and get things right. I once watched a game and what I saw were kids with horrible skills.
“Right then, I knew it was time to get involved. To give back. Basketball is a good tool for a broader education. It’s not always about winning a game. There are good and not so good moments in life.
“There are times when I’m too lenient. But there are other times – when you must take control. Don’t put things off. One thing I won’t do as a coach is quit on a kid. We just have conversations, discuss things and work on solutions.”
-END-
David Grossman is a veteran multi award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 50+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations. In 2026, he was inducted to the Toronto Sports Hall of Honour with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Basketball is a good tool for a broader education. It’s not always about winning a game.”
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This is a Competition Introduction multi-sport course. With the workshop you will be able to analyze certain coaching situations to determine if they promote learning.
By completing the NCCP Planning a Practice module you will be able to organize a well-structured practice plan with safe, age-appropriate activities you’ve designed to match the proficiency level of participants.
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