Vernon Frizzell: A life dedicated to P.E.I. athletes, students

Coach, administrator, official, teacher’s contributions recognized with Hall of Fame induction

For the late Vernon Frizzell, coaching and teaching were about much more than wins, losses and high marks. It was about participation, inclusiveness, having fun and – most importantly – developing individuals. “Dad believed that every young person deserved an opportunity to participate, learn and succeed,” said Frizzell’s son, David Frizzell.

“He believed sports build confidence, character, teamwork, and lifelong friendships. “Whether he was coaching a beginner or working with elite athletes, he treated everyone with the same respect and encouragement.” Frizzell’s contributions as a coach, administrator, official and physical education teacher were recognized with induction into the P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame on July 11.

Colin MacAdam and the late Ed Hilton were also enshrined during the induction ceremony before a big crowd at the Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall at UPEI in Charlottetown. Stories on Hilton and MacAdam will appear in upcoming editions of The Guardian. Serving others David said Vernon, who died in June 2024 following a battle with corticobasal degeneration (CBD) at the age of 80, would have been deeply humbled with this recognition.

“Sports were never just a pastime for dad; they were his way of serving others,” said David. “For more than 50 years, he devoted himself to the young people of Prince Edward Island as a teacher, coach, mentor, administrator and lover of sport. “He never sought recognition, and I honestly don’t think he ever imagined one day he would be inducted into the P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame.”

Over the years, Vernon worked with and helped develop athletes in hockey, power skating, track and field and wrestling. “If you ask dad what he was proud of, it would never have been awards, titles, or achievements,” said David. “It would have been the people – the athletes who gained confidence; the young coaches who learned the craft; the students who discovered they were capable of more than they thought; the volunteers who stepped forward to help because someone had once (helped) them.”

‘I’ll be your eyes’ David shared a story that demonstrates Vernon’s commitment to inclusiveness. David recalled Vernon had started a running club during noon hour at Eliot River Elementary School in Cornwall, P.E.I. Vernon noticed a young student who was standing on the sidelines.

“Eventually, he invited her to join,” said David. “She replied, “You do know I am blind, right?‘ “Dad answered, ‘Yes, you don’t need eyes to run; you can hear my footsteps, and I’ll be your eyes.’ So, she ran.

That was dad. He always found a way to help someone participate. He saw a possibility where others saw obstacles.“

Impacted Olympian Vernon had a major impact on the track-and-field career of Jared Connaughton, who would go on to represent Canada in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. “Coach Frizzell had a strong, steady way,” Connaughton told the crowd. “It wasn’t loud and forceful.

He didn’t need to be. “He created an environment where you felt supported, encouraged, and quietly pushed you to discover what you were capable of.” Looking back now, Connaughton said he realizes Vernon was not just teaching sports but building confidence.

Connaughton shared a story of a spring day in 1996 when Vernon handed him a pair of worn blue and orange track spikes. “I asked him, ‘Coach Frizzell, are those running cleats?,’” said Connaughton. “He smiled, he said, ‘Those are track spikes and they’ll help you run like the wind.’”

With a short window to prepare for an upcoming school track and field meet, Connaughton and Vernon met every day after school to train. Vernon was no stranger to track and field, having coached the 1973 P.E.I. Canada Games team. “He taught me how to use the starting blocks; how to stay relaxed while sprinting, and how small technical details could unlock speed you didn’t know you had,” said Connaughton.

“Three weeks later, to my surprise, I won every race that I competed in.” That led to an emotional moment between athlete and coach. “After the final race, he crouched down, looked me in the eye, he said, ‘See, I told (you)...

it wasn’t because of the shoes,” said Connaughton, his voice cracking with emotion. “Then he said something to me, I’ll never forget. He said, ‘Young man, I’ve never seen someone your age run so quick; keep this up, you might be an Olympian one day.’

“That moment stayed with me...” Embodied leadership Connaughton went on to say Vernon’s career is defined not by the length of it but how he made people feel. “He embodies what great coaching should be – steady, consistent, encouraging and quietly transformative,” said Connaughton, who now teaches physical education and coaches track and field.

“If I can become half the coach and teacher Vernon was, I’d consider myself truly fortunate.” David said Vernon carried the same spirit he displayed in the other sports to figure skating and power skating. “Although he never wore a pair of figure skates, he became deeply involved through my sisters’ participation in the sport,” said David.

“He served in leadership roles; became a certified figure skating judge, and travelled around Prince Edward Island evaluating skaters, and later helped develop and mentor power-skating instructors.” Early passion David said Vernon developed a passion for sport as a young boy growing up in Charlottetown. “He often said he spent more time in the rink, ball field, and track than he did at home,” said David.

“Those early experiences shaped the lifelong commitments to give back to the sports that had meant so much to him.” Vernon was also passionate about fitness. At age 47, he became a dedicated runner, and later a dedicated walker and would head out before dawn every day.

“His commitment to health, discipline, and perseverance was something he lived; not something he simply preached,” said David. In 1997, David and his sister, Jennifer Edgerly, joined Vernon running 13 kilometres across the Confederation Bridge as part of BridgeFest ‘97. “It was one of the many opportunities he placed in front of us,” said David.

“He never forced us to do it with him, but, like many aspects of our lives, he presented us with an opportunity, and it was up to us.” Another example of that approach came early in David’s hockey career. David was playing under-13 hockey and wanted to develop a strong slapshot.

Vernon told him if he shot 500 pucks a day all summer he would be able to take a strong slapshot at the start of the next season. “The rest was up to me,” said David. “In the end, he was right.

I developed a hard slapshot by the end of the summer.” Hockey story David also shared a story of how in his first year of U13 hockey, he was cut from the AAA and then A (now AA) teams and returned to the House League. Vernon, a former technical director of the P.E.I. Hockey Association (now Hockey P.E.I.) never complained or made any fuss about David being cut.

Instead, Vernon simply volunteered to coach one of the House League teams; recruited other parents to get involved, and proposed to Charlottetown Minor Hockey that he would put together a select team that would be made up of House League players to play in the annual SEDMHA tournament in the Halifax area later that year. “Charlottetown Minor Hockey told him he could, but he would have to find uniforms because they had none for us to use,” said David. “Little did they know that years with the Program of Excellence turned our basement into an equipment room.”

Vernon, who was the first Prince Edward Islander to receive the Gordon Juckes Award recognizing outstanding contributions to the development of amateur hockey in Canada, arranged for the team to wear Team Atlantic jerseys for the weekend. “I couldn’t tell you whether we won or lost but I can tell you how that group of kids felt having the opportunity to wear red and white, with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association logo on the front and Team Atlantic on the back,” said David. “We thought we were the best.”

David noted, during a Sport P.E.I. Recognition Award ceremony, Vernon thanked his family for their unwavering support and keeping him connected to sports. “And he shared a quote that reflected how he viewed life,” said David: “‘We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.’”