Head coach of the men’s basketball team Patrick Tatham has had an illustrious career. While he was an athlete he played Division 1 basketball at Cleveland State University. He moved on to play overseas for the Sions Herens Basket in Switzerland and the Itzehoe Eagles in Germany, with brief stints in Qatar and Syria.
Following his playing career, Tatham transitioned to coaching. This included jobs with Stoneridge Preparatory School in the states and the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League. After five years of being assistant coach for the Ryerson University Rams, Tatham became interim head coach from 2015-2016. Now, he is the head coach of our McMaster Marauders. Simply put, the man has seen it all.
Taking part in so many positions was a huge learning experience for Tatham. His ability to transition with ease is one of the reasons for his accomplishments.
“It’s been a nice journey. When I was at Stoneridge I had no clue what I was doing. I just did what I thought I knew to do based off my coaches at Cleveland State. Then coming back home to Stoneridge I took whatever we learned at Cleveland state to try and help the culture at Ryerson because there was no culture at all, we were one of the worst teams in Canada. It was like rolling the dice, you have nothing to lose. Just roll the dice and see what works and what doesn’t work and then make the necessary changes,” said Tatham.
As the saying goes, fortune favours the bold, and it certainly did with Tatham’s coaching style. When he began coaching at Ryerson, the team was struggling. However, the rough patch presented an opportunity for growth given that the team was willing to take risks and innovate.
“I use that blueprint now, here at Mac, there’s already a base and foundation here but it’s about me cleaning up a few things. Just doing all the necessary stuff to make sure all the guys are successful, not just on the court but in the classrooms,” said Tatham.
Tatham’s journey from high school to Division 1 basketball was quite different than what you see nowadays. Typically, top Canadian basketball prospects are noticed either before high school or midway through. Then they go to a preparatory high school in the United States. If they’re good enough, they go to a top college. However, this is not always the case, and it wasn’t for Tatham. He went to Chinguacousy Secondary School in Brampton and from there attended Cleveland State University.
Young Canadian athletes are often told that if they want to follow their dreams, they have to leave Canada. Fewer and fewer Division one scouts are looking to the north for elite-level talent, as the United States is already filled to the brim with talented basketball players. As a result, top Canadian hoopers tend to relocate to the U.S. during high school. Tatham was able to stay home for high school and then play for a top school down south, and he’d like to see more Canadian athletes do the same. In order to accomplish this, Tatham says that U sports needs to do more to incentivize young Canadian athletes to stay at home.
[pjc_slideshow slide_type="basketball-feb-6-2020"]
‘’If we want to retain some of these kids to stay home and play at the U sports level, which is pretty high in my eyes, U sports has to take it upon themselves to really find a way to make the entire playing field very balanced. Offering a little bit more money even if it’s only to five or six scholarship athletes, but I think someway somehow we’ve got to get to a point where we can retain some of these kids that go south . . . and instead get them on a scholarship for four or five years [at home],” said Tatham.
Retention of top Canadian athletes would bring U sports to another level. Can you imagine a league where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played for McMaster or RJ Barrett played for the University of Toronto? This would bring another degree of respect not only to U sports, but to Canadian athletics in general.
Beyond his vision of a brighter future for Canadian university sports, Tatham focuses on his coaching style. He aims to ensure that his coaching staff is setting a high bar for their program and other programs around the league. He and his staff choose a philosophy of leading by example, setting a precedent of excellence for the team to follow.
“I think within our culture it’s really from the head, heading all the way down to the players and managers. I’ve got to be as consistent as I possibly can and then hopefully my coaches can follow suit and then after the coaches follow suit we all put it down to the players and then the players can follow suit,” said Tatham.
Tatham, or PT as his players know him, uses tough love when it comes to coaching, making sure to always tell players what’s on his mind, whether it’s good or bad. This transparency ensures mutual respect between the coach and team—they always know what he’s thinking, and the team can focus on improving.
Outside of performing on the court, the program has a strong presence in the community. The team holds a yearly summer camp where kids from over Hamilton can come and learn from some of the city’s best athletes. It presents an opportunity for growth, not only for the kids who come to learn how to hoop better, but also for the team and coaches.
“This is the only university in the city of Hamilton so being able to have 200 kids coming to camp for two weeks is something special,” Tatham said. “A lot of the younger kids are going to look up to some of our players and when our players graduate maybe some of those young kids will come to play at Mac. Being able to do the program is not just a great thing for our program but for the city because I think the city needs more basketball camps and I’m just grateful to be a part of it.”
Younger kids from the Hamilton area however are not the only ones being mentored and inspired. Players on the men’s basketball team have access to a mentorship program where men’s basketball alumni come in and talk about life after Mac. The alumni share how the skills they learnt through the basketball program helped them later on in life.
“We’ve been doing a mentor panel for two years. I think that’s been the biggest success in my two years, I think the guys really enjoy the mentor panel and I think alumni enjoy coming back and talking to the current players. So far that’s been the most gratifying thing,” Tatham said.
