Learning from Defeat: How George Bergen Built a Basketball Powerhouse
By Bandits Contributing Writer: Grant Vassos • June 3, 2021
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Langley Times (Black Press)
Before he became one of only two individuals to win the B.C. provincial high school championship at the highest level as a player and coach, George Bergen had to learn what it felt like to lose first.
In his Grade 11 year at MEI Secondary, Bergen and the Eagles were upset by the Oak Bay Bays at the 1969 AA senior boys’ provincial tournament in double overtime. The near taste of victory Bergen experienced that game would appear again 43 years later as a head coach. That year, Bergen's Walnut Grove Gators lost to the Terry Fox Ravens in the final seconds of the AAA championship game. Then once again in the 2016 AAAA semi-finals by the talons of the Kelowna Owls.
With each of those three losses, he made sure to come away with a lesson. Each of the following three seasons, Bergen and his team went on to win the provincial title.
The legendary retired Gators head coach is reminded of those lessons through one of his quotes. Initially coined by Winston Churchill but tweaked to his liking.
"Success is never final, and failure is never fatal," Bergen said. "It is the courage to compete on every play that matters."
Bergen's desire to coach began at MEI when his head coach asked him to help with a Grade 7 boys basketball team at South Poplar Traditional Elementary. He resisted accepting it at first but agreed to take on the responsibility with another teammate.
Initially, Bergen thought of it as another way for his coach to recruit young players to come to the high school. But he also remembers his coach as a smart man who taught him how to be a leader, and allowed him to dip his toe into coaching.
"I didn't really have a clue what I was doing. But because we were good high school players and actually won a provincial championship, the kids looked up to us. So, no matter what we did, we could do no wrong," Bergen said with a laugh.
Bergen went on to coach a local Grade 8 team while attending the University of Manitoba, before arriving at Walnut Grove Secondary in 1991 after leaving his previous position as a teacher and coach at Aldergrove Community Secondary.
Entering his first season, the Gators had only eight players on the roster. Four of which were offered to him after he reached out to the high school's rugby coach to lend him players. In the team's inaugural season, the Gators mounted only one win to go along with 32 losses, with players – mainly from the rugby side – fouling out of almost every game.
"I wanted to teach those players to compete for every single inch of ground," Bergen said. "Every single play that happened, we were going to try to compete."
Competition was Bergen's favourite word when it came to how he ran his teams. Every day, he expected his players to compete in practice. An emphasis was placed on player and ball movement, team chemistry, strength and conditioning, accountability, and keeping the style of play simple.
They travelled frequently to the U.S. for tournaments and became regulars at Gonzaga University's Men's Basketball Team Camps held in June. While Bergen's teams often lost by a significant margin the first few games, he remembers those trips as a turning point in making his players more competitive when they returned home. Another step towards Bergen’s long-term plan to build the culture of excellence he envisioned when he first came to Walnut Grove.
More importantly, they were going to have fun doing it. Bergen remembers one practice where he instructed his players to race around the four-hundred-meter track outside the school. The winner would receive a jug of chocolate milk. Among those players was Jadon Cohee, the Gators' talented star point guard who eventually went on to play for Team Canada.
"I didn't think Jadon Cohee would win, but he dominated," Bergen said.
His teams also featured vital leaders such as De'Sean Monsanto, the 2012 provincial tournament's top defensive player, and who Bergen believed could have also been a safety in football. As well as Ethan McKean and Charles Luu, whom Bergen recalls making "some of the smartest plays I've seen in basketball."
His two sons, Jared and Paul, grew up to be members of competitive teams at Walnut Grove under the tutelage of Bergen. Jared went on to play two years for Cascades men’s basketball coach Pat Lee at the University of Fraser Valley before transitioning into a job in forestry. During those seven years, he also rejoined his alma-mater Gators to split time as an assistant coach for his father.
Bergen remembers him as a pillar of strength: with the voice and experience to connect with his players and their tendencies and who could challenge them to embrace what was needed to become better. Today, Jared works as a Vancouver firefighter.
“He had a really good understanding of my mind . . . and he’d always totally understand what I was trying to do, and he’d explain it to the players because, in the heat of the battle, there’s a lot of things to take care of as a coach,” Bergen said.
The following years had players like Ty Rowell, who possessed an unrivaled work ethic when it came to his craft. And James Woods, a terrific leader and a winner who understood the identity Bergen wanted his teams to have.
Bergen retired from head coaching in June of 2017, a few months before Woods was set to enter his Grade 12 year. Looking back, Bergen thinks it would have been fun to coach Woods' final season – whose heart and skill more than made up for his small frame.
