While Greg Leino retired last year after 34 years of teaching and coaching basketball teams at D.W. Poppy Secondary, his legacy remains.

Leino started out coaching D.W. Poppy's Grade 8 and Grade 9 boys squads before moving on to seniors, whom he guided from the 1985/86 school year until 2009.

When asked last winter about what he will miss most about D.W. Poppy, Leino replied, "I just like the place. The atmosphere, the teachers... a lot of my friends come from here. The 'rookie' in the PE staff has been here 17 years. They are friends, and I know their families. We are a group of people all working towards a common goal. It is just a comfortable place to be."

D.W. Poppy grad Geoff Henshaw, who attended Leino's final game as coach of the D.W. Poppy senior boys squad, was moved by the experience.

"You could see that impact in those who attended the game - all really good people and solid contributors to the community," Henshaw said, of the February 2009 contest pitting D.W. Poppy against cross-town rival Aldergrove Community Secondary (the Redhawks overcame a 36-35 halftime deficit to down the Totems 74-65).

After the game, Henshaw promptly sent out an email to his former teammates.

"I told them that we should start a scholarship in honour of Leino which recognizes the Poppy graduate going on to post-secondary who best exemplifies Leino's values - athletics, academics, and community service," Henshaw recalled. "I'm happy to say that my teammates didn't even hesitate and a scholarship has been established."

Helping the scholarship gain traction were Colin Bailey, John Hantke, Brian Dougherty, Kirk Brown, Justice Buck, Bryan Turner, and Jon Fast.

"These are all guys I played basketball with and without hesitation agreed to contribute towards the scholarship," Henshaw said. "I'd like to recognize my teammates as young men in the community who in a small way are giving back."

Giving back is what Leino was all about, according to Henshaw, who played on a pair of D.W. Poppy provincial finalist teams in 1994 and '95, losing both to rival Aldergrove.

"He really took that coaching role beyond just the basketball court," Henshaw said. "He had a series of life lessons, things that really stuck with me, things he would always say like 'Good enough is never good enough,' and teaching how to rely on your teammates to make you better."

This year marked the first time the scholarship has been awarded and the winner - among several excellent submissions, according to Henshaw - was Kerri McFee, who is not only a strong athlete (volleyball, basketball, rowing) but also a strong contributor to the community (volunteering for the Salmon River Enhancement Society and at the Langley Seniors Resource Centre).

McFee has been accepted into UBC with an eye on becoming a doctor.

"Kerri is an inspiring kid," Henshaw said. "As this scholarship grows it could be very powerful for others like her to be thinking about Leino's values and how they can live up to them."

Henshaw would like to see the Leino scholarship model adopted by other high schools, including Aldergrove Community Secondary.

"Other people can start scholarships at their schools, it is easy and it feels great," Henshaw said. "It would be great if my former rivals at Aldergrove started a scholarship of their own."

Henshaw is looking for additional donors. Those interested can email him at geoffhenshaw@gmail.com.

"When you do the napkin math - 10 alumni per year over 20 years times $100... this becomes an important scholarship," he said. "Hopefully it will grow organically and be a bigger scholarship, and be an enabler for post-secondary education."