Best from Dufferin, Peel and York

So, there you have it - the final list of the top male and female high school athletes from the recent year in today's Star and on our website. And they are from the regions of Dufferin, Peel and York.

Very impressive group, as some readers have said to us. Some surprises too are the opinions of others after glancing through the list. Hmm, maybe they know something that I don't?  But don't blame us. The athletes listed in the Star for the past three days were chosen by their respective schools.

What is becoming more and more common is that many schools are limiting students to one sport per season. Can't figure that out.  Maybe it should be one "team" sport. I know coaches don't want to face a conflict of an athlete caught with two games on the same day - and, believe me, it has happened. Also, coaches are very picky about practices - and they should be.

But, for years, students could play as many sports as they wanted. Oh well, chatter for another day. Just before we close the book on this 29th annual salute, some additional information on a few of the great stars of this past school year.

• Vaughan's Anton Shchipillo. His life revolves around wrestling. Chosen school team MVP, he was a regional gold medallist on the mat and he also won a silver at the Ontario finals. Going to York U.
• Cardinal Carter's Alana Smith. Now has the senior athlete of the year award to put beside the junior award she won in past. Soccer MVP but great hockey player. Off to Queen's University.
• Sacred Heart's Chris Bergin. He won 11 York Region sports medals. Also,  MVP awards in hockey, track and cross country. Had a 92% class average. Going to Western for kinesiology.
• Lorne Park's Nicholas Smith. He was on the football team. Did some Nordic skiing, but rugby was his specialty with a Peel Region gold medal and Ontario silver. Has chosen U of T in the fall.
• Applewood's Phylicia Watts. Was on five teams that qualified for provincial playoffs and won a bronze in rugby. Bunch of MVP and Peel region league awards. Will attend Brock University.
• Mayfield's Jordan Steele. Was a coach, three-time member of his school athletic association and won medals in swimming and lacrosse. Going to study marine biology at Dalhousie in Halifax.
• St. Edmund Campion's Jermaine Simpson. He'll never forget returning a field goal 110 yards for the game-winning touchdown over Pocock - and in double OT. Has selected the University of Windsor.

That does it for another school year.

Athletes Class of 2009

Part Two of our three-part series has the athletes of the year chosen by Durham and Halton Region Public and Catholic boards as well as a growing list of private and independent high schools.

Some great athletes albeit they have also put up some impressive numbers in the classroom too. And, based on information submitted by schools, some of these students are also excellent role models with superb community work. Wish we knew more. We had asked schools to complete a form with information. Some did. Sadly, the majority did not,

As with the Toronto group in the Tuesday paper and on line, many are moving on to college and/or university in Canada and United States. Some aren't ready and need another year. Many still haven't graduated. Lots of e-mails from readers asking criteria for selection and why some schools did not choose athletes. Best you contact the schools with no athletes. As for criteria, it ranges from school to school. Things considered - multiple sports, excellence in one sport, leadership and, as several teachers have told me, there's a standout athlete each year who, well, teachers like. Could that be favoritism?

Anyway, with almost 650 on the list and the most in three decades, here are some more standouts from the Class of 2009 athletes.

• Trinity's Cassi Allin. Team captain and distinction award winner in basketball and hockey. Medals in two sports. Has chosen to attend the University of Alberta.
• Henry Street's Kyle Lindsay. Helped rejuvenate lacrosse at his Whitby school. Honour roll student. Wants to study biological chemistry. Will attend Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa.
• Appleby's Rio Flynn. As an ice hockey player, she helped her team win a league title. In field hockey, No. 2 in the league. An Ontario scholar, she's off to study biological science in Indiana.
• Pickering's Adriana Allen.Member of Ontario track and field championship team. MVP in basketball and track. Studying International Business at Monmouth University in New Jersey.
• Crestwood's Steve Yoannou. He was the school MVP in softball and volleyball. Going to Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo.
• Sinclair's Jared Walters. Two-time athlete of the year. Two-time wrestling MVP and top five in the sport in Ontario. Going to the University of Toronto where he wants to play football and wrestle.
• St. Andrew's star Griffin Lacey. On eight league championship teams, played in five sports. Former junior athlete of the year as well. Will play Junior A hockey.
• Kema Nnawuchi from Holy Trinity in Courtice. Four-sport athlete, Toronto Star football all-star. Provincial competitor. Returning for another year of high school.
• Villanova's Laura Zuccaro. Won the scholar athlete award, MVP in basketball and volleyball. On league soccer gold medal team. Won Governor General Award for academics. McMaster is next.

Well done athletes. Take a bow.

Toronto's 2009 High School Athletes of the Year

They're the best of the best when it comes to high school sports - the athletes of the year.

Chosen by their respective schools, the first of a three-part series is in the Star today focusing on the Toronto Catholic and Public winners, in our 29th consecutive year of saluting these great athletes.

Many are moving on to post-secondary studies at schools in Canada, the United States and Europe. Some on scholarships - academic and athletic. Others taking a year off, some going to the work force or returning to high school for another year.

