When I entered UBC I had the intention to become an architect. After the first year of study I found that I had little interest in the required course work and began to consider alternatives. I discussed the situation with my dad who commented that “to be happy in life a person needs job satisfaction” and that “I should choose a field that I’m good at and like”.
Coincidently, I bumped into a baseball buddy who had just finished his first year of the BPE program. We chatted and I signed up. I had been very involved in school and community sport and physical activity and the prospect of “working” in that environment excited me.
At that time, the School’s degree program was geared to produce teachers for the school system and the graduate study program did not yet exist. After the BPE I was offered a position at Hillside Junior High, in West Vancouver, and during the five years there I developed an interest in how physical activity affects the growth and development of the students. This curiosity led me to the academic study of these processes and my enrolment in a Masters degree program at the U of Oregon and employment at Vancouver Community College (now Langara College). During my two years there I realized that there was more to learn and returned to Oregon to study for a PhD. Upon completion of that I was offered a position at Magill University and then the U of Montreal.
In 1973, to my great pleasure, I received an invitation to join the School of PE at UBC which I accepted and have lived “happily ever after”.
During my BPE Studies I was inspired by Dr Max Howell, a former Australian rugby international who had just received his PhD from the U of California. He brought an enthusiasm for the academic study of PE and also accepted the responsibility for the development of the rugby program. His leadership in these areas was just what I needed.
My favourite course was the newly created, by Howell, “Tests and Measurement for PE“ that served to enhance my interest in the further study of sport and physical activity as they affect the growth and development of youth.
Of course, studying was a major element within a student’s life and the original Library’s large study hall was the gathering place. The highlight for me was the friendship that developed with my now wife of 63 years.
The best career advice that I received as a prof who was dealing with a heavy workload was “Don’t let other people’s’ problems become your problems”.
