Not all good players turn into great coaches, but Gary Johnston managed to pull off the career double in rugby.

His formative years playing the sport were in the same neighbourhood: Gordon Head schools, Oak Bay Wanderers and finally the University of Victoria. In 1974 he connected with the club that has been his home ever since - James Bay Athletic Association. Johnston won seven B.C. titles with the Bays through 1981 and represented B.C. and Canada internationally.

He began coaching in 1972, first at the high school level, and later in tandem with JBAA and B.C. junior teams. He founded the annual Boot Game between his Oak Bay Barbarians and St. Michaels, and won six B.C. rugby titles with the Barbs.

In the 1980s, he coached B.C. junior and senior teams to national crowns and coached both national teams during that decade. Mostly retired since 2003, his understanding of the game continues to make him a valuable resource around any rugby pitch.

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The Club began in 1911 at Windsor Park as a place for B.C. Electric Railway employees to exercise and socialize. That beginning was followed by a move in 1923 to a permanent facility between Cavendish and Bowker Avenues. A members' takeover in 1964 helped the Oak Bay Tennis Club become a fixture in the municipality.

Having built a reputation for developing players as well as social circles, the Club has groomed provincial and national titleholders from Theo Booker, Wendy Barlow and Val Brice to Roger Skillings, Neil Coutts and Patrick Flint.

It seems fitting, as it celebrates 100 years in Oak Bay, that the Club is enshrined in the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame.

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