CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE March 17, 2021
One of the latest inductions into Pontiac High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame is a tireless coach and educator that helped out many youth during his decades of service.
Rick Valin first came to Pontiac Protestant High School (PPHS) as a social studies teacher in 1976, after a stint teaching in the northern community of Matagami. Having grown up in Montreal, he said that he and his wife Carole (who he met in Matagami), wanted to settle down in a place in between both their home towns.
“It was quite an experience after living in Montreal, going to a mining community in northern Quebec, it was very different. But I did meet my wife,” he said with a laugh. “We decided that we wanted to raise our family halfway between Montreal and Matagami.”
They settled on Shawville and have been here ever since.
“I had been coaching basketball and hockey and curling up north,” he said, adding that he had also done some coaching back in Montreal. “It was just natural to continue, because there weren’t very many teachers up there … I was the most athletic person there, so I ended up being the coach of various teams. When we came down here, I just continued.”
He noted that after his first season coaching the PPHS curling team, they qualified for the Quebec Winter Games in Amos, a stone’s throw from his old stomping grounds. He would also lead teams in hockey, rugby, football, basketball and volleyball. Along with John Petty and Stuart Marples, he helped kickstart the soccer league in Shawville, which has continued to this day.
He said that he didn’t know about being named to the hall of fame until it was announced on social media, and added that he was gratified to be included among local legends like Bryan Murray and others. He said that he picked up a lot from his fellow coaches like Petty and David Holmes.
“I didn’t know that much about basketball, so when I was coaching junior basketball, and Dave was coaching senior basketball, I would go to his practices to learn,” he said.
“A couple of the people that congratulated me were from my first year of teaching up in Matagami,” he continued. “That’s the right word, gratifying, you don’t do it for the accolades but it’s nice to get them.”
Valin added that his love of coaching was an extension of his love for teaching. He was a big driver behind the 30 hour famine project at the school as well as the Shawville Terry Fox Run, which will be celebrating 40 years this fall.
“Just the interaction with kids, it’s the same with teaching right?” he said. “You don’t get paid a whole lot of money, but you can make a difference, you know? … It keeps you young, being around young people.”
Valin pointed out that some of the players that he had the privilege of coaching over the decades have gone on to do big things and even became coaches themselves, including Darcy Findlay, Matt Greer and Luke Murphy.
“The continuation of the love for sport is the biggest legacy to see,” he said.
After retiring in 2009, Valin still managed to contribute to local athletics, through his work with the annual Terry Fox Run as well as the founding of a Friday night volleyball league. He was humble about his contributions to the community through physical activities.
“I get more from the coaching and teaching than the kids get from me,” he said.
A former colleague summed up Valin’s contribution in a write up for the hall of fame:
“The career of Mr. Rick Valin illustrates the enormous impact a teacher can have on both students and the wider community. Through his dedication in the classroom, his commitment of time to trips and clubs, and his love of coaching, Mr. Valin made his mark on Pontiac Protestant High School. His sense of humour, wide knowledge and deep passion for the social sciences challenged his students to not only be better scholars but better citizens of the Pontiac and Canada as a whole.”
