Doug MacKinnon was an all around athlete, spending his formative years playing basketball, baseball, soccer and hockey. He played on several provincial championship teams in baseball and basketball and played for the Nova Scotia Juvenile basketball team who won the Eastern Canadian Championship in 1986.

Doug was a prolific three point shooter, who once scored 58 points in a tournament game in Prince Edward Island. He ranks as one of the best basketball players in BEC’s history, leading the Bears to a silver medal in the 1987 Coal Bowl where he was selected as the MVP of the tournament. Doug was also named athlete of the year in 1987 at Breton Education Centre.

Upon graduation, Doug was recruited by Saint Francis Xavier where he spent four years playing on successful teams at the Antigonish campus.

Doug has also been a tremendous builder at Breton Education Centre and in the community of New Waterford. Coaching since the age of 18, he has coached at all levels in various sports, including stints as both boys and girls basketball teams at BEC. Doug has also served as an assistant coach with the Cape Breton University Capers men's basketball team. 

Doug is on the executive of The New Waterford Minor Baseball Association and is the driving force behind the thriving elementary school basketball program at Greenfield Elementary. Fourteen years ago, Dougie and his wife, Marcy, initiated a very successful ‘Small Ball” program to compliment the “Common School” program’. Currently over 45 percent of the students are involved in the basketball program at Greenfield. 

Doug also formed BEC’s “Unified Program” and with the help of BEC students, he continues to devote time to this very successful program. Doug is a former Regional Director of the NSSAF and is the current Athletic Director at Breton Education Centre.

Doug and Marcy reside in New Waterford with their children, Meghan, Luke and Jake.

Coal Bowl is pleased to have Dougie MacKinnon as Division Chair for Coal Bowl 2023.

From a young age, Mark spent very little time in the house. One could find him on the street playing road hockey, the field playing baseball or at the basketball court.

In his younger years, Mark played minor hockey until grade nine - when he hung his skates up and gave basketball a go. He played for the Breton Education Centre’s high school team for grades 9-12. During those years, Mark was a two-time First-Team AllStar at the New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic.

After his high school graduation in 1986, the University College of Cape Breton (now known as Cape Breton University) recruited Mark and offered him a scholarship.

After a five year hiatus from hockey, Mark caught the bug to be back on the ice where he led the Sydney Millionaires to an Atlantic Championship. He led the league with 57 goals and 94 points in 31 games. Once the Millionaire’s season was over, University College of Cape Breton once again recruited Mark - but this time it was for their hockey team where he spent 2 years playing forward.

Mark began playing baseball at a young age and has a very successful career in the sport. He played on several provincial and Atlantic Championship teams. He tried out with Team Canada’s U18 baseball team, was captain of the Nova Scotia team at the Canada Summer Games in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and the University of Toledo offered him a division one baseball scholarship in the state of Ohio.

From the age of 16, Mark played senior baseball for the New Waterford Dodgers, Sydney Mines Ramblers and lastly the Sydney Sooners to end his 20 year career. During that time, they recruited him to compete at Nationals with Sydney and Halifax. 

Mark coached various sports throughout his teaching career. A highlight was taking Breton Education Centre’s first senior high baseball team to the division one provincial baseball championship in 2002.

Mark was the district and junior high coordinator for the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation. He volunteered his time for the Mount Carmel Auditorium Committee for over twenty-five years.

The Community Press survey awarded Mark “New Waterford’s Greatest All-Time Athlete.

Mark has been married to Juanita for 32 years. They have four children: Nancy, Kayla, Eric and Amy. Mark taught all of his children physical education throughout their high school years. This solidified them to follow in his footsteps to become physical educators. Mark and Juanita also have 2 grandchildren, Jack and Luke.

Coal Bowl is pleased to have Mark Walzak as Division Chair for Coal Bowl 2023.