The head coach of North Stars did not want the coaching job. When he
was first approached to coach the North Stars Tykes team eleven
years ago, it had been years since he was in a gym, and he was reluctant
to coach a team in a league he had no experience with. But after
much, much, prodding by his father, Jose Tomines was brought to
the small Hillside gym, saw the young eager faces, and realized
how much he missed the game. And North Stars has not been the same
since.
Basketball was not Coach Jose’s first love in sports; growing
up in Canada, he played street hockey and then later soccer for
several years for the Mississauga Soccer Club. But Coach Jose
learned to play what he thought was basketball in the playgrounds
in Kirwin Ave, just blocks away from T.L. Kennedy, and until recently,
the home of PHYBA games. He failed to make the Grade 8 team in
Grade 7 at St. Martin’s High School, but finally played
organized ball when he made the Grade 8 basketball team at St.
Martin’s. From Grade 8 to Grade 10 he played on mediocre
teams of St. Martin’s with mediocre coaching. When his young
uncles arrived in Canada, they brought him to the outdoor courts
in Parkdale and showed him the Filipino brand of basketball. In
Grade 11, he transferred Philip Pocock, an emerging catholic powerhouse
in Mississauga. There he played on the basketball team from Grade
11 to Grade 13, and was exposed to top-notch coaching and played
along side strong Fil-Act players. His Pocock Junior team, where
he learned about team strategy and tactics, went on to lose a
heartbreaker by 4 points against St. Mikes in the finals of the
Toronto Catholic championships. Though his Senior team did not
achieve the same level of success, he was exposed to a coach that
focused on strong fundamentals.
As part of his volunteer hours for Grade 12 Religion, Jose began
coaching his brother Carl and the basketball teams of St. Vincent
de Paul elementary school. Though he was an teenage head coach
of 3 different teams, he applied what he was learning at Pocock,
and had reasonable success; placing 2nd in the family tournament,
and placing well in the regional tournaments. The following year,
a University of Toronto Varsity player took over as head coach,
and Jose continued to learn the finer aspects of the game.
Except for a year of intramural basketball at University of Toronto,
Jose had stopped playing organized ball once he went to university.
After a year at McMaster, and 3 years at U of T doing a double
major in biology and chemistry, Jose married his high school sweetheart,
Cynthia, and had a daughter Justine. Basketball was the furthest
from his mind.
When his 7-year-old brother, Jonathan, took up soccer with Dixie
Soccer Club, they needed a coach. Coach Jose’s dad convinced
Jose to coach Jonathan that year, and they won the league championship…
And the coaching bug bit again. When both his daughter Justine,
and sister Chantelle (both the same age) began playing soccer,
Coach Jose gladly took the reins. With both Tomines girls on the
same team, he coached them thru house league, all-star teams,
and select teams in the much larger North Mississauga Soccer Club.
His nine-year soccer coaching resume include a couple of league
championships, cup championships, winning a few Select level tournaments,
and is provincially certified as a OSA Level 3 soccer coach.
When Jonathan was 9 years old, he signed up to play in PHYBA with
the fledgling North Stars Tykes team. Again Jon was on a team
that needed a coach. But Jose was already busy with his work as
an systems analyst, and coaching soccer in the summer. But again,
his dad was insistent that he coach the Tykes team. So with much
reluctance, he took over the coaching duties of this very young
team. That first year was abysmal as the team had lost every game.
But the next year, with more input, and with more experienced
players, they were on their way to developing a strong foundation
for the Tykes division and the future of the North Stars organization.
In his roles as Head Coach and Director of Player Development,
he established a clear mission for North Stars to remove focus
away from winning and give priority to developing the whole player,
instilling both life skills and basketball skills. In that second
year, the North Stars Tykes team were battling in the playoff
finals only to lose by 6 points. But that year began a streak
that has remained intact even today – every year since,
at least one of Jose’s teams reach the playoff finals. In
the 3rd year, Tykes lost the finals by 4 points. In the 4th year,
both Jose’s Tykes and Peewees lost the finals. But it wasn’t
until the 5th year that Jose’s perseverance paid off, his
North Stars won the Bantam championship.
