Haggarty Now A Charger

Courtesy of Bonita Joe - Camosun Chargers

Camosun College is pleased to welcome former University of British Columbia Thunderbirds student-athlete and assistant coach Cait Haggarty as Head Coach of the Chargers women’s basketball program.

Haggarty, who played for UBC from 2003-2008  while pursuing a degree in Kinesiology and Health Sciences, helped the Thunderbirds to three national CIS titles (2004, 2006 & 2008) and was a three-time CIS Academic All-Canadian (2005, 2006 & 2007). She was a team co-captain in her final two years of varsity competition and earned the John B. Service Memorial Prize in Human Kinetics in her year of graduation. Haggarty also served as an assistant coach to the T-Birds in 2009-10 and 2012-13.

Following her graduation from UBC, Haggarty earned a Master of Education degree in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership from the University of Washington while working as a Graduate Assistant with the Seattle University women’s basketball program.

Haggarty, who hails from Victoria (Mount Douglas Secondary), has recently returned from living in Port Moody where she completed the Fire Fighter Technologies Certificate Program through the Justice Institute of British Columbia. Prior to that, she lived in Vancouver working as a personal trainer.

“My main reason for moving back to Victoria is for this amazing opportunity to coach at Camosun and to be closer to family and friends,” she comments. “I just moved back to Victoria and I couldn’t be more excited! My top priority is becoming familiar with the program and players, and getting things in place for the upcoming season.”

Coach Haggarty has wasted no time in recruiting her assistant coaches and Camosun is happy to welcome back two former Chargers to the women’s basketball program. On board for 2017-18 is Niki Sunder who suited up for the Chargers in 2007-08 and Courtenay Lowther (nee Parks) who played three years at Camosun (1998-99, 2002-03 & 2003-04) before serving as an assistant coach for six seasons between 2006 and 2014.

“Courtenay and Niki are both phenomenal human beings with a passion for coaching that will inspire this group to improve with each opportunity,” states Coach Haggarty. “Courtenay has a lot of experience at the college level and is a great balance of intensity and fun. Niki has a talent for connecting with players and focusing on the development of intangible skills such as leadership and respect. Both have had success as coaches and players and I feel so fortunate to have them as part of the 2017-18 team.”

Haggarty’s appointment will hopefully signal the beginning of a new era for the Chargers women’s basketball program which has struggled to net a medal-winning finish at the PACWEST Provincial Championships over the past seven seasons.

“I’m really looking forward to helping create a culture that fosters growth and development for the players both on and off the court and one that challenges them to be better each day,” says Coach Haggarty. “I realize that big changes can create uncertainty, but I think that if the team is able to embrace the new and commit to each other, we will have a very successful season.”