Postings from the Track-Canada list
It is with great sorrow that I send along the sad news of the death of Donald Mills. Don passed away early Sunday morning after the CIS Championships in Windsor.
Further tributes added to page 2 [ more ]
| Tributes to Don Mills Page One – Monday 17th March 2003 via Track-Canada list |
Dear Track and Field Community and Friends,
 Don Mills Tribute 2003 It is with great sorrow that I send along the sad news of the death of Donald Mills. Don passed away early Sunday morning after the CIS Championships in Windsor. As anyone who knew Don over his decades as a coach, volunteer, mentor, and most importantly, as a close and true friend, they will understand how great his loss will be to the track community. He will be greatly missed by all of those who knew and loved him. Details of his funeral arrangements and memorial Sincerely, Paul Kemp |
| This indeed is sad news. Perhaps we can all share a memory or two of this great man.
My absolute favourite memory is simple. He was at every meet I’ve ever been to. Truly dedicated as a coach and an official. Maureen Morrison |
| Truly sad
When he came up to Waterloo, I remember we would feed him after practice before putting him on the bus back to Toronto. One day we made him pancakes. I recall him soaking up those pancakes with nearly 2/3rds a bottle of really expensive maple syrup we bought. We had a good laugh afterwards I never figured out exactly fast a “Happy Warrior” was at the end of workouts! Adam Wellstead |
| Not just every track meet( he was giving 200 meter splits in a race I was in once that had 3 starters and 2 finishers) but every road race. I think he was at the first one I ever ran and many since. Is it true he didn’t have a car? If true, that makes it even more amazing.
Regards, Martin Dixon |
| I have many memories of Don – I knew him for more than a quarter of a century. He was a colleague on my first ever international trip as a coach – the world cross-country in Rome.
At that time, Don was coaching some very good junior men and had made it absolutely clear that he did not want responsibility for a women’s team. When Gerard Mach sent out the notices of the team staff for the x-c, my name was on the list as coach of junior men – Don’s was down as women’s coach. There must be some mistake, I thought. So later that day I phoned the CTFA (as it was then) and spoke to whoever was in charge of coaching assignments. I was told not to worry – Don had left several very specific messages for CTFA staff on the answering machine, pointing out in no uncertain terms the error of their ways. That trip was my first close contact with Don and over the years he contributed much to my own coaching philosophy. We always got together at national cross-country. The nationals will not be the same without those chats. Ray Will |
| Some memories about a man whose dedication to the sport was unrivalled:
– he indeed had no car and would take the GO train in from Oakville every morning, have breakfast at the Hospital for Sick Children Cafeteria in Toronto (same breakfast every morning) where he often spent his days at the library reading and writing letters. He retired 10-15 years ago from his position as radiation safety officer from the hospital, but spent every week day at the hospital. – he spent the last 4 years as the assistant distance/XC coach for the University of Toronto and never missed a practice or meet. – he would stress academics to his athletes. I have not seen him more proud than when one athlete told him he had made the Dean’s List. Matt McInnes |
| Don was one of those ubiquitous presences at meets, as many have already identified. Being involved at the coaching level for only 8 years, my most frequent memories were of Don manning the wind gauge – probably one of the dullest jobs at a track meet, but one which requires the ability to sit still and concentrate for hours on end. I don’t think I could ever do that!!!
We at HOC also had the pleasure of Don’s company, travelling to meets in Sudbury, etc. I remember ducking off the QEW at Trafalgar Road to let Don off at the GO Station (I guess he lived somewhere in Oakville?). I would believe it if it were confirmed he didn’t have a car!!! Don will be missed by all of us at the Hamilton Olympic Club, as by everyone in the track and field/running community. Rich Gelder |
| Not only did he not have a car, but due to an illness a few years ago (I believe a stroke), he wouldn’t fly. National cross champs in Vancouver would entail leaving a week ahead of time to take the train across the country. There were also stops along the way in various cities to visit many from his former training stable.
Travelling with the U of T team in recent years, he’d always be the first on the bus, always clutching his sport bag, always there. As mentioned previously, despite living in Oakville, he was still at the indoor track at U of T several nights a week, a couple for varsity and club workouts, and then also for the other training groups he coached/advised. Ian Reid |
| I don’t know too many people who were as dedicated to anything as Don was to track. He would take the train from Toronto to Kitchener just to conduct workouts with me twice a week when I was in high School. I feel honoured to have been coached by him. He will surely be missed.
