Biography
Jim was raised in Leaside and was an original participant in the Atom Baseball and Hockey Associations. He became a Canadian Champion in 2 sports – Ontario’s National Jr. Championship Baseball Team (1964) and University of Toronto’s Hockey Team that won the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union title (1966). Jim was the “Player-Coach” for Italy’s National Hockey Team. He played for Leaside Maple Leafs inaugural, undefeated season in the Halton County Sr. Baseball League and was on Ontario’s Team in the Pan-American Games Trials. Jim coached hockey, football, baseball and rugby locally, provincially and internationally, for over 60 years at multiple levels both amateur and professional and was a Coaching Certification Director for the Canadian Hockey Association and USA Hockey. Jim was a volunteer coach at Leaside High School for 13 years, in football, hockey and rugby. Leaside’s Football Teams won 2 City of Toronto Championships and a Metro Bowl Championship, during that time.
As a Pioneer, Jim was the Director and Head Instructor of Ontario’s 1st Women’s Hockey Camp (1973). When the Canadian Hockey Association introduced its Professional Coaching Mentorship Program in 2005, Jim was the 1st Coaching Mentor appointee for the Central Ontario-Toronto Region. Academically, Jim developed the Ontario Ministry of Education’s 1st High School, Exercise Science Course for University acceptance throughout the country. The course has been a precursor for the thousands of students entering the fields in Health Sciences.