A Boy in a Man's Body

He can be found walking through the east building, towering over everyone and yelling at people on the other end of the hallway. For ten years Mr. Garraway has been picking on people half his age and height at Oak Bay High School as a teacher. Mr. Garraway was also a student and graduate of OBH back in 1994. He has lived in Victoria all of his life and attended the University of Victoria. He decided to become a high school teacher when he realized that the high school age is the most influential age in one's life (and he enjoyed taking the pe classes at UVic). At UVic he was a stand-out soccer player and placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and tenth at the national championships in his five years as a Vike. He also plays on the Gorge men's team who have won many provincial and national titles.

Mr. Garraway is as passionate about playing as he is about coaching. He claims to have been coaching for an eternity and has been a coach for many high level soccer teams in Victoria. He has coached the girls' soccer team at Oak Bay High for eight years, helped with the boys' program for ten, coachs premier Gorge women's team for four years and the skillful Victoria Stars women's team for two and a half.


"I like coaching because I love seeing the massive improvements individuals and teams go through. Also, there is nothing better than be a part of a good team," Garraway comments, "and the gifts at the end of the year are by far the best part."

Mr. Garraway poses with his girls soccer team after winning a silver medal at the 2009 Provincial Tournament.

Jokes aside, Mr. Garraway has been recognized throughout the city as one of the most passionate, caring, and successful coaches there is and Oak Bay High is lucky to have him.

Although soccer is a large part of his life, he does enjoy other things. He claims to be the champion of the Wii Tennis World Championships 2010. Mr. Garraway also loves to disappear. He has travelled to over 130 cities worldwide. Camping is another big part of Mr. Garraway's hobbies. This summer he is backpacking around Costa Rica.

Over Spring Break, Mr. Garraway took a large group of students down to Mexico on a Hero Holdiay trip. The group spent one week building two houses for two families who did not have the resources to do it themselves. "I teach a lot about helping others and I realized I talk about it more than actually do it. I took on this project because I wanted to change this," he says. It was a life changing experience, beyond anything he could've imagines. Mr. Garraway hopes to do another Hero Holdiay trip some day.

In his young age, Mr. Garraway has already definitely made a big impact on Oak Bay High School through teaching, coaching and travelling. He is well-liked by the staff and the students.

One decade at Oak Bay done, hopefully many more to go.