Mike Housten |
| I can remember meeting with Don on numerous occasions when he was my coach. He would usually have at least one cup of coffee, and I would watch as he poured huge quantities of sugar into the cup. I always expected that at any moment the sugar would displace the coffee and that there would be java all over the table. It is amazing to think of all of the athletes who Don has coached at one time or another. He was a good man. Bruce Deacon |
| Paul,
Where do I start, I’ve got a million Don stories, and will especially remember often receiving 5 back to back messages filling my answering machine, giving me the precise details of every athlete in even the smallest of meets. Here is another classic Don story: TJ McKenzie and I were flying out to Abbotford for the National Championships in 1997. Don (who had paid for our flights with his pension cheque I think), took a bus to Winnipeg, then a train to Vancouver, followed by another bus to Abbotsford. Our flight was delayed by 4 or 5 hours and we arrived at our hotel at 2:30AM to find Don waiting in the hotel lobby. He had been waiting since 9PM to make sure that we got checked in to the hotel alright. But that was Don. Can you forward the letter below to T&F. It is a letter I sent to my CIS athletes this morning. Thanks, Mike Kemp |
| Roman Olzewski has written a very fine memorial to Don on the OTFA home page. The URL is: http://www.OTFA.ca/ It is well worth reading. Bob Newman |
| I would like to echo Maureen’s comments. Don was always at all the meets! I used to joke with him, that he was the only coach who had a track club named after him – and he outlived that club! I am glad that I had the opportunity to know him and work with him as an official. We will miss Don. Jim Griffin |
| Don is another one of those coaches who’ve been part of Canadian the track scene forever and whom you just assume will always be there. I’ll definitely miss chatting with him at meets.
Don sustained a head injury when he was a young fellow (in his early 60’s) and from that point on, couldn’t or wouldn’t fly. But that didn’t stop him from attending virtually every major meet across Canada. I remember seeing him at the World’s trials in Edmonton and asking him how his flight had been. Dick Moss |
| Don was my first coach after highschool and I worked with him for ten years. I will remember Don for his countless, hillarious eccentricities. During the 1980s, my clubmates and I could regale a post-race hotel room with ‘Don stories’ for literally hours. My favorite detail of Don’s eccentricity was the fact that when the family with whom he had boarded for as long as anyone could remember (Don never owned a home or car) moved house, Don moved with them! Don was a creature of routine and paintaking, fanatical detail. This made him an eccentric, and often a difficult person to work with, but it was also undoubtedly the reason for his success as a coach.
I will never forget Don. Steve Boyd. |
| I met and was first coached by Don Mills over 11 years ago.
At that time, a local coach and good friend in St. Catharines was attempting to hook up myself and two other friends with a coach who could bring us to the next level in our development. We met with a few coaches, and finally with Don. And after meeting with Don it was obvious he was perfect for us. It’s not uncommon for coaches to be very committed to their athletes and help them with their athletic endeavours ( although Don out did most in that regard as well ), but what was very obvious from the get go with Don, was that he was even more concerned with his athlete’s development as people. He always made extra efforts to emphasize the importance of placing running within other priorities in your life. The one phrase of Don’s ( and all of you know there’s many to remember! ) that I will never forget is that : “There’s only two things that you can do you in life at any point in time to the best of your ability. And one of them has to be work or school.” He made me really put running in the context of my life as a whole. He was not only a coach for me but a definite mentor in my life, and his lessons and perspective were something I always admired. Ted Spencer. |
| I was introduced to Don in the early 90’s by my coach at the time who was leaving our group to free up some time for work, kids, etc. The first thing I said when I saw him was, “That guy’s been at every meet I’ve ever been to!” I think it’s till true today and I’ve been running for over 20 years now.
