ROPSSAA Year in Review Part 1: Athletes of the Year

Congratulations to the many athletes of the year at the ROPSSAA schools. Below is a copy of the list of athletes as printed in the Toronto Star earlier in the month. You can view the original article here.

First some numbers:

- 6 schools had co-male athletes of the year and 4 schools had co-female athletes of the year

- There were 4 repeat male winners and 5 repeat female winners

- The most sports played by an athlete of the year was 5, accomplished by both Kevin Caister (Mount Carmel) and Jaimie Slana (Loyola).

- Both Robert Hall and d'Youville did not award male athletes of the year this season; does anyone know why? If so, please e-mail ropssaa@gmail.com.

Below is a list of the sports the athletes of year played. For the boys, the big three (basketball, football, and volleyball) were at the top while volleyball was the most common for the girls.

Most popular sports for male athletes of the year
Listed in order of number of athletes

21: Basketball, Football, Volleyball
12: Soccer
11: Track & Field
10: Rugby
9: Baseball, Hockey
8: Badminton
5: Golf
4: Cross-County, Lacrosse
3: Skiing
2: Softball, Tennis How? Is there an informal competition for boys?
1: Cricket, Curling, Swimming, Table Tennis
0: Archery

Most popular sports for female athletes of the year
Listed in order of number of athletes

41: Volleyball
23: Basketball
22: Soccer
15: Flag Football
12: Track & Field
10: Badminton
9: Rugby
8: Hockey
7: Field Hockey, Softball
6: Lacrosse
5: Tennis
3: Cross-Country
2: Swimming
1: Curling, Skiing, Wrestling
0: Archery, Cricket, Golf, Table Tennis

Here is the list of athletes of the year:

PEEL REGION BOYS

Applewood Heights (Mississauga) — Jason Chuck (football, rugby)

Ascension of Our Lord (Mississauga) — Freddie Appiah-Appiah (basketball, track and field)

Bramalea — Michael Sheppard (football, soccer, rugby)

Brampton Centennial — Sean Allen (golf, volleyball, hockey, lacrosse) and Scott Christian (tennis, volleyball, wrestling, rugby)

Cardinal Leger (Brampton) — Kyle Benoit (baseball) and Nathaniel Smith (baseball)

Cawthra Park (Mississauga) — Wes O'Neill (baseball, basketball, volleyball)

Central Peel (Brampton) — Kevin Smith (baseball, golf, lacrosse, hockey)

Chinguacousy (Brampton) — Jafari Francis (cross-country running, track and field)

Clarkson (Mississauga) — Kevin Coach and Andrew Foster (sports not provided by school)

Erindale (Mississauga) — * Nick Walters (football, basketball, rugby)

Father Goetz (Mississauga) — Ulysses Mendoza (volleyball, basketball, track and field)

Fletcher's Meadow (Mississauga) — Chris Gayle (volleyball, basketball)

Glenforest (Mississauga) — * Sean Lemon (basketball, track and field, volleyball, baseball)

Gordon Graydon (Mississauga) — Andrew Zhuang (badminton, volleyball)

Harold Brathwaite (Mississauga) — Kevin Sy (volleyball, rugby)

Heart Lake (Brampton) — Ian Gibson (cross-country running, hockey, lacrosse, rugby)

Humberview (Bolton) — Zarik Furmanov (wrestling)

Iona (Mississauga) — Richard Whyte (football, basketball, track and field)

John Cabot (Mississauga) — Marco Mazzotta (soccer, cross country running)

John Fraser (Mississauga) — Chris Walker (volleyball, basketball, soccer)

Lincoln Alexander (Mississauga) — * Anirudh Singh (soccer, volleyball, skiing, badminton)

Lorne Park (Mississauga) — Ian Campbell (football, baseball, alpine skiing)

Loyola (Mississauga) — Evan James (football, soccer)

Mayfield (Caledon) — Kristoph Klein-Panneton (football, Nordic skiing, rugby)

Meadowvale (Mississauga) — Cody Allard (football, curling, lacrosse)

Mississauga — Jeff Chou (badminton, volleyball, basketball)

North Park (Brampton) — Michael Groux (football)

North Peel (Brampton) — Julio Orantes (volleyball, softball, badminton, soccer)

Notre Dame (Brampton) — Jabar Westerman (football, basketball)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Mississauga) — Kevin Caister (hockey, golf, volleyball, baseball, badminton) and Wil Wright (swimming)

Philip Pocock (Mississauga) — Mike Chondronikolas (football, track and field, soccer, basketball) and Tom Chondronikolas (football, track and field, soccer, basketball)

