Karl Subban told students at Jean Vanier Secondary School they need to dream and believe to achieve.
The father of three National Hockey League (NHL) players said he gets asked the million-dollar question all the time.
“How did you and Maria (his wife) do it?” he said. He likened the answer to a three-legged stool, saying students can’t be successful unless all three legs are in place.
The three are: dream, believe and achieve, said Subban, whose sons are Montreal Canadiens’ defenceman P.K., Boston Bruins’ goalie Malcolm and Jordan, who was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks.
“You need all three to fulfill your potential,” he told a packed theatre of students who sat in silence listening to him speak.
He was the special guest during the Halton Catholic District School Board’s Black History Awareness Day on Tuesday, which saw students from across the board visit Jean Vanier. Each year in February, students and staff throughout the board participate in Black History Month festivities, activities, and learning opportunities that honour and pay tribute to black Canadians.
Students at Jean Vanier repeated after Subban a commitment to reach their potential: “My potential lies inside of me. It gives me the ability to reach for something to become something.”
“We’re all born with it and when developed it’s your gift to society, to city to family, to community and to school —they all get better,” he said. “You never know what you’ll achieve if you have a dream.”
In his case, the Jamaican-born Subban had a dream of being a star NBA player. He headed to Lakehead University to study and he started teaching at basketball clinics. It was then he discovered his love for children and that he loved teaching. His dream was to become a teacher, which he was in the Toronto District School Board for 30 years until his recent retirement.
He said as important dreams are, it’s also important to know ahead of time that beliefs will be tested.
“You need to feed your beliefs because there will be doubters,” he said. “You can make it break you or make you.”
He also said he motivates people to achieve by using the four ‘Ts’: time, tasks, training and team.
Students need to be on time for school; take their tasks seriously, train hard and be part of a team, Subban explained.
“There’s nothing simple about fulfilling a dream,” he said, encouraging the crowd to use life skills to get to where they want to be.
“Look, listen and load information,” he said. “Pay attention to cues and ask questions when you have them.
“Finish your work and do your best work – you do not want to be average.”
Subban said he always tells his own kids — he also has two daughters who are teachers — the same thing. He even told Malcolm that via text prior to his first time playing in the NHL last Friday evening.
“I told him, play hard, have fun and I love you,” Subban said. “Give a lot of love and you will get it back.”
The latter statement got a resounding round of applause from his teenaged audience.
Following Subban’s presentation, Grade 12 student Will Burmeister told the Champion that he got a lot out of the presentation.
“I think the one thing that really stuck with me was when he said to starve the doubters,” he said.
“I liked the three-legged stool part too. You really have to have beliefs. We already have that on our boards at school…it’s part of what we believe in here.”
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