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A lot of people know who Rick Gilson is.
People know he is the principal and high school football coach at Grande Prairie Composite High School. He’s credited with inspiring the Grande Prairie Warriors to fight through overwhelming grief to win a divisional championship in the days following an October 22 car accident that killed four of their teammates and critically injured a fifth. What many people don’t know about Rick Gilson is that he didn’t achieve that feat alone.
The tragedy put Gilson in the spotlight, but without hesitation, he repositions that light to shine it on those who supported him through the heart-wrenching crisis. He speaks about them with pride, admiration and gratitude.
Gilson mentions the parents of four students from Magrath Junior Senior High School who were killed in another horrific car accident just one week prior to the Grande Prairie accident. Those still grieving parents called Gilson to offer condolences and wrote letters of support to the parents of the Grande Prairie students.
He talks about Rob Doig, the principal of Magrath Junior Senior High School, and of the Magrath school counsellor, who provided support that no others likely could. Calls, letters and e-mails came to Gilson from parents, people in the football community, people from outside the football community—people from across the country. He credits all of them with helping him help others.
“The e-mails were like injections of courage,” said Gilson. “There were lots of them, and I was way behind in [responding to] them, but before I would go out and be in the halls with the kids, or before I’d go to [football] practice, I’d read five or ten e-mails that had thoughts that I could use to get my backbone up again, and then go out. And then you’re pouring it [the inspiration] into the kids, or the families, the staff or whoever.”
Flowers came from across the country as well, and Gilson says that they were greatly appreciated. “So many flowers from all over Canada,” he reflected. “We used all of them at the memorial, and it was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.”
Gilson’s appreciation for his staff is particularly heartfelt. “Our counselling department, our staff and the vice-principals were incredible. And our secretarial staff were outstanding too,” said Gilson, detailing how, in the harrowing days that followed the accident, they kept the school running, cared for students and handled the unprecedented deluge of attention.
Gilson continues to be recognized for the support he has given the football team, school and community. He has been interviewed by many major media outlets, including TSN, Maclean’s magazine and the Globe and Mail. Most recently, he and 400 other coaches were in the running for the U.S. National Football League’s Youth Coach of the Year in Canada. Gilson won.
He has had a lot of attention. Still, when summing up what life at Grande Prairie Composite High School has been like since October 22, his noticeable omission of the word “I” acknowledges that he had the support of others during a difficult time.
“We were just trying to do what we needed to do.”