Among those getting the spotlight:

• East York's Eleni Grekos. She won the junior top award and now the senior. MVP in volleyball. Off to study business at Ryerson in Toronto.
• Bloor's Khaleeq Khan. Former rookie of the year, member of the school softball championship team and four times on the honour roll. Heading to the University of Toronto.
• St. Basil's Jacqueline Comeau. Played in six sports. MVP in basketball. Former junior athlete of the year as well.Going to the University of Ottawa
• Lakeshore's Marcos Diaz. Came from Honduras last year, four-sport athlete and MVP in badminton. Returns to Lakeshore in the fall.
• Cardinal Newman's Sara Ross. Was on league championship teams in rugby and soccer. MVP in both sports. Taking a year off to work.
• North Toronto's Madeleine Cummings. Appeared in 10 provincial championships and won a bronze in the steeplechase. Going to McGill in Montreal.
• West Hill's Denzel Meuret. MVP in football, wrestling and swimming. Also a search and rescue diver. Provincial competitor in swimming. Off to join the military.
• Father Henry Carr's  Kadeem Douglas. In the long jump, gold medals at the league and Metro levels and silver medal winner at the Ontario finals. Junior college in the United States.
• Riverdale's Alice Li. Competed at the Ontario playoffs in tennis, archery and volleyball. Academic honours. School claims she has been the best volleyball player in the past decade.

Just a few of the best from Toronto high schools.

Reason to Celebrate

Forgive me for the pun, but there is Reason to celebrate.

Couple of things come to mind on this warm summer day. Yes, I'm on vacation. No, I don't have a swimming pool but I am a swimmer, have won awards and am thinking about the remarkable success story of Amanda Reason, the 15-year old who set a world record in the 50-metre breaststroke on Wednesday night at the national trials in Montreal.

What's also interesting is that the bickering is on to try claim ownership for Canada's latest swimming phenom. This past year, she was a student at Toronto's Silverthorn Collegiate and in the school's High Performance Program for athletes. Makes sense since the Etobicoke Olympium is a few blocks away. So, Toronto is pumped.

But, hold on. Her home is Windsor. And the folks down the highway are fuming at Torontonians for taking credit. They also don't like the idea that we have, apparently, stolen her from them. Windsor lacks, among other things, 50-metre pools. So, some believe she made the smart move.

Toronto, by the way, is the same city that has had all the hullabaloo about school pool closures. Remember? 

Reason, in case you missed it, was clocked in 30.23 seconds to eclipse the previous world mark of 30.31 seconds set in 2006 by Jade Edmistone of Australia. Reason held the Canadian record of 30.24.

Despite the record-breaking performance, the race is not being used to qualify for the 50-metre breaststroke at the world championships in Italy, so Reason will have to swim again to earn a place on the Canadian team in that event. Last year, she won the bronze medal in the 50 breaststroke at the world junior championships and this past January took silver in the event at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships. No, she did not compete at the Ontario high school finals this past March in Toronto.

So, well done Amanda.

Toronto? Windsor? Who really cares. Mind ya, it does create lots of excitement. So, hey Canada, Ontario has something no other province can lay claim too. So there.

Blaming Coaches

So, you must have heard by now - or read it in the Star.

The father of Manny Castillo, the 15-year old former Lorne Park Secondary student who died during a Peel Region high school rugby game played in Mississauga in 2007, believes it was the hockey coaching of his son's killer that caused the tragedy.

"My personal view on how this happened is there are some hockey coaches who don't teach kids to respect their opponents," Manuel Castillo told a Brampton court, reading from his victim-impact statement. 

"The way Manny died is clear to me. When a football (rugby) player hears a whistle, they come to a stop but when a hockey player hears a whistle, they don't stop and instead begin to fight. I like hockey but not the way some coaches teach; by encouraging kids to fight."

My colleague Bob Mitchell writes that the Castillo's killer, now 18, avoided jail when Justice Bruce Duncan sentenced him to a year's probation for manslaughter. He could have faced a maximum three years in custody.

Mitchell went on to report that the former Erindale high school student, who played major junior hockey last year for an Ontario Hockey League team, must also complete 100 hours of community service and take anger management counselling. He must also provide a DNA sample to the national databank. His identity remains protected by Canada's youth laws because he received a youth sentence.

Manny Castillo died in hospital a few days after he played in that high school rugby game. He had received a severe head injury when the convicted teen picked him up and slammed him to the ground in the final moments of a junior school league game .

Duncan said this was one of those cases where a "finding of guilt" of manslaughter was enough punishment. He said the teen didn't set out to commit a crime. The death occurred in the "heat of the moment" and was fuelled by the Erindale player's "highly competitive instincts."

Now, some coaches have come forward saying that coaches should not be blamed for the tragic incident. They also don't like having words, such as "scapegoats", attached to them either.

What do you think - and is it time to re-evaluate the standards and expectations of coaching?