"He never really was all that big in high school. I measured him at five-ten, and he always wanted me to list him at six feet,” Bergen said. “But he was five-ten.”
Nowadays, Bergen stays involved in the B.C. basketball community by consulting with coaches interested in learning from him. He took up officiating games and found enjoyment behind the position that made him go "crazy always trying to get the right call" when he was behind the bench. In addition to volunteering with the Gators’ basketball team, the annual provincial tournament and being a part of the all-star committee, Bergen also works as a Teacher on Call (TOC).
While he remained a committed father throughout his career, Bergen’s grateful for the extra time he’s been able to spend with his family and six grandkids after devoting so much time to his work. There’s a part of him that still believes he could have kept coaching until he was 70.
"There's something so satisfying about (coaching) that it's very difficult to just drop it and let it go. Even the schools that I go to as a TOC now, I say, 'Hey, how come you're not playing basketball? You're in Grade 8. You should be out there.' And usually, the kid will say something like, 'Oh, I'm no good at it.' And I go, 'I don't believe that. I think you could be good at it. It's my way of recruiting kids, and I've always done that," Bergen said.
Even after a lifetime of mentoring high school players, the passionate coach inside of him lingers on proudly the same way it did for 26 years at Walnut Grove. As a builder and as a teacher, passing on the lessons he learned never to forget.
LATEST NEWS
The Vancouver Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Tuesday its training camp roster for its seventh season of professional basketball, which tips off on Thursday, May 15 when the club travels to Saskatoon, Sask. to face the Saskatchewan Rattlers. The Bandits hit the court at home for the first time on Thursday, May 22 when they host the Niagara River Lions at Langley Events Centre in a rematch of the 2024 CEBL Final. New to the Bandits’ season is an expanded slate of pre-season games, all at Langley Events Centre. The sold-out, intrasquad School Day Game returns for a fourth consecutive year, taking place on Thursday, May 8 at 11:00 a.m. PT. A second pre-season game will be included on Saturday, May 10 with the Bandits facing the Sikh Warriors, competitors at the 2025 edition of ESPN’s The Basketball Tournament, tipping off at 5:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available at this link , with all proceeds benefitting the Bandits Community Foundation.
The Vancouver Bandits announced Monday that the club has signed six-foot-nine forward Majok Gum to a Standard Player Contract for the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League season and have added him to its 2025 Training Camp Roster. Hailing from Surrey, B.C., Gum played his entire five-year university career with the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo, Ont. In 117 games (41 starts), he averaged 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.6 blocks while shooting 46.5 per cent from the field. His 52 career blocks ranked him sixth all time in Laurier program history. The 2024-25 season marked Gum’s first in professional basketball. He suited up in 22 games for Basket Schwelm in Germany’s Bundesliga ProB, where he put up averages of 7.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.1 blocks with 62.1 per cent field shooting. An alumnus of Byrne Creek Secondary in Burnaby, B.C., Gum helped lead the Bulldogs to a second place finish at the 2018 BC 3A Boys Basketball Provincial Championship, while also earning Best Defensive Player honours at the tournament. The Bandits open 2025 Training Camp at Langley Events Centreon Tuesday, May 6, followed by pre-season games on Thursday, May 8 and Saturday, May 10. Tickets for the 2025 season, including Season Tickets, Jam Packs and Single Game Tickets, are currently on sale for the Bandits’ seventh CEBL season and are available for purchase at this link . The Bandits tip-off the 2025 CEBL campaign on Thursday, May 15 when the club hits the road to take on the Saskatchewan Rattlers. Fans will have their first chance to watch the club at home on Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m. PT when Vancouver hosts the Niagara River Lions in a rematch of the 2024 CEBL Final. Vancouver will play a total of 12 regular season home games in 2025 between Thursday, May 22 and Sunday, August 3. The Bandits wrap up regular season action on the road in Ottawa on Sunday, August 10 at 12 p.m. PT. All CEBL regular season games including playoffs will be live-streamed on TSN+, as well as the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ , and on CEBL Mobile, the official app of the CEBL (available on Android and iOS devices). Individuals interested in learning more about tickets for the Vancouver Bandits’ upcoming 2025 season are kindly asked to call (604) 455-8881 or email tickets@thebandits.ca . A complete regular season schedule can be found by clicking here . More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok , as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter .
The Vancouver Bandits have announced the signing of 6-foot-6 guard Curtis Hollis for the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season at Langley Events Centre. Hailing from Arlington, Tex., Hollis returns to the CEBL after appearing in six games during the 2024 campaign, where he averaged 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists in 22.0 minutes played. Hollis made his Bandits debut on June 7, 2024, his lone appearance with the club,setting a game-high 21 points, six rebounds and five steals against the Calgary Surge. Hollis then signed with the Montréal Alliance where he suited in five additional games to close out the season. “I am super excited and thankful to be back in Vancouver to get the chance to play high level basketball with great people and compete to win a championship; I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” said Hollis. “I take it very seriously that Kyle and the organization believes in me as a big contributor and I am more than ready to get started. I can’t wait to see all the great fans back in Langley.” Most recently, Hollis played overseas during the 2024-25 season with Helsinki Seagulls in Finland’s Korisliiga, posting averages of 16.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 27.6 minutes in 38 games played. His global career also includes stops in South Africa, the Dominican Republic, the Central African Republic, Germany and NBA G League training camp invites with the Detroit Pistons’ affiliate, Motor City Cruise (2022), and Golden State Warriors’ affiliate, Santa Cruz Warriors (2021). Hollis played post-secondary basketball at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas where he helped lead the Blue Dragons to a Round of 16 appearance at the 2018 NJCAA DI men’s basketball championship. In his lone collegiate season, he averaged 6.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists across 34 games played.
The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Thursday the appointment of Tyler “Ty” Mazereeuw, a distinguished business leader and established executive in the Canadian sports sector, as the league’s first-ever President. Mazereeuw brings over 20 years of dynamic experience focused on innovation and revenue growth in the sports and entertainment industry. Joining the CEBL’s executive team at a pivotal stage in the league’s growth, Mazereeuw will bring a collaborative mindset to driving key strategic initiatives, with a focus on leading and strengthening the league’s sales and marketing efforts to elevate its commercial presence. “Securing someone of Tyler’s caliber with his proven experience and track record is a significant achievement for the CEBL,” said Mike Morreale, Commissioner & Co-Founder of the CEBL. “His extensive involvement with top-tier Canadian sports and entertainment brands throughout his career provides invaluable insights and successes that will greatly benefit our league as we pursue our rapid growth strategy in Canada and internationally.” Mazereeuw has built numerous high-impact partnerships between Canada’s leading properties and brands across the sports and entertainment landscape. He has held senior roles with several prominent organizations, including the Canadian Football League (CFL), IMG, and Molson Sports & Entertainment. “The CEBL has rapidly established itself as a significant force in Canadian sports,” said Mazereeuw. “I am grateful for the opportunity to join at such a pivotal stage in its evolution and to serve our growing and passionate fan base. As a dynamic league fueled by entrepreneurial energy, the CEBL is well-positioned to meet the changing landscape of sports and the evolving nature of fandom. I look forward to working in concert with our owners, teams, players and partners to align our efforts, build on the league’s momentum, and help advance the CEBL’s position as a premier sports and entertainment property.” Recognized as a thought leader and named one of Canada’s Top 5 Under 40 in Sports Business, Mazereeuw brings a strategic and innovative approach to commercial growth, business development, and building lasting relationships with key stakeholders. Over a 12-year career with the CFL, he held progressively senior leadership roles, most recently serving as Chief Commercial Officer, where he oversaw revenue, marketing, and data strategy across broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing, licensing, brand, and digital platforms. The seventh season of the CEBL tips off May 11 with a total of 120 regular season games in the 2025 campaign , leading to playoffs that begin August 14. Championship Weekend , which features the league’s top four teams during the regular season vying for the league title, will be held at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, August 22-24. Season tickets and flex packs are now available league wide with priority seating access and preferred pricing. Ticket information for all CEBL games, including single-game tickets, can be found by visiting cebl.ca/tickets and cebl.ca/cw25/tickets .
LATEST VIDEO
As part of the Court Projects initiative, the Vancouver Bandits and Bandits Community Foundation partnered with the City of Pitt Meadows to refurbish and unveil the Constable Rick O’Brien Court. The court is named in honour of fallen RCMP officer Constable Rick O’Brien, who served in the Ridge Meadows community. The court is located at the Pitt Meadows Family Rec Centre, which he frequented during his seven years of service. Thanks to the City of Pitt Meadows, Joint Forces Foundation Standard Insulation Inc and Sherwin-Williams for their support making this project a reality. Learn more at https://www.banditsfoundation.ca/court-projects
The Vancouver Bandits have been busy this offseason visiting local high schools and lending his expertise to players and coaches. Head coach and general manager Kyle Julius and team president Dylan Kular speak with Global BC's Jay Janower. The Bandits Community Foundation School Tour is presented by Preston Chevrolet and University Canada West. Learn more at https://www.banditsfoundation.ca/secondary-buckets
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Niagara River Lions on August 11, 2024.
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Calgary Surge on August 9, 2024