That
started the 2nd streak that has also remained intact – every
year since, one of Jose’s teams WINS a PHYBA championship.
This is a testament not only to Coach Jose’s dedication and
strong coaching foundation, but it is also a testament to the loyalty
and dedication of the North Star players who continue to play under
him. Coach Jose is a National Certified Level 2 basketball coach,
who draws upon his own experiences as a player, the great coaches
he learned from, and his need to continually improve through the
various coaching seminars and courses offered by Basketball Ontario.
In the 11 years as a Coach for North Stars, no other PHYBA coach
has the enjoyed the same success as he has:
• 2007 Asian Games Bronze Medalists
• 2007 PHYBA Open Champions
• 2006 PHYBA Open Champions
• 2005 PHYBA Premier Champions
• 2005 PHYBA Juvenile Finalists
• 2004 Montreal PBAM Premier Finalists (PHYBA All-Star Team)
• 2004 PHYBA Juvenile Champions
• 2004 PHYBA Premier Finalists
• 2003 PHYBA Midget Champions
• 2003 Ottawa Ambassador Midget Champions (PHYBA All-Star
Team with Falcons)
• 2003 CanAm Midget Finalists
• 2002 PHYBA Midget Champions
• 2002 PHYBA Bantam Finalists
• 2001 PHYBA Bantam Champions
• 2000 PHYBA Peewee Finalists
• 2000 PHYBA Tykes Finalists
• 1999 PHYBA Tykes Finalists
• 1998 PHYBA Tykes Finalists
Though a handful of players he has coached have found success
playing basketball in post-secondary schools both in Canada and
the States, more importantly, he is especially proud of the fine
young adults that most all of his players have become.
Presently, not only is Coach Jose still coaching his 3-peat champion
North Stars Open team, he is also enjoying coaching his 9-year-old
son, Xavier, playing on the North Stars Tykes team. He is also
trying to get back in shape in coaching and playing with the North
Stars Seniors team. If he is not busy coaching basketball, he
is shuffling Xavier between hockey, skiing lessons, karate, and
summer soccer. It’s a wonder he can get anything done as
an information specialist with Electronic Data Systems (EDS).
But things are a little more quiet now that his daughter Justine
is away in residence. She is a first year English major at Glendon
College in York University. And perhaps he’ll decide to
retire from coaching and finally spend time with his other love,
Cynthia.
The head coach of North Stars did not want the coaching job. When he
was first approached to coach the North Stars Tykes team eleven
years ago, it had been years since he was in a gym, and he was reluctant
to coach a team in a league he had no experience with. But after
much, much, prodding by his father, Jose Tomines was brought to
the small Hillside gym, saw the young eager faces, and realized
how much he missed the game. And North Stars has not been the same
since.
When his 7-year-old brother, Jonathan, took up soccer with Dixie
Soccer Club, they needed a coach. Coach Jose’s dad convinced
Jose to coach Jonathan that year, and they won the league championship…
And the coaching bug bit again. When both his daughter Justine,
and sister Chantelle (both the same age) began playing soccer,
Coach Jose gladly took the reins. With both Tomines girls on the
same team, he coached them thru house league, all-star teams,
and select teams in the much larger North Mississauga Soccer Club.
His nine-year soccer coaching resume include a couple of league
championships, cup championships, winning a few Select level tournaments,
and is provincially certified as a OSA Level 3 soccer coach.
That
started the 2nd streak that has also remained intact – every
year since, one of Jose’s teams WINS a PHYBA championship.
This is a testament not only to Coach Jose’s dedication and
strong coaching foundation, but it is also a testament to the loyalty
and dedication of the North Star players who continue to play under
him. Coach Jose is a National Certified Level 2 basketball coach,
who draws upon his own experiences as a player, the great coaches
he learned from, and his need to continually improve through the
various coaching seminars and courses offered by Basketball Ontario.