One of my very good friends is from Wabush located in Labrador West and home to the JR Smallwood Thunderbolts! In addition to Greek Gods running around town the Express from Labrador City Collegiate were not backing down from anyone on the basketball court! Finally next up were the mighty Menihek Magic led by Paul Smith who could dominate their opponents! I had a lot of fun interviewing the guys (Paul Smith, Chris Barrington & Adam Chaulk) and appreciate getting a chance to finally get my questions about basketball in Labrador West answered. Hope you enjoy it!
Ian
Labrador West Basketball
In the 1890’s a prominent Canadian geologist, Albert Peter Lowe, discovered a massive deposit of iron ore in the area now known as Labrador West, home to the twin towns of Labrador City and Wabush. When you think about it, Labrador West is really in the middle of nowhere. Goose Bay is an hour by air and Churchill Falls was a half hour by air. Fermont, PQ was a 15 min drive from Labrador City and a trip to the Island was much longer and more expensive. Living in Lab West was akin to living in a bubble. Three high schools with thriving student bodies were located in Lab West. Menihek and Labrador City Collegiate were located in Labrador City with JR Smallwood being found in the neighbouring town of Wabush. This close proximity to each other resulted in some great rivalries and exciting games back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. This article will seek to introduce some of the best basketball players from this era in Lab West’s sporting history and discover what the atmosphere was like in the schools come tournament time with a trip to the Island for the winners!
The Twin Towns: Labrador City & Wabush
When mining operations commenced on the massive iron ore deposits adjacent to both Labrador City and Wabush, people began moving to the area for work with the Iron Ore Company (IOCC) of Canada and Wabush Mines. In 1961 Labrador City was founded to accommodate employees of IOCC. To this day, iron ore mining continues to be the primary industry in the town for the ten thousand residents. The twin town of Wabush is located in western Labrador, close to the Quebec border and 5 km south of Labrador City. Incorporated as a town in 1967, Wabush has a population of close to two thousand people.
Close Ties, Multiple Sports
Living in a proverbial bubble allowed for a great sporting culture in the towns which played out through the three schools. Over the course of writing this article, I have to admit that basketball was a big deal in the winter but that Labrador West was committed to a seasonal rotation of sports (soccer, hockey, softball, volleyball) that received equal attention at the three schools. Each sport had the same players over the course of the seasons and, as is uncommon today, players did not specialize in any particular sport besides hockey mostly.
JR Smallwood Collegiate Thunder Bolts
The smallest school in Lab West was JR Smallwood Collegiate but what it lacked in population, they made up for in heart. When “ Thunderstruck” came pumping out of the speakers the Thunderbolts came on to the court to a roar of approval from their loyal fans. J R Smallwood Collegiate was a K – 12 school with a small gymnasium. The gymnasium floor was parquet wood that was glued down onto a concrete slab. There was not much room on the sidelines. The backboards were fan shaped metal and have never been upgraded to glass. JRS did have viewing areas on the side from corridor areas on the floor above gym level which were packed in games with spectators loudly cheering on Adam Chaulk and the Thunder Bolts!
Adam Chaulk
Playing the point for JRS was the perfect position for Adam but what made him special was his ability to rebound and outlet the ball with expert precision. Most of the time his partner in crime, James Fitzgerald, was the recipient of his run and gun passing for easy buckets. Vice-versa with Fitzgerald doing his best to rebound while letting Chaulk get out on the break. Chaulk and Fitzgerald were compared to a 2 headed snake, if one didn’t get you the other one would. To this end, both athletes averaged 25 – 30 points a game each over the course of their final season at JRS. In their Grade 12 year JRS qualified for a coveted fly out to attend the provincial 3A tournament being held in Grand-Falls/Winsor that year. The Thunder Bolts were a 3A team based on population but wanted to compete at 2A’s because it was a better fit. Despite having to play more experienced teams they cruised through the round robin before running into one of the best basketball players in Newfoundland history, John Deveraux, and the Stella Maris Mystic in the semi-finals. For the young guns from JRS this was the first time they had ever played a team as fast as the Mystic with a next level player. The Mystic had applied to go to 4A’s in search of a show down with a ridiculously talented Mount Pearl Senior High squad who were on a 103 game win streak and were turned down despite the fact that they were the strongest team, arguably, in the province that year! Devereux went on to star at Memorial University for five years and play professionally overseas in Germany for two years where he played against NBA champion and NBA Hall of Famer (or soon to be anyway!) Dirk Nowitski. Not a bad resume for a lad from Trepassey!
Just as a point of interest, 1991 was the final year high school athletes could return for a fourth season of sports. Unfortunately, for Adam and company, Devereaux was back for the extra year of high school. He and another teammate needed honours math for the programs they wanted to do so they stayed at home for an extra year to get themselves academically qualified for university. Sadly for Labrador West basketball fans this extra year in Trepassey for Devereaux cost them the banner that year. Hard luck for the talented Thunder Bolts but what great memories they made regardless.
In the summer of his Grade 12 year Adam’s father accepted a position in Labrador City. This meant that he would not be eligible for bussing if he wanted to attend JRS. On the day school opened in Labrador West Adam’s dad asked him which school he would like to be dropped off at and he chose JRS. Rules surrounding who attended what school were strict but in this case the administrator Adam spoke to made the decision for him when they stated: “ I think we will look the other way on this one Adam. Let’s have a great year!”
To close, Adam was invited to try out for the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds which he gladly accepted. He soon realized he would not be able to keep up on the school work and play varsity basketball also. “ I just couldn’t do both so I made the decision to leave the basketball program.” While he still believes he made the right decision, it was hard to let basketball go and give up the opportunity to play at the next level.
