Recognizing Coach Thorau

By Dr. Steve King On June 5, the GNS community gathered for the Night of the Gryphon, recognizing and celebrating another year of fantastic athletic contributions, including those of Coach Harvey Thorau. Read Dr. Steve King’s speech to Harvey below. On an evening where we have made numerous acknowledgments, we would like to make one more key acknowledgment to a continuing contribution that transcends not just GNS athletics but all of the GNS community. We passed a huge milestone last year, but I decided to hold back, knowing this was going to be a special year. Thirty-one seasons ago, Coach Harvey Thorau started the Senior Boys basketball program. And if you let me take you back to 1988/1989, the school was freshly amalgamated. GNS was a new entity. The “Gryphon” mascot hadn’t yet even been formalized. Harvey got together a group of keen athletes, and before their first game he asked them what they wanted to be called—so in their first season they were the “Hawks”. The landscape was much different back then. Unless you went to a large AAA school like Oak Bay, Vic High, or Mount Doug there was little to play for. Smaller schools played in leagues that were not much more than a glorified intramural program. Phone calls were made, games were set up. There was no island championships or provincial championships for smaller schools. But through efforts put forth by coaches like Harv, BC School Sports began to recognize all the schools and the tiers we have today. Harv’s coaching record speaks for itself: 12 Single A island championships and counting. There have been a number of years where the Senior Boys team has had to play up in AA. So if one was to take out those years, it would mean that Coach Thorau’s teams have brought home the Island Championship in over half their seasons, a 50% winning percentage. Harvey has had six teams rise to #1 single A provincial ranking. Five times the team has reached the final four at provincials, and three years in a row (2005 to 2007), the Senior Boys played in the provincial championship final game. In 2007, the team won the Single A Boys provincial title. This was a special year as his twins, Tyler and Kyle, were Grade 12s on the team. But Harvey’s greatest record is the influence and effect he has had on the student athletes that he has interacted with. The lessons, values and principles he’s taught have guided these individuals well past the borders of the court and into their adult lives. When I ask alumni about their time with Harvey, they point to many common things: time management, commitment, responsibility, coming together as one, and buying into something bigger than oneself, to name just a few. With the help of Cheryl Alexander, we created something to help Coach Thorau remember his “First 31” teams. Coach Thorau, on behalf of the entire GNS community, I thank you for all your dedication and efforts, the emotion and caring that you have given. GNS would not be the same without your dedication. Thank you for teaching us to “trust the process.”