When asked about the highlights of being the Division 1 women’s Dawson Blues basketball coach, Trevor Williams thinks of the academic achievements of his players.

Believing the impossible

“Basketball is just a tool to get the players to believe they can do the impossible,” said Trevor, who is celebrating 20 years as coach at Dawson College. Last month, Trevor received special recognition as Coach of the Year by the Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ). This is actually the fourth year in a row that Trevor has received this honour.

This year, Trevor and his coaching staff, which includes Aurélie Leblanc and Leszek Kolacki, definitely made the 2019-2020 team believe and then achieve the impossible.

Underdogs

“This year was a building year after our star players graduated in 2019,” Trevor said. “We started the season in August as the underdogs. We put the challenge to the team and told them it’s up to us to prove them wrong! We made them believe they could do it, and we were ranked #1 in the country toward the end of the season and finished #2 in Quebec.”

The Blues were supposed to travel to Nanaimo, B.C. to play in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national championship, which was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From struggling to graduating with honours

One of Trevor’s greatest achievements was coaching a player named Michelle and encouraging her to do the impossible. “She had struggled academically and had a lot of help from tutors. She pulled through at Dawson and went on to study at Dalhousie University. I was so happy last year because she graduated with honours!”

Trevor remembers another student who came all the way from Quebec City to study at Dawson so she could be a member of the Dawson Blues. “In Grade 10, she had done her research and had her heart set on Dawson College. It took a lot of courage for her to come here and study on her own,” he said.

Former player coaching

Trevor’s assistant coach, Aurélie, is another former player. He is very proud to see her sharing her knowledge with today’s players.

“When they bump into struggles later in life, they know how to overcome them,” he said. All these great players have graduated and over 100 have received scholarships at university.”

As a coach, Trevor remembers a promise he made to himself as a young man: “If I am ever in a position to influence others, I will make sure I do good.”

Guiding and sharing experience

“I try to keep an open mind and I have learned from the good and the bad coaches that I had as a player,” he said. “I think back to what I needed as a player to push forward. As a coach, all I can do is guide them and share my experience.”

To be a good coach requires a partnership with the players and the coaching staff. Throughout the years, Trevor has emphasized the importance of performing well academically and has fostered a sisterhood among the players.

The value of appreciation

Recognition and appreciation are also important. “I tell each player individually:  ‘I appreciate you.’ That goes a long way. When you feel valued, you are motivated. When you are motivated, great things happen.”

Trevor’s first season at Dawson was much like his most recent one, which he called “fabulous,” despite it being cut short. “The first year I coached, the team was not doing very well. After one year, we were the provincial champions,” he recalled.

Persevering through a tough situation and working hard to turn it into a triumph is a life lesson learned through Trevor’s basketball coaching at Dawson College. Since 2000, over 200 young players have carried this lesson with them to succeed at school and life.