Port Credit — Jason Borowski (football, wrestling, baseball)

Rick Hansen (Mississauga) — Benham Amirghassemi (table tennis, volleyball, soccer)

Robert Hall (Caledon) — No one chosen this year

St. Aloysius Gonzaga (Mississauga) — Graham Baillargeon (golf, hockey)

St. Augustine (Brampton) — Travis Frances (volleyball, basketball, track and field)

St. Edmund Campion (Brampton) — Delon Solomon (football, soccer)

St. Francis Xavier (Mississauga) — * Cory Fernandes (rugby, football, basketball)

St. Joan of Arc (Mississauga) — Junior Ellis (football, basketball, soccer, track and field)

St. Joseph (Mississauga) — Harry Ngo (badminton, football)

St. Marcellinus (Mississauga) — Roman Mironovic (soccer, football, hockey)

St. Marguerite d'Youville (Brampton) — No one chosen this year.

St. Martin (Mississauga) — Ekpedeme Moren (football, basketball)

St. Paul (Mississauga) — Justin Lipiec (volleyball, basketball) and Niko Rukavina (hockey, volleyball)

St. Thomas Aquinas (Brampton) — Mitchell Merante (hockey, golf, baseball)

Streetsville (Mississauga) — Paul Cameron (volleyball, rugby) and Caleb Green (volleyball, rugby, hockey)

The Woodlands (Mississauga) — Brandon McKenzie (basketball, football, track and field, cross-country running)

T. L. Kennedy (Mississauga) — Talha Hadi (tennis, cricket, badminton)

Turner/Fenton (Brampton) — Courtney Stephen (football, basketball, track and field)

West Credit (Mississauga) — Lirim Baraku (basketball, volleyball, badminton, softball)

Westside (Orangeville) — Brett Barwick (volleyball, basketball)

PEEL REGION GIRLS

Applewood Heights (Mississauga) — Radha Jain (field hockey, tennis, volleyball, rugby)

Ascension of Our Lord (Mississauga) — Chantelle Selkridge (basketball, track and field)

Bramalea — Alanah Kelly (field hockey, volleyball, soccer)

Brampton Centennial — Lisa May (volleyball, flag football, soccer)

Cardinal Leger (Brampton) — Vanessa Brathwaite (basketball, track and field)

Cawthra Park (Mississauga) — Krissy Carlton (badminton, basketball, volleyball)

Central Peel (Brampton) — Candace Ingleson (volleyball, soccer, softball, flag football)

Chinguacousy (Brampton) — Chantel Tate (rugby, basketball, volleyball)

Clarkson (Mississauga) — Nav Deol (sports not provided by school)

Erindale (Mississauga) — Tina Amir-Ghasemi (swimming, rugby, basketball, hockey)

Father Goetz (Mississauga) — Ryann Fletcher (basketball, volleyball)

Fletcher's Meadow (Mississauga) — Jenee Nairne (basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball)

Glenforest (Mississauga) — Jenny Walker (softball, field hockey, volleyball)

Gordon Graydon (Mississauga) — Alina Maslenkova (tennis, volleyball, badminton)

Harold Brathwaite (Mississauga) — Jamila Zubair (volleyball, track and field, flag football)

Heart Lake (Brampton) — Tanesha Mutch (lacrosse, volleyball, flag football, badminton)

Holy Name of Mary (Mississauga) — Melissa D'Ambrosio (lacrosse, volleyball) and Andrea Joyce (hockey, lacrosse)

Humberview (Bolton) — Sandra Hamilton (field hockey, volleyball, track and field)

Iona (Mississauga) — Cristina Senese (soccer, hockey) and Megan Stoncius (basketball, volleyball, flag football)

John Cabot (Mississauga) — Melanie Oliveira (volleyball, flag football, softball)

John Fraser (Mississauga) — Alyssa Acorn (swimming, flag football, track and field)

Lincoln Alexander (Mississauga) — * Courtney Birchard (basketball, badminton, soccer, volleyball)

Lorne Park (Mississauga) — Jackie Byers (field hockey, lacrosse, alpine skiing, badminton)

Loyola (Mississauga) — * Jaimie Slana (curling, badminton, basketball, volleyball, softball)

Mayfield (Caledon) — Jane Kirby (rugby, flag football)

Meadowvale (Mississauga) — Anna Yazdan (wrestling, rugby, flag football)

Mississauga — Rebecca Dyer (soccer, flag football, volleyball)

North Park (Brampton) — Kelsey May Thompson (badminton, volleyball, flag football, soccer)

