DSBN welcomes new sports convenor
After spending six seasons with Rugby Ontario and rising to the position of manager of provincial and high performance programs, Sean Medeiros was ready to tackle another role.
Earlier this summer, the 29-year-old native of Mississauga assumed the role of elementary and secondary school athletic convenor for the District School Board of Niagara. In that role, the recently-hired head coach of the Brock men’s rugby team will also serve as chair of the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association and oversee transfers.
“I am a big rugby guy— I played in high school and university and it was my passion — and I didn’t want to burn out, get overwhelmed and lose my passion for it,” said Medeiros, who did undergraduate and masters degrees in sports management at Brock. “It was do I lose the sport I love or do I find another job?”
He was passionate about what he was doing and he looked for a landing spot to rekindle it.
“I was waiting for a great opportunity to come by and when I saw this posting it was interesting to me because it was local and it was the other avenue that I am interested in, which is secondary school athletics,” he said.
It was in high school where he started playing rugby.
“I have found through my life that athletics is really the structure that let me be successful in school. It gave me the time management skills and all the traits that allowed me to thrive. I probably wouldn’t have gone to Brock if it wasn’t for rugby and I wouldn’t have got my masters. That was the thread that kept me going.”
He never lost interest in high school sports and kept his hand in it by coaching in Mississauga.
“I thought this role was right up that alley. It was something that I am really interested in, it is something close to home and it something I feel that I can make an impact in.”
He knows he has a tough pair of acts to follow by replacing secondary school convenor Rina Rode and elementary school convenor John Haeni.
“I didn’t quite realize the shoes that I would be filling with John and Rina. They are institutions here but thankfully they both have been amazing, giving their time to me, meeting with me and sharing resources and documents to help me get up to speed on things. That has been a huge help in getting my feet under me and getting acclimated.”
Thankfully, he has had the summer to get ready for the challenges ahead.
“It is interesting because they are two very different worlds and it isn’t necessarily what I expected coming into it. It’s exciting because I think there are a lot of opportunities to drive efficiencies between them. But there is so much that that they did.”
By having secondary and elementary school sports under the same umbrella, Medeiros sees the possibilities rather than the challenges.
“One thing that jumps out is equipment, something little like that. Instead of both programs buying track equipment, is there an opportunity to use track equipment that can be used by both and use the funds to buy more equipment or invest in other areas such as PD (professional development) and clinics for coaches? That is also something I am pretty keen to get the ball rolling with.”
With Rugby Ontario’s high performance, he oversaw all its provincial programs and worked with some 60 coaches of which 90 per cent were teachers.
“Talking with them and learning from them about their experiences in high school, I have come to understand how things go in different regions,” he said. “For me, coach education and training is huge, especially from a safety perspective. It’s critical particularly for high-risk things such as shot put, discus and things like that.”
But safety isn’t all he wants to focus on.
“It is also looking at different ways to provide opportunities for coaches who want to pursue a higher level of coaching whether it’s taking their high school or elementary school to another level or for teachers who are keen to spread their wings and coach in others areas as well. I am excited to roll that out and I hope there is a positive response and appetite for it.”
He’s confident he possesses the skillset to thrive, especially his background in event management and programming.
“I look at the events and I feel once I get one under my belt and get the flow of it then OK, an event is an event. It is just the nuances between track and field and cross country and things like that,” he said. “I feel pretty good about that but it is the anticipation of getting there. Once I get into it, it will be awesome and all the coaches are great. I was lucky to come in before the end of school so I got to meet a lot of coaches. They have been super great and they will be there in the fall to help.”
He will also be helped by a veteran crew of secondary school convenors.
“I trust them and they have full autonomy to do what they have always done. I am there to support and make sure they have what they need to do it and follow the checks and balances,” he said. “This year, I will be getting out to introduce myself to people and see how things run so I can understand the context of everything. Moving forward, I can help and offer insights.”
Things are much different at the elementary school level.
“John was probably hands on as it gets and I will be doing the same thing. I will be relying more on those teachers, convenors and coaches to help support me at that level and I will be working with everybody.”
He’s not planning to reinvent the wheel.
“John has built an amazing program over the past 55 years and if it is not broke, don’t fix it. I am coming in to make sure we keep a steady course and that things continue on the right trajectory.”
