Coach Rao joins Welland Sports Wall of Fame
Welland Sports Wall of Fame coach Mike Rao refuses to be defined by his impressive coaching resume.
“It’s not about your accomplishments and all the things you did because those things are forgotten,” the 65-year-old Welland resident said Sunday, after the induction ceremony at the Seaway Mall. “I know it’s a cliche but I am proud of my ex-players who became lawyers, who work in the health field and those who became teachers. And what holds the most for me is that many of them are married, they have kids and they are taking on the volunteerism and that is what we are missing today.”
He believes that in some cases, the spirit of volunteer coaching has been lost.
“Everybody is thinking that I want to win this and I want to win that and they think that that is the end result of what you are doing,” he said. “They try to gather these people and take the best from all over to win a championship. But the year after, people forget and it’s gone but what is important is the building of it and the community.”
Those lessons are ones Rao learned early in his life.
“My friends are the ones that I played community sports with. My friends are on the teams that played and went to Notre Dame high school. That is my family and those are my friends and that is what is missing today.”
He agrees things have changed in the community sporting landscape.
“In those days, it was reasonable to play those sports but now it has gotten very expensive. And why? It’s because it is a financial thing and that, in my opinion, is the biggest thing that needs to change. I think it is killing grassroots sports and if I could tell anybody anything my volunteer years is they were my best years. We didn’t get paid anything. It was a labour of love.”
Rao started his coaching career in Welland Minor Basketball and in 1986 he coached a bantam boys team to an undefeated season and the top ranking in the Ontario Basketball Association. From 1986 to 2010, he served as a coach and member of minor basketball board of directors.
At Notre Dame, Rao coached the Fighting Irish senior boys to seven Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association championships and 13 Welland Tribune titles.
When he retired from Notre Dame, he took his clipboard to Brock University where he worked as an assistant on the men’s team under Charles Kissi. He became head coach of the women’s program in 2018 and retired this year after a successful run, highlighted by an Ontario University Athletics gold medal and U SPORTS silver in 2019-20. At the conclusion of that year, he was named the OUA and U SPORTS coach of the year, the H.L. Cuddly Memorial Award winner in Welland and the St. Catharines Sportsperson of the Year.
His favourite squads during his career was his first team in minor basketball and his first year with the Brock women’s program.
“Those two teams had similar characteristics in that they just wanted to play together and they didn’t care who played and who didn’t because everyone had responsibilities whether that was being a practice player or a game player. They all contributed, they all helped each other and they all bought into the vision.”
Wherever Rao coached, he took the same approach, regardless of the age or gender of the team.
“My philosophy was always to be better at the end of the year than at the beginning of the year. I tried to meld a group of individuals to play one way together and that was my goal all along.”
He was thrilled with his induction into the Welland Sports Wall of Fame.
“It feels great and I am excited to be inducted. It is a honour to be on the wall with a lot of great people.”
Present to see Rao be inducted were former players, coaches, teammates and family members.
“The things that I will remember will be my family’s support and those that supported me. It’s not one individual time, place or whatever sticks out but it was the down time I spent afterwards chatting with people and creating memories. That’s what stays with you.”
This year’s induction ceremony will be broadcast on YourTV Niagara Friday, May 10 at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 11 at 9 a.m. and Sunday, May 12 at 1 p.m.
