Charles Scarrow
Charlie Man was born to coach.
As a little boy he used to ride his bike up the long road to Windfields Farms to watch the trainer’s gallop the magnificent thoroughbred race horses including Northern Dancer and then settle them in the barn.Little Charlie, learned from his rides to the barn north of Oshawa and this was the seed that would give him the skills, tools and passion later in life as a coach.
Charlie coached his first athlete in 1968, while still in high school. His best friend on the O’Neill Collegiate High School track team stated that since Charlie was always “suggesting” what he should do, he might as well coach him. He did! His friend that year won the 1968 Canadian Junior Championship in the Long Jump and Triple Jump and repeated this feat again in 1969.
The rest is history.
Charlie coached many sports including Hockey, Football, Softball, Wrestling, Boxing, Ball Hockey and Track and Field. Many of these teams won Championships. In 1975, he moved to Upper Granville and his coaching career began to flourish.
For many years he coached Track and Field in New England at Seekonk, Brown University, St. Raphael Academy, Boston University and Wayland.
After years of coaching in the USA, “Charlie Man” as he was affectionately known by his athletes decided to come home to coach in Nova Scotia in 1996.
In Nova Scotia he has coached athletes and relay teams that have won more than 300 Nova Scotia titles, 200 NSSAF Champions, 32 Canadian Champions and 8 medallists at the Canada Games.
In the USA, he coached athletes and relay teams that won over 250 Conference, 181 State, 24 All State, 8 New England, 12 Eastern United States, 1 Penn Relay, 74 Disney World Invitational and 7 United States Championships.
At the International level he has coached 17 High School All Americans, 7 NCAA Division 1 All Americans, 2 North American Hershey Champions, 3 International Children’s Games Medals 1 Gold, 2 Silver; 1 Pan American Games Silver Medal, 1 athlete competed in two IAAF World Championships, 1 World University Games Finalist, 2 Olympians (Montreal 1976, Atlanta 1996) and is now training two athletes for the London 2012 Olympics.
In his USA career the awards include the Boston Metro West Coach of the Year in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996; the Dual County Conference Coach of the Year in 1994, 1995, 1996; the 1990 Rhode Island Coach of the Year; the Boston Globe Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1996 and the prestigious Wayland Student Council Award in 1994.
He was named 8 times the Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Legion Head Coach.
He was awarded the Athletics Nova Scotia Coach of the Year in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008; the Sport Nova Scotia Ikon Award in 2004, 2006 and 2008 and the Sport Nova Scotia Community Coach of the Year in 2003.
Many of his athletes have received the Sport Nova Scotia Athlete of the Month Award and the Athletics Nova Scotia Athlete of the Year Award. One athlete received the 2007 Sport Nova Scotia Ikon Athlete of the Year Award and the 2007 Canadian Junior Athlete of the Year Award.
Through all the years, the success of his athletes and the personal accolades which he has earned, Charlie’s greatest pride and joy lies in the development and growth of the individual and the athlete.
He is deeply respected and loved by his athletes.