Three athletes and one former coach have had their names added to the Wall of Fame at Alberni District Secondary School.
The Fitzgerald triplets (Gerry, Leo and Myles) were inducted into the athletic department’s Wall of Fame on Saturday, Jan. 7, along with retired ADSS coach Bob Matlock. The ceremony took place just before the final game of Totem 67, the province’s longest-running high school basketball tournament.
This is the first time since Totem 64 that a Wall of Fame ceremony has taken place. There are certain criteria that must be met for athletes or builders to be considered for the Wall of Fame, said ADSS athletic director Mike Roberts, and this is the first time in a few years that the school has had eligible inductees.
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Leo Fitzgerald was present on Saturday to accept the award on behalf of his brothers, Gerry and Myles, who were unable to attend the ceremony. The Fitzgerald triplets started playing hockey in the Alberni Valley minor hockey system, graduating from ADSS in 2011. All three brothers played junior hockey together in the BC Hockey League—first on the Nanaimo Clippers, then the Prince George Spruce Kings and finally the Victoria Grizzlies. Together, they also attended Bemidji State University in Minnesota where they played NCAA Div. 1 hockey and won multiple championships.
After university, their career paths differed. Leo played briefly with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL before playing professionally in Hungary. Gerry played in the AHL with the Iowa Wild and Lehigh Valley Phantoms before moving on to Sweden, while Myles played professionally in Hungary and Germany before moving into coaching. Myles is currently working as an assistant coach with the Chinese women’s national team.
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Leo said it was an honour to be included in the ADSS Wall of Fame, especially alongside “a legend like Bob Matlock,” who was his teacher at ADSS.
“I’m up there with a bunch of amazing people,” he said. “It all started here in high school, with the Armada. Without the staff members and everybody supporting us along the way, I don’t think we’d be where we are today.”
Leo says he has plenty of good memories from ADSS, but one of his favourites is the time he sat in for Gerry in one of his classes as an April Fool’s Day prank.
“Unfortunately, they caught on,” said Leo. “I kind of started cracking up and gave it away.”
Bob Matlock was also inducted on Saturday in the builder’s category. Matlock recently retired after a 48-year career coaching with ADSS athletics. He started out coaching Grade 8 boys’ volleyball and basketball, then moved over to coaching girls’ volleyball. He continued to coach the girls’ team until his last year of teaching in 2021-22. His senior teams qualified for the provincial championship five times in a 10-year span, winning the championship in 1985.
Matlock also assisted with the Totem tournament for 35 years, so it was fitting that he was celebrated during Totem 67.
“I did a lot of coaching and I made a lot of friends over the years,” he said. “It’s been a great run, and I’m very thankful.”
Along with his provincials run, Matlock says he has plenty of good memories from his career. He helped to shape the ADSS golf team and assisted with the wrestling team when it started up. For his efforts, Matlock is also on the BC School Sports wall of fame.
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“Just having kids involved and giving them a chance to play,” is his best memory, he said. “A lot of staff did a lot of things, and that’s the way it is. We all got involved.”
So far, he has been enjoying retirement. Matlock says he has been playing “a lot of golf” and finding new things to do around the house.
“I’ve got lots of stuff to go through,” he said. “The other day I was going through a box and I found a program from the 1977 provincial volleyball championships. It’s been a good ride.”
elena.rardon@albernivalleynews.com
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