Son overwhelmed by support for final basketball tournament honouring his father
Adam Keating says he always knew the annual Keith Keating Memorial Tournament would have an end point.
Now that it's here, he says, he's overwhelmed by the support from those honouring his father's legacy.
Adam started the tournament in 2013 alongside his brother, Alex, following the death of their father after a battle with stomach cancer. Nine years and eight tournaments later, they've raised over $134,000 for the new chemotherapy centre at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's.
"When he passed away from cancer in 2013, one of my buddies said, 'It would be really cool if we had a basketball game for your dad.' A basketball game, one game," Keating said Wednesday with a laugh. "That turned into a lot more than one game."
Forty-four teams from across Newfoundland are represented across six divisions for the final tournament, Games will go from Wednesday to Saturday at the Powerplex in St. John's.
Keating said the inspiration for the tournament came from his dad's love of basketball, the tournament atmosphere and helping his kids and other students prosper in athletics.
"Dad used to literally be in the gym with us two, three, four hours a night. And it didn't even make sense why he was there. Like I think about it now that I'm older. Like he worked until five and six o' clock and then he came home and sat in a gym with me till 10 o'clock in the night," he said.
"I'm exhausted after work. For him to be doing that every day with no complaints … I think it's an incredible thing."
The first tournament featured 16 teams and has grown exponentially over the years, he said. Forty of the 44 teams signed up within two weeks after just one email.
Keating said his family's goal when the tournament was launched was to run it for 10 years. But with two years lost to COVID-19, he sees this week's tournament as a way to end the tournament on a high note rather than have it ended by the pandemic.
Carrying the legacy
Keating said the growth of and continued commitment to a tournament honouring his father's legacy has been magical to see — especially since the teenagers playing in this year's tournament tournament wouldn't have ever known Keith.
"To still be coming and wearing the shirts and being part of it, I think it's something he'd be super-excited about," he said.
Student athletes were bursting with excitement as hundreds of spectators piled into the Powerplex's four basketball courts, excited to get games in after what has been a difficult two years for school sports.
"Everyone loves to play, and we haven't gotten that chance in a few years cause of COVID," said Carly Norris, a Grade 11 student at Gonzaga High School in St. John's. "We've been waiting for this for years, and it's just great to be back."
Grade 12 teammate Molly O'Neil said the energy and circumstances of the tournament make it stand out.
"I just think it's a really special thing to be a part of," O'Neil said.
"Clearly these people have just built upon basketball in Newfoundland, and just to see that continue and just be able to honour those people that put so much hard work into this type of situation is just really special."
I think he'd be beside himself. - Adam Keating
Peter Tobin, Adam Keating's best friend and someone who was coached by Keith in several sports, says it's fun to come back to the tournament and remember a friend.
"Keith was a quiet man. I was a bit of a rambunctious child so I think I used to get a good rise out of him," Tobin said. "He was always there if you needed to ask him anything, and he was a great statistician as well."
WATCH | Adam Keating and players at the Keith Keating Memorial Tournament speak with the CBC's Alex Kennedy:
Tobin says the tournament is especially important to him following the death of his mother to cancer in 2017.
"This tournament is great in general, but what makes it special is all the money and funds that go to cancer research. You know, everyone has been touched by cancer in some way, whether they've lost someone or know someone that's battling it now," he said.
Keating hopes the tournament can pass $200,000 raised lifetime for cancer research by the end of the tournament on Saturday, and isn't counting out reviving in some form in the future. He's also focused on fundraising on the advisory side, joining the board of directors at the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Centre last year.
As "the last dance," as he put it, comes to an end, Keating said his father would likely be proud of how things turned out.
"I think he'd be beside himself, to be honest."
