Hoopla

LIFE'S A slam dunk for Liz MacDonald. In fact, you sometimes get the feeling that the former basketball player wants to pinch herself just to see if she's in the real world.

"It's like I'm in a dream," she says. "I took phys ed at York (BA'89) and now I'm working in a field that I studied for. I love the chemistry of this place."

This place happens to be Sporting Life Inc., the Toronto retailer. MacDonald has moved from centre court to becoming the centre of marketing and advertising for the business where she talks about her colleagues as her "team."

"All of us are very excited about the products we sell. And a lot of us are in the same stage in our lives," says MacDonald. Just because she's now in retail doesn't mean she's abandoned her sporting ways. "Once an athlete, always an athlete," she says. "I have stopped playing basketball. Why? Well, I'm 34. I'm 'old' now compared to those 21-year-olds on the court."

While at York, MacDonald was a point guard for the Yeowomen's varsity team. She says she has a lot of fond memories of being on the road and of the four-day leadership camps at Bark Lake, Ontario.

Her enthusiasm for the administrative side of sports stems from her early days at York beginning in 1984. SkyDome was being built and Toronto was in the midst of a bidding war for the Olympic Games. MacDonald says they were calling for volunteers to cater to Olympic delegates. "We did everything from serving food, to parking cars. It gave us a taste for the business side of sports and I felt it could be a lot of fun."

After graduating she proved that to herself by becoming director of marketing for the Ontario Tennis Association and later doing sales and marketing for the national office of Tennis Canada. That's where she reconnected to York and eventually to Sporting Life which was a sponsor of the Canadian Open Tennis Championship. "It was like coming home, of course, because the offices are here on the York campus."

Now MacDonald is back again at York as a part-time student doing her MBA at the Schulich School of Business. No doubt it will be opening more doors and she'll have to pinch herself to see she isn't dreaming.

Lucky Jim

JIM BRADLEY'S a lucky guy. Somehow he's managed to amalgamate his love of the outdoors with his interest in administration and a career. "I get to see a lot of green space in my job," he says. As north district director for Toronto's Parks and Recreation division, he manages to fit in visits to all 1,600 hectares of green space that come under his jurisdiction.

His passion for sports, particularly rugby, began when he was an undergrad. His liking for administration came later. He had no practical knowledge of rugby when he was on his high school football team. "I never even considered trying to play rugby. I just learned about it as part of my classes."

So how did he end up as a fly-half with the varsity team and travel with the York Yeomen for three weeks in Yugoslavia? "Really, the only reason was because the coach was desperate. The funny part of it was they had to tell me where to stand and what to do. I knew almost nothing about the game. And we ended up losing 25 - 0."

But Bradley (BA '72) wasn't discouraged. He went on from there playing rugby for 10 years. Even after he'd left university, he played for the York Rugby Club. He only stopped because he broke his arm.

After the rugby tour in Yugoslavia, he travelled in Europe with a friend for six months, then returned home to work as a supply teacher. He was planning to become a phys ed and geography teacher. But he ended up promoting rugby in Ontario schools for the Ontario Union.

Now he seems to have come full circle. He began the sports side of his career at York and still maintains a link. "The Toronto Track and Field Centre [at York] is under my jurisdiction. It's part of my job to work with staff there. So it's like I'm back at my alma mater."

Grass Action

FOR SANDRA Levy sports are like breathing and eating.

While Levy majored in English and communications (BA'90) and later in law (LLB'95), she always kept her love of athletics separate from academic life and her career.

"I actually enjoy athletics more because I don't work in it all day," says Levy, who is Ontario director for the Ontario Council of Grocery Distributors.

"I believe in what amateur sports stands for," says Levy. "The Latin root of amateur means 'lover of', and I know that people in amateur sports are in it because they love it. They need encouragement, especially today because of government cut-backs."

By junior high, Levy had developed a taste for cross-country running. But Grade 9 was the beginning of her heavy sports involvement. She was a new kid in the school, and decided that one way to make friends might be to take up field hockey.

It was the right decision. Not only did she meet friends, but she also ended up as a star player. She was 16. As a forward - the player who gets the shot at the goal - she was hand-picked for the Canadian Women's Field Hockey Team and went to the '88 Olympics in Seoul and the '92 Olympics in Barcelona.

Since she was on the national field hockey team it seemed natural that she join the York Varsity Women's Field Hockey team as well. "I think you could say that I get tunnel vision. Once I'm in a sport, it becomes extremely important in my life."

These days Levy, 33, keeps in shape by running and cycling. She also spends five to 10 hours a week doing volunteer work for amateur athletes.

Levy has sat on the board of the Canadian Athletes' Association where she worked to increase the stipend given to amateurs for living expenses (she was successful) and, generally, to improve the training and athletic environment for athletes.

Now, as an advocate, she's frequently consulted by Sports Canada and the Canadian Olympic Association.

"I really think I'm lucky...I feel passionate about sports, because it provides a balance in my life outside work."