A men's varsity basketball coach
Remember the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up"? You'd close your eyes and dream, for you were told you could be anything — a doctor, an astronaut or an economist who might even now be discovering how to best get the world out of the financial mess it's in. You could walk on red carpets, win a Nobel Prize or pen a book that changes people's lives. The world was full of possibility.
We're willing to bet, however, you were never encouraged to become a plumber, coach a men's basketball team or ensure oil rigs don't rust and sink into the sea....
Olga Hrycak, 61
Men's varsity basketball coach, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), Montreal
How did you start coaching men's basketball?
I've been coaching since 1967, when I was 21 and studying at the Université de Montréal. My former physical education teacher at Holy Names High School in Montreal brought me in to coach a team there. The next year, the school went coed and I coached the junior boys' team. The boys went 54-7 that season and the girls, 0-12. I decided I'd rather coach boys — and I never looked back.
What have been some of the highlights?
In 1987, I became apprentice coach for the Canadian men's basketball team. The head coach, Jack Donohue, was impressed, because there were no other women doing what I was doing. He knew my strength was defence and threw me in there to do defensive drills with the guys. That year, the men qualified for the '88 Olympics.
After that, I was head coach for 15 years at Dawson College in Montreal. We won eight provincial championships and, at the national level, two silvers and three bronzes. That's when my reputation was really made. Six years ago, UQÀM called. After three years and some good recruiting, we won the provincial championship in 2006. Fortune has really followed me.
(See also: The master plan: Competitive sports at midlife)
What about the lowlights?
They usually happen in the U.S., where people don't know me. Like last November, we were in Fort Kent, Maine, for a tournament, and just before the start of the first game, the referees came over to shake the head coach's hand. Only they made a beeline for my assistant coach, who's a male in his sixties. He pointed at me and told them I was the person whose hand they should be shaking. You should've seen their faces.
What do you wish you had known before you began coaching?
Nothing. This is the kind of job where you learn as you go.
What do you love about your job?
On the one hand, there's the passion for the game itself. On the other, it's a team sport that teaches you how to navigate through life. Talk to businessmen and they'll tell you this is what they're looking for in people: teamwork, leadership, a willingness to take action, a love of being challenged and the desire to do better. At its core, that's what basketball is.
