By Stephanie Pollard

Every time Mark Strickland steps onto the court to coach his team, he teaches players two things: how to be men and how to be champions. As a result, through Strickland’s guidance, his team grows in professionalism, skills and character.

As head coach of the Oshawa Power, the Ontario city’s first professional basketball team, Strickland is very aware of the impact that goes beyond basketball. “It feels good to play that role,” he says. “That’s why I try to teach them how to be professional athletes and also how to be professional men. I try to talk to them, give them my experiences about money, the way you carry yourself, dressing the part you’re trying to play. It all helps.”

With more than 20 years of basketball experience, from playing in the NBA (1994-2003) to scouting and coaching, Strickland brings an abundance of knowledge from all aspects of the game—some of which comes with high expectations. “I’m trying to win the championship the first year!” he says. “It will be difficult to do but I think we have the talent, the coaching and the support from the community to do that. So, that’s all I teach everyday—being champions, being gentlemen and trying to give back.”

Giving back is the reason Strickland ensures his players go to schools for speaking engagements and attend functions around Oshawa, Ont. and surrounding cities. The importance of giving back is a lesson learned from his great grandmother, Gladys Strickland, one that stuck with him throughout his professional and personal life.
And while basketball offered him great opportunities from the moment he fell in love with it (“The first high school game I ever played in, I won at the buzzer. All the girls were jumpin’ on me and I was like, ‘Oh, I like this feeling!’”), Strickland, who attended Temple University and majored in sports management, insists education is what actually guarantees a better quality of life after professional sports.

“Schoolwork, please do schoolwork, I stress that all the time,” he advises young players. “Your sports life is going to be real short, I’m learning that now. I stopped playing at 38 and I have a lot of living to do, and my education is coming into play now. It’s not that I played ball, it’s the education and what I learned in school that I’m seeing I need to survive now.

Education is key, especially these days.”

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