An outstanding athlete, Jim Preston excelled in softball, baseball and hockey as a youngster. Born in Toronto, September 7, 1944 to parents Percy and Edith, Jim & his brother John moved to Aurora in 1949. It is no wonder that when his mother enrolled him in bowling, Jim was able to transfer his natural talent to the lanes. Bowling at Cousins Alleys in Aurora, in the public school Peanut league, his name often appeared in the local newspaper. He continued bowling in the Canadian Junior Bowling Council until the age of eighteen, when he joined the adult ranks.
After living in Aurora for 23 years, Jim married Gemma VanOs and moved to Newmarket, where he continued his bowling at Bowlerama Newmarket. It was during this time when he developed a friendship with Hall of Fame member Vic Tugwell that would ultimately expand his coaching career. As soon as son Michael was eligilbe, like all good bowling parents, Jim quickly enrolled him in the Youth Bowling Council in Newmarket. It was here that Bill and Marg Ingram, Proprietors of Bowlerama, convinced him to join the Master Bowlers’ Association. Soon after becoming a certified Instructor, he was successful in coaching various YBC teams at Zone and Provincial 4 Steps to Stardom tournaments.
While Jim was focusing all his time with the YBC and the Masters’, his good friend Vic was bowling and coaching in the Provincial Open tournaments, all under the York Simcoe banner. By 1980, Vic had qualified twice as a bowler and coached three times. That same year, on an invitation from Vic, Jim attended his first Open to see if he would enjoy the coaching experience. The following year he attended the Open again to take in the excitement. It was those first few visits that ignited the fire of his desire to coach at the Open. In 1985, Jim coached his first Ladies Team, a position that he took for the next six years. It was the 1990 team that he considers as one of his greatest accomplishments. It was the first time that a York Simcoe Ladies team had won a Provincial Championship. That team consisted of Hall of Fame member Diane MacLeod, veterans Elaine Freiday, Joanne Banks and Michelle Swan, with Lynda Schnitzler and rookie Leeanne Watt rounding out the roster. In 1997, the Ladies Team was victorious once more with Jim as their coach, as they took top honours again and advanced to the National Finals in Calgary. After a poor start on day one, the team roared back on the second day to capture the Bronze Medal, another accomplishment that he was very proud of. In his own words, winning once was nice, but winning twice was even better. In total Jim has made fifteen trips to the Provincial Finals in Hamilton, all but two with York Simcoe teams, which is more than any other coach in our Zone.
After completing the National Coaching Certification Program in 1992, Jim turned his coaching expertise to York Simcoe’s Youth Challenge teams. In 1995 at the Provincial Finals, he coached the Girls’ Team. One player on that team, a fifteen-year old Michelle Kyte, emerged as the Girls Provincial Singles Champion. From 1997 to 2000, he coached four more teams. In 2000, the Girls Teams advanced to the Ontario Winter Games in Sudbury.
Following Gemma’s passing in 2003, after a six-month battle with cancer, Jim and Michael were left together to fend for themselves. Later, he married Jan Rockett, the new love of his life, whom he credits with saving his life when he had his heart attack. Today as he tries to slow down, they have moved to the retirement community of Sandy Cove Acres in Innisfil where Jan has introduced him to the fine art of travelling. Despite all of his health problems, Jim still finds time for coaching the Men’s Softball team, the occasional game of golf and thanks to stepdaughter Tanya and her husband Luke, enjoys his grandchildren, Cameron and Ashton.
Tonight as Jim considers joining his good friend Vic Tugwell in the Hall of Fame, the icing on the cake, we too are thankful for his successful coaching career.