All in all, the program is in great hands. From competing at an extremely high level as a player to competing for greatness as a coach, Tatham has seen it all. His level of experience and understanding, as well as his connection with fellow staff and players, will be key for the team this season and the years ahead.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
I fell in love with hip hop around 2013 when I listened to my first rap album, Drake’s Nothing Was the Same. To me, hip hop is an art of storytelling, rooted in struggle and triumph. It has its haters and it is not perfect, but it has also saved and changed countless lives.
In the tradition of the 1970s New York City DJs and MCs that founded the genre, the guardians of modern hip hop are innovative, creative and heartfelt. Anyone can pick up the mic and tell their stories. As fans, we just need to turn up the volume on game-changing artists.
Buddah Abusah is a Hamilton-born and raised creator spreading a message of peace and love. He began writing at the age of 11 and rapping seriously at the age of 16. Haviah Mighty is a Toronto-born, Brampton-raised musician who is also a member of the rap group The Sorority. She began rapping at the age of 12, combining her seven years of singing lessons with her newfound interest in hip hop.
I spoke separately to these two local rappers about their thoughts on hip hop. Both artists spoke about the importance of the genre not only because of the music, but because of the culture.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo7s8IlnRTJ/
Buddah Abusah: My inner city message is letting all artists know that no matter where you're from, [as] long as you put your mind to it, you can be successful in your way. [I want to] show people [that if you] put your mind to it and indulge yourself properly, you can get yourself to that gold, platinum status [that] Canadians are doing more often now. Also… the message I want to give out is that all my music is to peace, love and equality. No matter what goes down, just treat it with peace and love because at the end of the day that's what everybody needs.
Haviah Mighty: I definitely like to pull from the rawest, truest points of my life to try to create the most effective message possible, which is usually the things that are most important to me. The narrative will always change based on the shifting of the energies around us and things that are happening. But I would definitely say… just being a Black female, I am political in nature. The hair that I have, the skin tone that I have, the gender that I am and what I chose to do for a career are to some people very oxymoronic. I think naturally just my look and my delivery and my vibe is a little bit of an empowering, stepping out of your element, believing in your true self kind of message before even opening my mouth. I don't think that's something I can really escape or run from and I'm actually very happy to naturally represents that. I feel that people around me resonate with that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt8_KYXAXM5/
BA: Best part is the growth. For me I love seeing individuals or an individual put their mind to something and watch it come into fruition. Right now I'm doing that with a couple people/groups. I've worked with some of them in the past and just watching them help the culture of [Hamilton] is the best part because I know this city will get there. Like everybody knows the city is growing. And it'll be interesting seeing Hamilton have their own culture and their own sound like how Toronto has their own sound. Hamilton is far enough where we see Toronto and we want to be like the [greater Toronto area] and be included like the GTA, but we still want our own.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BorVUiiHLRt/
HM: The best part of the hip hop community is the community. I think hip hop is very cultural and the community is very culture-based… [W]ithin hip hop in my experience, you can go to different venues and it's like these are people that you've grown up with because at the cultural level, you guys are so connected. It might be the same for punk music and rock and stuff [but] I'm not as embedded in those communities to know. I think for me it's the beautiful marriage between the sonic vibe of hip hop and then just like the community of hip hop and how different yet similar those two things are.
BA: I'm going to be releasing new material spring, summer time. I've just been working with other artists, doing some production, audio engineering. And other than that, I'm just taking my sweet, sweet time. I'm not trying to [give] you the exact same trap sound that you're always hearing on the radio or that your friends play. I'm here giving you something completely different. I'm giving you good vibes, I'm giving you vibes for strictly hippies… My goal with this is creating an entirety of a sound for the city.
HM: I have an album coming out. I'm hoping that this can really open up some interesting conversations. I'm really hoping that we can see some shifts in female hip hop and what we expect from being a female in hip hop and what we expect from I guess just the gender expectations. I would love to see some of those surpassed with some of the stuff I'm coming out with. But definitely just trying to contribute positively to the hip hop community and that hip hop culture and to tell good, impactful stories that can make some good change.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp-dJixASg6/
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
Among the many South Asian designers in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area, one shines out with her ability to blend the splendour of the culture with the modern looks of Toronto: Mani K. Jassal.
Situated between a small biryani shop and a skating rink in the heart of a small subdivision in Brampton, Jassal’s showroom stands out with a bright white sign announcing her name. The showroom itself is full of vibrancy and colours ranging from royal blue to neutral beiges, with different collections adorning the all-white room. Hidden away in the storeroom and garage, multiple sewing machines and a full-size cutout of Toronto singer and rapper Drake idly sit.
The collections themselves at first appear to be traditional South Asian bridal wear, but upon closer inspection, one notices a few distinct deviations: bustier tops as opposed to the typical cropped t-shirt, deeper plunges and the use of leather in place of cotton all deviate from the traditional styles, but work well with the pieces. Jassal herself stands behind a small desk, contrasting the colourful room in a black t-shirt dress and a pair of Birkenstocks.
