Jamie Vaughan joined the UFV Cascades men’s basketball team in 2003, during a pivotal year. He joined a winning team of senior players and helped bring the Cascades to the national collegiate championships, where they came out on top.  And Jamie came away with MVP honours.

As a hockey player throughout childhood, Jamie discovered the sport later than most players. A growth spurt in Grade 7 resulted in him being scooped up by his school’s basketball team. In Grade 12, his team from Chilliwack’s Highroad Academy won the provincial championship.

Following high school, Jamie played for a college team in Seattle. After a strong freshman season, he was approached by coach Pat Lee, who convinced Jamie to return to Canada to play for UFV (then UCFV).

“He had built a powerhouse of a program, but even beyond that, Pat built up men,” says Jamie. “He had an ability to find diamonds in the rough.”

It was that season that took Jamie and his teammates to the nationals, where he earned his MVP award. But the effort came at a cost.

“There was a bit of a freak accident at practice one day and I knew something was wrong,” recalls Jamie. He had partially torn his Achilles tendon. “We had just weeks left in the season and provincials and nationals right around the corner. And a guy like me, you’re just not going to keep me out of the lineup unless I’m dying, so I played through the injury.”

But the injury caught up with him and forced him to sit out the next season due to surgery on his Achillies tendon.

When he returned, he did so with enthusiasm and earned several distinctions including BCAA Male Athlete of the Year, BC Basketball Male College Player of the Year, and CCCA Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.

And even though Jamie was recognized with these distinctions as an individual, he credits his team’s skills and camaraderie for helping him maintain a high level of play. During that season, the team made it to the nationals, but did not win the tournament.

“When you’re with the boys, you’re not sitting out,” he says. “You’re going to plow through anything to accomplish your goal. And we had an unbelievable year. We went to nationals and were ranked number one. We had a fantastic year; we just didn’t get the job done.”

In 2006, the Cascades transitioned from college to university-level competition. Jamie knew the team had the potential to succeed in this new league.  He stayed with the team for one more season, helping establish UFV with the CIS (now U Sports). However, the following year, after the departure of his coach Pat Lee, he transferred to Trinity Western, where he completed his studies and pursued his dream career in real estate development.

Jamie is now the founder and President of Sightline Properties in Vancouver. Although retired from basketball, Jamie now teaches the sport to his children.

Jamie’s basketball years at UCFV are still close to his heart, as he remains in touch with many of his former teammates, including Lee Jackson, Jeff O’Brien, Matt Francisco, Shane Hearing, Nick Alderliesen, Danny Horner and Greg Neufeld. He also keeps in touch with coach Pat Lee, who he credits his success on the court and still considers a friend.