Carey Ashton
- Team Name: Mcgill Redbirds, NDG lynx
- Sport: baseball
- City: Montreal, Montreal, Quebec
- Nominated By: Alex Carmel
- Added: November 15, 2009
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Carey Ashton is the most devoted, dedicated coach i have ever heard of. He has been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy a long while ago, but he continued to coach anyways. He has been in a wheelchair because of the disease for about 8-10 years. Now, he's 50 years old and he still coaches the NDG lynx all-star baseball team as well as the Mcgill Redbirds, a university team. a little about Ndg: The first of two teams Carey coached, he did so for 6 years. before then, NDG hadn't won a provincial championship, but during the 6 years he coached this team, he earned 4. He still has very good relationships with everyone on that team, as well as their parents. Now, he's coaching my team, and this is the second year we are going to have Carey as our coach. Ever since last year (when he started to coach us) our team has had a level of discipline, skill and fun that we've never experienced before. Last year we went to the nationals in B.C after winning the provincials (and we were the underdog team!), and this year our expectations are even higher. Carey didnt miss a single game last year, and apparently not even during the 6 years with the other team either. And while all this is happening, Carey Ashton is also coaching the Mcgill Redbirds also. Carey's condition is very tough, and it gets worse in the winter. He amazes the people he's known for all his life: can you imagine the effect he has on everybody else? I think Carey is the ultimate coach in terms of everything: vast knowledge of the game of baseball, great passion for it too, determination, kindness and the strictness every once in a while that you need. Carey Ashton is the kind of person you want as a coach, a friend, a mentor.
cazeneuve
i have know carey for at least 20 years and have not been to any games or had the blea=ssing of his theaching but as of a fine man and father and husband go carrey go. love claudette
carmel
As a parent, you hope that the people that come into your child’s life, and ultimately influence them, will be good role models. Carey Ashton is that…and so much more. Carey retired from baseball a year and a half ago. I had never met him before, but had watched him and his team compete. They were a joy to watch. Even in warm up, they looked like one single moving part when they ran drills. All in sync ..& all eyes on their coaches. It was a sad day when, later that season, Carey announced he was retiring, but everyone fully understood how difficult the gruelling practice schedule and road trips were on a body that was getting visibly weaker every year. Carey suffers from Muscular Dystrophy and has been confined to a wheelchair for many years. The pain he endures gets more intense each year, but he had maintained that, while on the field, his love for baseball and his players would always trump his disease. I first met Carey at the annual sports banquet at the end of that season (Sept 08); the one we all thought would be his last. The night was filled with numerous players, coaches and parents taking the stage to pay tribute to his legacy (the most impressive in Quebec Little League history) and tears were flowing from all corners of the room. A few months later Carey decided to return to the game. The man who had given so much to the sport and our community was clearly not ready to sit at home and wait for his disease to define him. "I stay alive for my family," he says "but baseball has always been my motivation to try to get to the next day." You can imagine my excitement when the team he had decided to coach, even if only for one season…was the one my son was on. Although it meant that the parents/league would have to raise a lot more money to cover all the costs associated with his special needs during away/travel games…there was NO question that it was going to be worth it. We worked hard to raise the money, and had some help along the way . We washed cars, bagged groceries, had a fundraiser dinner…and gradually accumulated what we needed to get through most of the season. They were a very young team (almost all first year players in a two-year program) and their regular season had more losses than wins. But they were coming together in ways that were not yet visible to anyone on the outside. By the time the Provincial Championships came in July…they looked like a different team. Not only did they clearly care about each other, they seemed to have a greater awareness, understanding and compassion for everything around them. Against the best in the Province, they went on to win every game that week and, surprisingly, became the Quebec Champions. It was then off to the Canadian Junior Championships in BC. As exciting as it was, we had no idea how we would get Carey and his caregiver out to BC for the Tournament. We had only 6 days from when we learned they won… to when they had to be on a plane. The kids are all paid for, but not the extra people that Carey needed for his daily care, and without them, there was no way he could travel. The thought of heading to BC without Carey was not something the kids could deal with. Euphoria turned to sadness and confusion as the kids wondered how they could play without him in the dugout. Miraculously.. Air Canada stepped in, made all the arrangements…and he was on his way. It was a GOOD day. They were one of 6 teams from across Canada competing…and the youngest in the history of the event to ever make it that far. Although Carey’s team did not come away from the Canadian Championships with the trophy, they did come away with wonderful memories….and people’s hearts; winning the award for the team that ’ Best Exemplifies Sportsmanship. Each one of them would say that they are who they are, because of their mentor and role model…Carey Ashton. Despite days of incredible pain and discomfort, Carey is planning to coach them one more season. His disease was expected to end his coaching years ago, so every additional season of ball with him is a true gift for us all. This season though, might be the one that tops all others. Given that he has almost all of his players returning (they are still young enough to stay at Junior level), his team might very well go even farther this year. Regardless of what the coming season of baseball brings , each one of those kids will always think a little harder, stand a little straighter and aim a little higher…because of the man the call ‘Coach’. Mary Catherine Sanchioni
nielsen
I have known Carey for over 30 years now. He has been the most pivotal person in my life. His attitude toward life and its challenges has made me the person I am today. His positive approach to everything has given me the inspiration to persevere in the face of many difficult issues, and I know he has done the same for every person who has been fortunate enough to have been in his presence.
jalloh
carey thanks a lot for what you'e doing for the kids in NDG, and my two boys Alpha and mamudu loves you a lot and they keep talking about you.
Lafferty
Power to the men and women who coach and give of themselves. Carey i applaud how you guide and inspire your team. GO CAREY GO !!!!
Pryce
Hello Carey, Really good to see your picture in the gazette again. I still have the your writeup from last year. I'm really proud to know you and you've done more to help other people than anybody else that I've ever known from the Westend. You are a good example of someone who wanted to do something and did it regardless of conditions. Next summer I would like to get a schedule of your games and maybe attend a few. We have a large baseball field 200yds. from our house and you have probably played there. It is situated at the swimming and baseball complex at the Dorval Circle. We live just up the street (299 Ferndale Crescent ). Hope to see you sometime in the near future. I'm going to contact some people and ask them to vote for you.
Choquette
carey, your a great person and a wonderful coach, no matter who wins this competition, we all know your number one!! good luck! you deserve it!!
primeau
carey was the best coach my son ever had,jesse learned alot from carey,like i am sure alot of other kids have. He has alot of spunk in him, me and jesse think he should win,there is no better man for this award. We love you carey
D'Alessandro
The Redbird family changed forever in the most positive of ways the day that Carey Ashton accepted the invitation to join our coaching staff. Not only is he a wealth of baseball knowledge, he understands that at the end of the day we are all there for far greater reasons than winning baseball games. The life lessons we all learn from the time spent with one another on and off the ball field are ones that I cherish and will make good use of forever. I thank Carey not only for being the coach that he is, but the person that he helps us be. He truly is an inspiration to all of us.
Bonner
As a former McGill Redbirds player, I feel very lucky and blessed to have played for Carey. In addition to providing the team with great inspiration through his dedication to the team and character, Carey helped make the game of baseball more fun for his players, which I feel is the most important gift a coach can give to his players.