That was the dilemma facing 18-year-old Welland resident Gillian Jansen as she contemplated where she would pursue her post-secondary academic and rowing career.
The Grade 12B student at Notre Dame had applied to Brock, Queen’s, McMaster and the University of Toronto but early on she knew there were only two destinations in play.
“My biggest choice to make was whether I wanted to go away or stay home and the choice was between Brock or Queen’s.”
She was familiar with Queen’s because she trained at the Kingston university as part of Team Ontario in 2018.
“The coach for it was from Queen’s and we ended up training out of Queen’s for two weekends. I got introduced to Queen’s and we stayed in contact ever since then.”
And there was Brock.
“Brock is obviously close to home and I have met the coaches over the years.”
By Bill Potrecz: BP Sports Niagara- April 15, 2021
Dylan Dekoe’s leap of faith to play for the Gilmour Academy Lancers has paid off.
The 18-year-old Welland native spent the last two seasons with the prep school in Ohio where he honed his game, while also finishing up his high school studies.
“Originally I had hopes of playing in the OHL or getting drafted but that didn’t really work out,” the 6-foot, 190-pound centre said. “I thought about my options and starting thinking more toward the NCAA route.”
Dekoe was introduced to the prep school route by a coach.
“I thought I would give a try and went and toured a couple of schools. The biggest thing is the academic side to it as well,” he said.
Dekoe was immediately impressed with Gilmour, which features two rinks and a workout facility on campus, and also has a reputation as a top-notch academic institute.
“For NCAA proposes, obviously they want kids with really good academics,” said Dekoe, who began his high school education at Notre Dame. “There was no going wrong with it. It was the right step for me at the time and a really good decision.
“I didn’t want to regret not going.”
Dekoe collected 14 goals and 45 points in his first season with the Lancers, then followed it up with 21 goals in 41 games this year.
“I feel all the areas of my game have progressed a lot,” said Dekoe, who also played a year of junior B lacrosse for the Welland Generals in 2019. “Being able to be on the ice every single day, there are a lot of benefits. Having the ability to try new things and get outside of my comfort level a lot was really big and helped my game. It opened up my vision because I could relax and try things and be more confident.”
The Lancers compiled a 17-23-4 record this season.
As you have likely heard by now, this afternoon, Premier Doug Ford, Education Minister Stephen Lecce, and Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams announced that schools would not reopen on Monday, April 19, following the spring break. This is an open-ended school closure, with the reopening date directly tied to the community's transmission rates.
We understand that this information conflicts with messaging sent out by the Minister of Education over the weekend. However, in response to the escalating number of COVID-19 cases in Ontario, which have now grown to levels beyond what was seen in January during the month-long school closure and have exceeded the projections for a worst-case scenario for the third wave, we believe that this is a safe, responsible decision for everyone.
We understand that this is challenging for families and are grateful that the announcement came early in the week to allow parents time to plan for the pivot to virtual for what we hope is the last time this year.
Our Senior Staff and the Board's COVID leads will meet early Tuesday to finalize plans for the coming weeks of learning at home. As you already know, schools will be open for students with complex special education needs who do not learn well online. We also understand that there are families that will require technology for your child(ren) to learn successfully from home. We will provide more information to these families, and all families, about how the return to school will look on April 19 in the coming days.
In the meantime, we hope that you and your family enjoy the change of the break's pace and are safe and well.
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Should I stay or should I go?
The 18-year-old Welland native spent the last two seasons with the prep school in Ohio where he honed his game, while also finishing up his high school studies.