North Peel (Brampton) — Hannah Asare (basketball, volleyball, badminton)

Notre Dame (Brampton) — Felicia Turone (soccer, cross country running, volleyball)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Mississauga) — Erin Flynn (volleyball, flag football, soccer)

Philip Pocock (Mississauga) — Lisa Shaheen (volleyball, lacrosse, soccer, rugby)

Port Credit — Erica Sertic (field hockey, soccer, ice hockey, volleyball)

Rick Hansen (Mississauga) — Lisa Nguyen (basketball, volleyball)

Robert F. Hall (Caledon) — Ashton Hogan (field hockey, ice hockey, rugby)

St. Aloysius Gonzaga (Mississauga) — Keesha Danso-Dapaah (track and field, flag football, cross-country running)

St. Augustine (Brampton) — Alicia Smith (track and field, basketball, volleyball, soccer)

St. Edmund Campion (Brampton) — * Lindsay Furtado (cross-country running, track and field)

St. Francis Xavier (Mississauga) — Cassie Quayson (basketball, volleyball, soccer)

St. Joan of Arc (Mississauga) — Brittany Gregory (basketball, track and field)

St. Joseph (Mississauga) — Katie Hunter (soccer, flag football, volleyball)

St. Marcellinus (Mississauga) — * Stephanie Folino (basketball, volleyball, track and field)

St. Marguerite d'Youville (Brampton) — Christie Ryan (ice hockey, volleyball, softball)

St. Martin (Mississauga) — Brittany Maciel (basketball, volleyball, badminton, soccer)

St. Paul (Mississauga) — Jenna LaPlante (basketball, volleyball, soccer) and Stephanie Porteous (basketball, volleyball, soccer, track and field)

St. Thomas Aquinas (Brampton) — * Holly Nonis (basketball, volleyball, ice hockey, soccer) and Laura Nyholt (volleyball, soccer)

Streetsville (Mississauga) — Katelin Nicholls (tennis, track and field, volleyball, badminton) and Carolyn Quigley (volleyball, tennis, rugby)

The Woodlands (Mississauga) — Kristen Drury (basketball, lacrosse)

T. L. Kennedy (Mississauga) — Sadaf Chaudhry (volleyball, soccer)

Turner/Fenton (Brampton) — Ashley Boland (rugby, hockey, flag football)

West Credit (Mississauga) — * Stacey Burt (volleyball, basketball, badminton, softball)

Westside (Orangeville) — Natalie Baumlisberger (tennis, volleyball, soccer)

Once again, congratulations to all winners. Part 2 of ROPSSAA year in Review will cover the Fall sports.

ROPSSAA Soccer "On Probation"

Recently, all the soccer coaches in ROPSSAA were contacted by the folks at the board office and told that the sport was "on probation" next season. What does this mean and why was this action taken? Below is what I have managed to find out so far.

Apparently, last season was an especially difficult one in regards to altercations between players; problems with fans; and especially verbal abuse from coaches and players towards referees. I have been lead to believe that this action was taken after complaints from the group representing referees in the area and threats not to do high school matches any more.

As far as what the probation involves, that has not been made entirely clear. Teams will be monitored more closely at the board office and there will be a greater emphasis on referees reporting problems to those that run ROPSSAA. However, there have been no specific threats made in regards to what exactly are the standards for reportable behaviour and the potential consequences. No one is even sure what thresh-hold must be met in order for the league as a whole to fail this probationary period.

As can be expected, the coaches in ROPSSAA have not taken this news very well. Many believe that the problem is limited to a few frequent offenders but that those in charge simply can't be bothered to deal with them on a case-by-case basis. One former ROPSSAA soccer convener has even written a rather angry and accusatory response, blaming recent conveners for not dealing with disciplinary problems on a timely basis. This convener has even offered to run the show next year in order to ensure that things improve.

What ROPSSAA hopes to accomplish with this probation isn't entirely clear. Many coaches did not see any noticeable decline in behaviour this past season so they fear that they will only discover the standards too late. Others believe that it's simply a show to quiet the referees. They also wonder why referees have not taken this same action in rep soccer where violations are more numerous. They believe it's a big bluff since referees would never give up high school games where they are paid the same as rep soccer but have shorter games; less paper work to complete; and specific people in authority (i.e. principals) o whom they can complain if a coach or team is especially difficult.

Look for this issue to flare up for a few weeks; for the Toronto Star to exploit it for one of their many creating-controversy-in-high-school-sports-where-none-exists articles; and then for the probation to magically disappear after next season.