When you look up the word legend in the dictionary it refers to an extremely famous or notorious person in a particular field.
In relation to the sports community in Prince George, Tom Masich fit the description in every sense of the word.
Masich, who founded the Prince George Track and Field Club in 1973 passed away on Sunday morning at the age of 86 following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s Disease as well as a blood infection.
His son Sam was one of many family members by his side for the final time prior to his death.
“I arrived here the night before his passing and I spent the whole night with him in the hospice. For me, it was a real honor, and a privilege to have that time with him at the end. As much as anything, it was a release. Of course, there was a lot of sadness and grief but I think the predominant emotion is gratitude that he went quietly, peacefully, and painlessly. For us, we all feel relief in his passing.”
“He wasn’t really responsive towards the end but he was conscious. I talked with him, sang songs for him and we just had a lovely departure together. And then, I slipped out for a moment in the morning with my brother, and then he was with my mom, she was sitting with him holding his hand, and then he passed,” added Sam.
Masich first arrived in the northern capital in 1966 after coaching track clubs in Kimberley and Prince Rupert.
Tom brought several noteworthy events to Prince George including the prestigious 1998 Royal Canadian Legion National Track and Field Championships, the Prince George to Boston Marathon (now called the Labour Day Classic), and the Prince George Minor Basketball Association.
Sam admitted while it may have been a bit daunting sometimes to follow their father’s footsteps, it actually helped him and his siblings to have the ability to coach.
“My brother Bill is an excellent teacher who teaches geology, history, and geography. His students really look up to him because he is a naturally good teacher.”
“My brother John over the years has been a volleyball coach and again, the kids just love him. We all got that, myself included in my teaching. I have taught in ten countries around the world with a very good reputation in my discipline and the students always talk about how I get the information and that really all comes from my dad.”
“We grew up on the track. We watched him in a thousand situations dealing with kids, dealing with parents. He could always find his way into the center and very quietly, very gently make his influence felt there. He never needed to be demonstrative or convince anybody of anything,” added Sam.
Sam who is one of four children in his family, lived in Berlin, Germany for 15 years raising his son Karl before moving to Lake Cowichan outside of Duncan last year.
He is internationally recognized for teaching Chinese martial arts including taijiquan better known as Tai-Chi.
Sam has coached in ten countries around the world and will be doing his first in-person tour since the pandemic in about two weeks’ time going to countries like Italy, Spain, Germany, England, and Mexico.
Sam is also a musician and artistic type who likes to draw and paint.
Tom’s calm and quiet demeanor allowed him to not only earn the respect of his long list of athletes but also help them strive higher, pushing them to exceed their personal best at every turn.
“He just had this way of penetrating right to the core and then provided this very gentle influence like this pleasant breeze and he would often change people’s lives,” added Sam.
As a recognition of his dedicated service, the City of Prince George renamed Massey Place Stadium (which opened in 1990) to Masich Place Stadium in 2005 – an honor that still stands out to the family to this day.
“It’s really interesting because normally, people don’t have anything named after them until sometime after they’re gone and he was in the full bloom of his coaching career when this happened. I think it’s just he brought so much to Prince George with his way of doing things,” said Sam.
“My dad never made a living coaching track and field. He didn’t make his income there. He did that all as a volunteer for his community and he put in tens of thousands of hours in. One person started a petition to the city to change the name and at one point, I guess they did a review and looked at what my dad accomplished like starting a track and field club. But, the minor basketball program that still runs today – he started it so that I would have a place to play basketball when I was 10 years old.”
“I’m 60 and the program he started 50 years ago still runs according to the same principles as it did back in the day. They don’t keep score, the kids just play and get good coaching.”
While Tom was most well-known on the local sports scene, what people may not have known is that he was a carpenter by trade.
And just like he was on the running track, Masich also found a way to just be one of the guys even though he was often the boss on several major projects.
“He was the superintendent on the construction of the library up at UNBC. He was not only a good carpenter but he knew how to handle a crew and the thing that crews always loved about him at work is that he had a great sense of humour. It didn’t matter that he was the boss, he never pulled rank on anybody and was always one of the guys. They would just have a good time with him.”
Tom’s sense of humour often found its way into the family home where a group of his friends would come over quite often and tell jokes – often piquing his curiosity about Sam.
“On my sixteenth birthday, he took me, my best friend, and my cousin and we were all right at the same age, and went on a skiing trip from Prince George to Jasper. My dad told us every funny, dirty joke and limerick that he knew and these three 15 to 16-year-olds just howled and laughed.”
“He used his humour and I guess you could say his charm to get right in there and he knew how to flip the switch to get a person moving from pessimistic to optimistic, to being self-doubting, to self-believing.”
Tom had a curious mind away from the track and was an avid reader subscribing to National Geographic or cowboy novels written by Louis L’Amour.
Tom has his fingerprints all over a number of athletes that were produced in Prince George, including long-jumper and Canadian Olympian Alyx Treasure (2016 in Rio de Janeiro Brazil)
Sam noted that it didn’t matter what background you were or what your personal circumstances may have been, his father saw value in everyone he coached.
“He had many athletes that were champions, some that went on to become Olympic athletes and he had dozens of athletes where he and my mom would help do the paperwork and apply where they later got full-ride scholarships in track and field at major American universities. “
“Many of them are still in the United States coaching and they came out of this little program in this little town. He would take kids where their situation at home wasn’t good. Sometimes there were situations of neglect and sadly real abuse. Those kids found a sanctuary in the track and field club and they found a supportive, loving person who believed in them.”
Tom was inducted into the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.
He leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Anne, plus four children (Sam, John, Bill, and Laura), six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
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