Don was always there for his athletes. For quite a while I commuted from Toronto to Hamilton twice per week during rush hour to do workouts at McMaster. I was in my mid-twenties and I seriously thought I was getting too old for all the commuting. Yet every time I drove, Don would catch a ride with me, manage the whole workout, then catch a ride home to Oakville. Sometimes it would just be me working out. We’d often be freezing our asses off after practice, so before we got on the 403 out of Hamilton we’d stop for hot chocolate at Tim Horton’s. “Th-th-this is m-mighty good hot chocolate.” He said that every time. Great coach. Great guy. I’m going to miss him. |
| For the past twenty years Don Mills has been timing my workouts, entering me in races and calling me to follow up with how my recovery was going, how work was, and keeping me up to date with all the track related information he felt I needed to know. For the past twenty years I’ve been meeting him at practices, driving him to the subway, go-train, roadraces, cross-country races and calling him to bounce ideas off of. This is not spectacular; what is is that I wasn’t the only one. He coached hundreds of athletes over the years and kept in contact with so many people in addition to officiating at meets; you really have to be amazed at how he kept up such a pace. Don also went out of his way to give recommendations for jobs, schools and medical advice. Standing outside in the blistering heat, freezing cold, or pouring rain timing workouts and races Don could be seen at racks around the city, Reny park, Queens park and Churchill park to name a few. My most vivid memories of Don were at High Park, probably because I was running my fastest then. In the late 80’s he’d buy us all milkshakes after the twice weekly workouts. Within an hour of finding out of his passing on Sunday morning I was into a hard 17 miler in High Park thinking of him every step. I feel truly honored to have known him for this time and to be a part of the running community which holds him in such high regard. Jamie Black |
| I was informed of this sad news this morning by a close friend, Mark Inman who shared the pleasure of knowing Don well during our years at the University of Waterloo where he coached us. I was quickly heartened though to hear that his passing directly followed the CI’s and that he passed peacefully in his sleep. Indeed it is appropriate that Don’s watch should stop after a championship meet in a hotel room shared with another coach and friend. All those who know Don understood that his athletes and coaching partners were his family and that track and field was his lot in life.
In the mid eighties, the ‘Big Man’ coached the Waterloo Warrior distance team and we built many lasting memories together. We used to poke a lot of fun at Don and some of his quirky habits and he’d poke right back with an index finger jab which always found it’s mark sharply on the upper pectoral muscle. No doubt his skills came from his early days as a boxer and god knows he kept those fingers strong by typing out workouts on his ancient typewriter…I don’t know that he ever learned to use a word processor but every workout was typed out and presented to us before practice complete with the date…he was precise about it. He seemed to have his own language using terms like ‘J’s’ and ‘U’s’ (200m and 300m runs) and blocks (interval sets). He used encourage us to run with ‘loose hips and sensible knee action’ and we would sit around and try and figure out what he was talking about. Don would faithfully take the train in to Waterloo two nights a week and after practice would meet individually with each person making sure that their personal goals were understood and addressed. If injured, he arranged medical appointments for us and came along providing moral support all the way. His commitment carried through to the summer where he would travel to visit the athletes at their homes. On one trip to Sarnia he arrived on a Saturday in time for my workout and joined my local coach Vic Delben to put me through my paces. Later he joined my family for lunch at my Aunt’s home and as we all sat talking I turned to see Don sleeping soundly sitting beside me on the sofa. It seems that Don had traveled all the previous day to visit another athlete and was simply exhausted…he pushed himself so hard…we were so important to him. To this day, friends from our Waterloo squad gather and talk about Don. His contribution to our lives will always be treasured. Harvey Mitro |
| I rarely submit to Track Canada. I did not know Don very well but he was an icon in the running world. Paul thanks for the picture it speaks a thousand words and takes me back to many special times. I am humbled by his dedication and wish him and his family and all those he touched all my condolences. I have not run in weeks but will go out tomorrow and dedicate my run to Don’s memory. Peter Fonseca |
| Although we have known Don as a coach for over 20 years, we also came to know him in a different role..thought I would share these memories.
Our 18 year old son, Josh, spent a lot of time at Sick Kids in Toronto when he was young. It was on one of our trips there in 1987 that we ran into Don in the hospital cafeteria; he was having breakfast. We did not know until then that Don worked there (he was a chemist, I believe.) Anyway, those were very stressful times for us, but that day, and every trip we took thereafter, Don would always search us out, and we’d have breakfast with him. He always seemed to make things seem a little better. After he retired, Don still made the daily trek to Sick Kids for breakfast…our last visit with him there was Josh’s final appt two years ago. As had become the habit, we once again shared breakfast. Our family remembers and cherishes the visits we had with Don, both at the hospital and at the track….we shared those memories over dinner this evening. We will all miss him. Geordie, Earl, Sarah and Josh Farrell |
| Thanks for the news. I met Don over 30 years ago – clearly he was omnipresent when it came to track & field in Canada. Many of us benefited from his wisdom and his encouragement. He will be missed.
Jerry Bouma |
| Tribute in Globe and Mail
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030317.wobit17/BNStory/Sports |
| The last photo I took of Don was just over a year ago, at national cross in Moncton and it is a typical ‘Don’ shot. Inconspicuously watching his athletes, giving quiet encouragement. I have more, and will post more as I find them. To most of us, it seemed as if Don was always old, but ageless at the same time. I knew Don from my start in the sport, 35 years ago and like others, have never known anyone more committed to anything. He always called me Big George.