Labrador City Collegiate Express
Now closed, LCC had the smallest basketball court amongst the three schools with little or no room on the side and end lines. With the help of IOCC and some fund raising, glass backboards were installed in the mid 80’s. The floor was identical to JRS’s and the gym, while small, still had room for fans on the stage. Ironically, the only SSNL provincial championships in recent memory to be played in Labrador West was the girls 2A in 1987 and the host LCC Express had the smallest gym. Despite the cramped conditions, the girls took home the silver medal! The only SSNL banner to be won by a Lab West school happened the year before in 1986 when the LCC girls team travelled to Burin for 2A provincials where they defeated the hosts for the win! Despite the success of Labrador City female teams, the boys were strong also and with next level players like Chad Barrington leading the way the LCC gym was rocking more nights than not!
Chris Barrington
Chris Barrington was a force to be reckoned with on the basketball court. He averaged 30 + points per game in high school and went on to spend a year at St. Mary’s in Halifax (SMU) before transferring to the University of New Brunswick (UNB) to finish out his career with the Varsity Reds. Sadly, Chris suffered repeated knee injuries (torn ACL and a partially torn meniscus) which derailed a potentially great basketball career and only allowed him to complete two seasons at the next level.
Blessed with great “hops” and a strong work ethic Chris was amazing to watch on the court. He had a different motor than his peers and a super quick first step. This skill set showed when he would grab a rebound and take it coast to coast in a flash. He had a polished jump shot which Lester Simmons (his coach at LCC) helped him develop and when he would take it hard to the basket for a contested layup in a game, the small gym at LCC would explode!
Chris spent two summers with the NLBA provincial team program. He stayed with notable NL baller Richard Brenton in the summers. The 6ft8 center for the Acadia Axemen originally from Marystown went on to play five years in Wolfville before spending the next five years playing professionally in a variety of countries. Let’s just say that Chris was hanging around with some very strong athletes once his Labrador West bubble burst.
To close, Coach Simmons wrapped it up nicely: “And Chris. What can I say? One of the nicest, hard working kids I’ve had the privilege of working with. He was the only one (at LCC) who really set his sights of doing more with basketball once his high school career was done.”
Menihek Magic
By far the best gym in Labrador West could be found at Menihek High School, home of the Magic! The gym was so big that it actually could be split into 2 smaller gyms for games when needed. It had a sheet cushioned vinyl type floor that eventually was replaced with a poured rubberized floor. There is plenty of room on the sides and stage for spectators. It had square metal back boards until the early 90’s and now has glass backboards on the main court. Everyone loved playing at Menihek because the court was bigger and the space for fans to attend was generous. You had a great view for the court and when Paul Smith would come screaming down the lane to dunk the ball during games, the place would go wild!
Paul Smith
Unanimously, Paul Smith was celebrated as being the best basketball player to ever play in Labrador West. In four years of high school basketball he took Menihek to the island for provincials twice and averaged close on forty points per game for the season in Grade 12. “Never met a shot he didn’t like” was a common statement describing Paul’s game and given that he was so much stronger and talented than anyone else on the court it made sense for him to do the bulk of the scoring.
Paul was so well respected that everyone wanted to do whatever they could to help him achieve his hoop dreams. An excellent example of this was when LCC knocked out Menihek to go to the island that year, Coach Lester Simmons invited Paul to practice with LCC to prepare for NLBA tryouts in St. John’s. He made the team and ended up in Halifax for the nationals that year where Paul had the opportunity to see just how good players from all across Canada could be while giving him the blueprint for his own future success. Paul’s success in provincial basketball paved the way for other players (Chris Barrington) talented enough to play with the best the island had to offer. In his thirty years of coaching in Labrador West, Coach Simmons offered up the following beliefs to close the chapter on his high school days: “ Paul Smith was definitely the most skilled player ever to come out of Labrador West. No one could get more buckets than Paul though with that explosive first step and incredible leaping ability, he was forty points just waiting to happen!
Paul went on to play for two years with the Memorial Seahawks under the watchful eye of legendary coach Glenn Taylor. Paul held his own while making the most of his minutes coming off the bench. Some high end athletes were on those teams as well such as John Devereaux, the guy who crushed the championship dreams of JRS at 3A provincials in 1991, and former MUN coach Peter Benoite. Sadly, Paul hurt his back while playing at MUN and was never the same after. His two seasons with the Seahawks were memorable for the fans however. Paul showed everyone what could be accomplished if you followed your hoop dreams and worked hard to overcome the limitations of any bubble including Labrador West.
Conclusion
Watching school sports has changed a lot over the years in Labrador West and, indeed, the rest of the country. It was always tremendously entertaining to head to the gym to watch the kids and see how the great rivalries between the three schools played out. Back in the early days, gyms in Labrador West would be full to watch games. Reflecting back, it seems that from the 90’s on that school sport watching really began to decline. With Menehik being the only high school in town now, few students and parents come out to watch when games do happen. With the subsequent disappearance of school rivalries, fan interest is just not what it used to be in Labrador West. Long gone are the days when players like Paul Smith, Adam Chaulk and Chris Barrington would face off in games that made Wednesday evenings interesting again. To close, the bubble known as Labrador West had a magnificent sporting run and gave fans something to cherish while making memories that would last a lifetime. One can only wish things had stayed the same.
The author would like to thank Lester Simmons for his interest in the article and for offering his help freely to help make this essay on Lab West basketball happen. In addition, the author would like to thank Kory Pike and Lloyd Parrott for their help with any questions I had. Kory had a highly successful career at LCC under the direction of Coach Simmons where he scored lots and played tough defense. Lloyd was also highly regarded as a basketball player (but better wrestler!) with JRS...and man could that Thunder Bolt leap in pursuit of rebounds and dunks! Thanks guys!
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