F.P. Walshe school honoured popular longtime coaches Andrew Walmsley and Craig Patton last week. The awards were presented during Blue and White Night.
Two men who have committed nearly four decades apiece to coaching F.P. Walshe school athletes were honoured recently.
Andrew Walmsley and Craig Patton were recognized for their service as coaches and role models during the annual Blue and White Night.
Walmsley and Patton were inducted in 2009 into the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame for their work as rugby pioneers in southern Alberta.
Both coaches received the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022 for their dedication to rugby.
Jane O’Connor, a former F.P. Walshe athlete who now coaches rugby at the school, said Walmsley is important to his athletes and the broader community.
O’Connor took up rugby in Grade 3 through the mini rugby program Walmsley ran at the elementary school, and played the sport through Grade 12.
When her playing career was over, O’Connor came back as an assistant coach to Walmsley for the past 10 year.
“Through that entire process Andrew has been a great coach and mentor to so many girls,” O’Connor said, noting Walmsley also coached basketball and volleyball.
O’Connor spoke of Walmsley’s work as a coach.
“He always spoke of the importance of not only coaching good athletes, but of coaching good people,” O’Connor said. “That’s what Andrew really cares about. That’s what he values as a coach.”
O’Connor said victories are the result of what the athletes did, but how they act on the field and court is because of how Walmsley coached.
Walmsley, who retired from teaching last year but keeps his hand in as a substitute, values sportsmanship, integrity, consistency, teamwork, and communication.
“He teaches all of these athletes those skills,” O’Connor said, adding Walmsley always welcomes former players who come back wanting to coach.
“I just want to say how grateful I am to have had these experiences with him,” O’Connor said.
Some of the girls who play rugby have never played any other sport before they step on the pitch, and Walmsley has been successful in instilling a love of rugby.
O’Connor thanked Walmsley for his efforts to develop young women as rugby players, and as people.
Bethany Loyst, who was named most valuable player of the Flyers rugby team at Blue and White Night, agreed with O’Connor on Walmsley’s positive influence.
“He has made a huge difference in my life,” Loyst said.
Walmsley believed in the girls’ rugby team when no one else had reason to, Loyst said, and welcomes any girl who wishes to play.
With Walmsley’s support, Flyers teams have excelled on the pitch, winning zones and provincial medals, and forming strong bonds as teammates.
“He taught us to show up, support each other, and how to laugh,” Loyst said. “More than that, he taught us how to lose with grace, and to win with humility.”
Brant Bond, a teacher at F.P. Walshe school, was a 15-year-old Grade 9 student at the school when Patton joined the staff in 1987.
Bond recalled how Patton worked his players hard in practice, driving them to improve and to become powerful athletes.
Bond’s mother invited Patton to the house a few times, so Bond had the chance to get to know Patton beyond the student athlete-teacher relationship.
“Now we have worked side-by-side as colleagues for many years,” Bond said.
In Bond’s senior year of high school, the Flyers were not blessed with height and were certainly not a favourite to win the zone championship.
Patton coached the Flyers to their strengths and the team shocked people by winning zones and earning a trip to provincials.
Bond also recalled Patton opening his apartment to his players to sleep while they were at a tournament in Lethbridge.
Bond thanked Patton for being such a strong mentor.
“I am literally a teacher in part due to him,” Bond said. “I wanted to be a mentor to someone else, like he was to me. He has impacted many lives.”
Former Flyer Michael McTighe, who is now a teacher and coach at F.P. Walshe considers himself a case study for the impact Patton has had on hundreds of young people.
“I have always looked up to him and respected him, and I owe a lot of who I am today to him,” said McTighe, who played volleyball and rugby for Patton.
McTighe cited two examples of how his development was shaped by his former teacher and coach, the first being a report card comment.
The comment was that McTighe was very competitive and tried hard in phys-ed class, but that his competitiveness sometimes prevented others from wanting to participate.
At first, McTighe wasn’t certain how him being competitive and trying hard could deter others from taking part in phys-ed activities.
“I really started to reflect on what it meant, and how my actions can impact other people,” McTighe said.
McTighe recalled an incident in rugby when he made a difficult play to score, rather than passing to a teammate who would have had an easier time crossing the goal line.
“I don’t think I have ever seen Patton so mad at me,” McTighe said. “I’m pretty sure he slammed his hat down, and yelled at me from the sideline for being selfish and then subbed me out of the game.”
Later, Patton explained how McTighe was supposed to be a leader, and that a leader doesn’t just lead by being the best player or by scoring the most amount of points.
“A true leader is someone who makes everyone on the team feel involved, and uplifts his teammates to help them succeed,” McTighe said. “I owe a lot of who I am today to Patton and the feedback he has provided me and how he pushed me to be a leader in all aspects of my life, not just in sports.”
McTighe said he went into education in large part because of the impact of Patton.
“Seeing how impactful a teacher can be on shaping who I became, I knew that I wanted to have that same impact on others as well,” McTighe said. “I hope that I can have just a fraction of the impact that Patton had on me, on my own students and athletes that I have taught or coached.”