George Aitkin |
| I am sure that Don would be humbled by the outpouring of affection towards him. Some more on Don that I thought of yesterday:
– he had this strange aversion to turkey and would explicitly tell me after every holiday whether it was Christmas, Easter ot Thanksgiving about how a large turkey meal had once put him out of commision for a week (no doubt missing 13 meets during that span) and he would never let it happen again. – several U of T athletes competed at duathlon Nationals 2 summers ago in Canmore, and were stunned to see Don there at the start line cheering them on in the race. He was there visiting a former athlete. – the affection his athletes former and current had for him was unrivalled. He would spend his holidays in Windsor, Canmore and Halifax spending time with the families of former athletes. – on many occasions at Riverdale, Churchill or Queen’s park in Toronto people would come to Don and say: are you Don Mills? I am so-and-so and you coached me 30 years ago…. – his ubiquitous track prescence new no boundaries as I was stunned to see him at a meet timing athletes in the Canadian running film “Second Wind”. – he would give me regular updates on my father’s achievements at work (who is a scientist at Sick Kids), often mailing me clippings from the HSC Newsletter. – he would send my dad copies of results with my name higlighted, as well as those of other Toronto athletes. Sometimes, if the results were sub-par, he would write a sympathetic comment in the margin about how it was a tough field. – at Olympic trials in Victoria in 2000, I ran well on Friday night. I was up at 8 the next morning and rushed to call my parents/ Ross (my other coach who was in Toronto), only to discover that Don had already called them at 6 am (Vic time) with the news. – Don never lost his vigor. A great example was the importance of silence during our pre-workout meetings in XC last fall. With more than 60 athletes including rowdy post-collegians, who had little interest in announcememts about drug-meetings or eligibility forms, perhaps with a surname of say…Kiteley, silence was a near impossible goal. On one fine fall day, Kiteley was regaling several Post-Colls with a tale of how in Windsor in 1887 he once placed 3rd in a race after swinging from a branch like a monkey. Kiteley did not see the stealthy Mills approach him from behind only to give him a quick rib-poke, and arm grab and a thourough dressing-down for not being quiet. I would love to say that this silenced Kiteley for more than the rest of the meeting, but alas, not every tale has a happy ending… Matt McInnes |
| Although I was not one of the many athletes to have been coached by Don, I certainly was one of the many, many more that benefited from his tireless involvement in the sport. As many have already pointed out, Don was a fixture at just about every track and field, cross-country and road race in southern Ontario for as long as I can remember. He was always there offering encouragement to not only his own athletes, but to all who were a part of the running community. He would usually be found helping to officiate, either operating the wind gauge or calling out splits.
Some of my fondest “Don stories” include: Warming up on the course in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax the day before the 1993 CIAU cross country championships. Coming around a corner, the path opened into a bit of a clearing and there before us was Don, looking somewhat lost but at the same time, right at home. This was the first time I would encounter Don at a meet far from his southern Ontario home. Although I was surprised to see him on this occasion, it certainly would not be the last time our paths would cross at a meet at the far ends of this vast country. The amazing fact that has already been pointed out is that Don didn’t fly and would take some combination of train and bus to get to the meet. Racing the Lindsay Milk Run 10k one year, I was running down the long, straight 2.5 km finishing section of the race when I went past Don standing alone on the curb at the side of the road. Don was standing there with his familiar bag at his feet and stopwatch in hand, diligently calling out splits as people ran by. As I went by, the numbers he called out stuck in my head. The time didn’t have much significance to me and it took a few seconds for me to realize why. Don was calling his splits out at some arbitrary point between the 7k and 8k markers. After a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t having some sort of late race hallucination, I had a brief chuckle and continued on, chalking it up as another classic Don-ism. Don had a wonderful but sometime odd sense of humour that I enjoyed on many occasions but one in particular comes to mind. At a track meet in Kitchener one summer, I spotted Don down by the finish line leaning against the fence talking to one of my old coaches from high school. I walked over and said hello. Don greets me with a friendly “How’s big Al?” and then goes on to say to my old coach. “You know this guys famous now. He’s all over the TV, a big movie star you know”. My old coach looks a bit surprised but with his interest peaked he asks me, “Is this true?”. Before I can deny Don’s rumour, he leans in closer to my old coach and whispers, “He’s a PORN star”. Don’s delivery was impeccable and the look on my old coach’s face was priceless. Don’s dedication and commitment to our sport and its athletes will be greatly missed. He was always willing to share a story or two from days gone by and offer his advice on what our sport needed to improve. I will especially miss seeing him at the various meets and road races but know that he will be there in spirit, watching over us. Al Pribaz |
| His passion for the sport infected many of us with a desire to excel. I remember him extolling the virtues of 16 year old Sebastian Coe one afternoon after a workout. Almost in the same breath, he lamented about why Canada couldn’t produce athletes in that league. He always seemed to have more faith in his athletes than we had in ourselves. He had an uncompromising perspective on excellence that was sometimes embarrassing, but always motivating. I used to feel somewhat guilty when I was around Don and now that he’s gone, a little of that guilt resurfaces. We probably all have some regrets about our experiences in the sport. I remember mine most clearly when I think about Don.