The Mani K. Jassal brand is wildly popular among the South Asian diaspora in North America; she currently has a showroom in Brampton, Canada and Los Angeles, USA. She typically sees three to four clients per hour, and has recently expanded her business by hiring others to help her with consultations. While Jassal maintains a serious evening wear brand, she’s still tongue-in-cheek; her Instagram page features both her work and pictures of her and her Drake cutout, modeling her latest designs.
Jassal, the daughter of Indian immigrants, began designing at the age of 11, sketching out designs for characters she admired like Cinderella. It was during high school when she decided to learn how to make clothing herself, both from her seamstress mother and the fashion design classes her high school offered. Despite her clear talent, Jassal originally did not plan on going into fashion design.
Jassal experienced a similar predicament many South Asian creative youth go through when deciding their career path; on one hand, she was invested in succeeding and creating a stable life for herself within Canada, but found herself drawn to the risky arts.
“I was really good at math and science… [my parents] wanted me to be an engineer or a lawyer. I thought fashion design was a dream and applied for engineering programs,” Jassal said.
Jassal ultimately applied to the notoriously difficult fashion design program offered at Ryerson University, which is rated as the second most difficult program at the school, after electrical engineering. Once she was accepted, Jassal took it as a sign and decided to take the plunge and pursue fashion design seriously.
"I used fabrics like leather, techniques like laser cutting and used unconventional colours like black and white."
Mani K. Jassal
Designer and Owner, Mani K Jassal Showroom
Interestingly enough, Jassal did not initially plan on focusing on South Asian bridal wear. Before her fourth year at Ryerson, Jassal planned on going into evening wear, focusing on couture dresses. But after being exposed to the sartorial world in India, she decided to do her final collection on Indian bridal wear. Her work was an instant hit; her use of experimental, non-traditional colours and sexier silhouettes reinvigorated the market and changed the way people view South Asian bridal wear in general.
“I used fabrics like leather techniques like laser cutting and used unconventional colours like black and white. Maybe not now, but at the time, more scandalous silhouettes,” Jassal said.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="33" gal_title="Mani K Jassal 1"]
Following her undergraduate degree, Jassal was faced with a choice: either move out of the province to take on a job in Montreal or Europe, or stay and create her own brand.
“I tried looking for a job in design and it’s so hard in Toronto unless you move away, and even then, you’re not going to get paid,” she said.
Jassal opted for the latter option, and opened up her shop about a year following her degree. Since then, she has been met with immense success.
All her pieces are all ethically made within Canada, and Jassal uses a range of design techniques such as laser-cutting to create precise designs. Her prices mirror those of most ethically produced clothing stores, such as White Elephant, where a blouse goes for about $160.
Jassal’s brand is unique in the bridal wear world for its experimental colours and palettes and always wanting to push boundaries.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="34" gal_title="Mani K Jassal 2"]
Typically, South Asian bridal wear consists of crop top and full-length skirt, called a lengha or sari depending on the region. The colour palette sticks to auspicious colours such as red, yellow and green.
“I really do want to push the boundaries because when you go into Indian stores you see the same stuff again and again,” she said. “And we would wear bustiers with our western wardrobe, so why not be a little sexy with our Indian wardrobe? I do have other options, but it’s just about being different,” Jassal said.
Much of Jassal’s clothing and presentation contrasts the more traditional pieces which come from local South Asian tailors and seamstresses. While their designs tend to be loud and full of multiple colours, Jassal’s pieces follow stricter colour palettes and include unconventional colours such as black, white and neutral shades. Her influences span from the architecture of the Rajasthani city of Udaipur to Drake and M.I.A., which she cites to be the reasons why her work feels so fresh. Jassal still maintains much of the integrity of the traditional styles; she just adds something new to it.
“I incorporate two cultures into [my work]; I’m Canadian and I’m Indian and so it’s like both worlds,” she noted.
I really do want to push the boundaries because when you go into Indian stores you see the same stuff again and again.
Mani K. Jassal
Designer and Owner, Mani K. Jassal Showroom
The two cultures are strikingly clear throughout her work. While Jassal is officially a South Asian bridal wear designer, she by no means wants her pieces to be limited to that label. For example, the styling of all her pieces in her Los Angeles showroom drastically differ from the styling of her Brampton showroom, where the pieces are styled as gala outfits as opposed to bridal wear.
Much of her latest collection deviates from most, if not all, traditional bridal wear. Her latest bridal collection incorporates the traditional red South Asian brides typically wear, but the pieces themselves include tufts of fur and fringe and are cut in a way that teeters the line between outerwear and lingerie.
Jassal plans on venturing into other markets in the coming years. She hopes to expand into menswear, homeware and lingerie and eveningwear in the near future, and eventually have a shop in every major city. But her work remains the talk of the South Asian diaspora in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area, with her evocative, elegant designs.
