It's a certain type of athlete who survives in rugby—on the pitch, it's a physical battle, off the pitch, opponents will sit down together with no grudges.
This year's Hometown Hero Ron VandenBrink learned from an early age that he was the type of athlete who could handle the physicality of rugby but still just keep it on the pitch.
Ron was born in Maple Ridge in 1962 but grew up in Pitt Meadows, attending Meadowlands Elementary and Pitt Meadows Secondary.
As a basketball player in Grade 8 and 9, he discovered he was a physical player and was encouraged to find a more physical sport.
Ron started playing rugby in Grade 11, but in Grade 12—under the direction of his coach Pat Derouin—he started to love the game.
"I think that’s when the bug really bit me," he said.
Ron attributes his early start in rugby to Derouin who was willing to coach a group of guys who had never played.
"He was very passionate about the sport and very enthusiastic—and he was very good at the fundamentals," Ron said.
In addition to playing in high school, he joined the Alouettes—the community rugby club. And after graduating from Pitt Meadows Secondary, he was asked to try out for the Fraser Valley rep team.
In 1981, Ron took part in the Canada Summer Games in Thunder Bay, Ont., on the BC U19 team and was named top try scorer on the BC rugby team. In September 1982, he went to Australia to play on the Sydney Welsh Rugby Club.
"That's when my game took another step forward," Ron said. "These guys were really serious about the game."
Back in Canada, Ron was part of the Canadian development team in 1986, and then was chosen to play on the Canadian national team, facing the US in Tucson, Ariz. and receiving his first cap in November 1986.
The national team played in the World Cup in August 1987, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. While the Canadians only placed 14th out of 16 countries, for Ron, it was a step toward playing on the BC and Canadian national teams—which he did for the next five years.
Ron’s last big competition was the 1991 World Cup, where Canada placed eighth, the highest ranking for his home country so far.
Competing—winning and losing—at such a high level taught Ron perseverance, and how to deal with the highest of highs and lowest of lows.
"It helps you get your emotions in check," he said.
It also taught him how to deal with a tough situation in a hard game. It taught him reliance on teammates.
And, it taught him to "trust people—that they have your back."