Rob Bracey |
| In my many years of athletics, I had numerous Don Mills sightings and it gave me a charge of adrenalin every time. Even in minor races, his attendance added significance to the competition.
I bumped into him getting off the GO train in Oakville one time and, in conversation, I discovered he knew a great deal about me. It blew my mind. Don Mills Urban Legend – myth or fact? His address was, at one time: Don Mills Ian Fallas |
| I thought that I would write this short note to the rest of the Track community to let them know how Don spent his last few days: he accompanied the UofT team to CIs, departing Toronto on Thursday. As usual he was at the bus long before the team members had arrived. After our arrival in Windsor he spent a bit of time working on his tax return, a task that he completed Friday morning.
He of course was at the track for all the sessions, and as usual wrote down all the results. I particularly enjoyed having breakfast with Don during our many roadtrips together during the last 4 years, as this was a time when he enjoyed relating stories from days gone by. When Carl Georgevski handed Don a copy of the Friday results at our Saturday breakfast Don was very happy, and we teased him about getting online, but I think that Don much preferred to write the results down himself. He was a bit tired on Saturday and dozed off for a while, but he thoroughly enjoyed all the parts of the meet he got to watch. He had dinner with the team Saturday evening at the hotel, and he of course consumed his usual bowl of ice cream. When I joined him in our suite around 10:00PM he was already in bed reading the newspaper and he gently complained about the only thing I ever heard him complain about, the Government. At about 10:30 he said goodnight and turned off the lights in his room. I can honestly say that I’ve been truly blessed to share many experiences with Don particularly over the last 4 years, and even though I will miss him tremendously, I believe he left us happy to have been doing what he had done for a long time, helping young people achieve personal bests, both on and off the track. Ross Ristuccia |
| Don Mills was never my coach, but, when I was training at UofT for a couple of months a few years ago, I encountered him at the track. Of course I had seen him everywhere before that, but I actually got to talk to him, and through one of our conversations he found out that I had written a couple articles for Athletics magazine and that I hadn’t managed to get a copy of the issues they were in. The next practice Don showed up with the issues for me. That seems to me to be indicative of the kind of person he was. Rest in peace Don.
John Lofranco |
| Like many runners on this list, I was fortunate enough to be coached by Don Mills. Track West had a strong group of talented young runners in the late 70s and early 80s, and Don brought out the best in us. He had a way of making the workouts fun, even though they were tough. He also had plenty of advice on how to improve our running even when we were away from the track – everything from how to take a shower, to what to eat and drink, to various flexibility exercises. Once he dipped into his past as a boxing coach and had us all doing slow motion shadow boxing to improve our upper body flexibility. (I understand that he once coached ex-premier David Peterson in boxing.)
What I remember most about Don is how well he prepared you for a race, not just physically, but mentally. I remember being in my hotel room the night before a big race, and Don would drop by the room in the evening after having attended the technical meeting. He would pull out the list of entries in my race and, one by one, discuss my opponents – their best times, strengths and weaknesses, and how to beat them. By the time I got to the starting line, I felt like I was the best-prepared runner in the race. And he did this with every one of his athletes. The amount of time he spent with each of us – typing up our workouts, talking to us on the phone, supervising our workouts, and attending all of our races, no matter where they were – was unbelievable. He obviously lived for his athletes and, while I was sad to hear of his passing, I was pleased to learn that he died peacefully, doing what he loves the most. It has been over twenty years since Don coached me, but I still look back on those Track West years with fondness. I’m honoured and lucky to have been coached by this wonderful man. I’ll miss him. Jerry Kooymans |
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