Hamilton, ON- Taffe Charles hates losing. 

The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball head coach has hated that feeling of defeat for a long time – ever since he was 16 years old. 

He was playing football at the time on an undefeated team. He and his teammates were feeling pretty good as they went into a game one day expecting to win, not taking it seriously. Then, they lost. 

As Charles watched the other team jumping around and celebrating the upset, he sensed that feeling. He hated that in the moment– that feeling that he could have tried harder and prepared better to prevent that. He never forgot that moment and never wanted to feel that again. 

Let’s go forward several decades to 2023, where Charles is a four-time national champion as a head coach – once with the women’s team, three times with the men. Yet, the defending national champion Ravens have just dropped back-to-back games for the second time this regular season. That same feeling of losing is still there though. 

“I never accept losing,” Charles said. “Losing, it kills my soul.” 

So how does Charles feel about this year’s Ravens squad who just lost to McMaster and York on Dec 1 and 2?

Frustrated at the results for one and the slow starts for another. Yet, he also knows the difficulties they’ve faced. He knows how hard it can be to go on the road and win. They’ve played seven of their nine regular season games away from home. 

He knows how they’ve been banged up with injuries to some of their veterans. How they’re relying on younger players who are still gaining that experience – who don’t have enough of it quite yet.

Yet, despite all that, the expectations remain high. This is Carleton men’s basketball after all. Everyone sees Carleton on the jersey and knows the history, Charles points out. The opponents see the shirt and want to get their pound of flesh – like McMaster and York did. 

With such a young Ravens squad – 11 players in their first or second year of eligibility – comes growing pains and learning. 

That’s the balance Charles and the Ravens are trying to find. The high expectations and push to win while remembering the reality of this young squad. It’s something Charles fights with every day. Something Charles knows about dating back to his days as the Carleton women’s head coach. 

Yes, the Ravens ended up winning the OUA and national title in 2018 with a veteran-laden squad. But there were other years where they were inexperienced – including some of them leading up to the title. 

There was the 2018-19 season where they had to replace the core of that 2018 team as younger players such as Madison Reid and Emma Kiesekamp were asked to step up in bigger roles in their second seasons. They reached the OUA semi-finals that year. 

Charles is always pushing the envelope with those younger teams, like this year – trying to get them to play a bit sooner than they are. Trying to push them harder than they’re ready for. “Bite off a bit more than they can chew,” he called it. 

“I know what needs to happen to win,” Charles said. “Problem is these guys aren’t ready yet and I know that it’s a process.” 

One of those things is leadership – something Charles is frustrated with. He’s frustrated with the fact he’s had to push the rookies harder than he’d like “because it’s unfair to them.” 

Charles is also frustrated that he’s not willing to accept losing. Maybe it goes back to that football loss when he was 16. 

What the Ravens need, according to Charles, is for someone to understand that they want to take it to the next level. He and his fellow coaches have those conversations with players. 

Given the current situation of the team, there may be more losses coming. However, Charles called their future bright. 

He’s happy with their first-year class this year. He got to know them for 18 months before they became Carleton players. The cancelled season in 2020-21 made that difficult for recruiting the past few classes. 

With the current first-year players, the relationships are better and stronger. “They understand what is being asked of them and they want to be the best, which is great,” Charles said. 

They’re already taking on big roles now: Augustas Brazdeikis and Xavier Spencer are their two leading scorers. Aubrey Dorey-Havens is playing key rotational minutes. 

Perhaps those players will emerge as leaders in the future. Perhaps they’ll be the core veterans down the road in future national title runs.

In the moment though? The 5-4 Ravens go on the road to face the number one ranked and undefeated Ottawa Gee-Gees on Dec. 6. The team they beat in the national semi-finals in March.

For Charles, it will mean more balancing the expectations with the reality. More frustration and growing pains as well maybe. However, it might be all worth it if he can avoid the feeling of defeat. 

Featured Image: Kevin Lassel/McMaster Athletics