#ThanksCoach

This week the PACWEST celebrates National Coaches Week along with sports leagues and Conferences across the country.

The PACWEST Conference is truly lucky to have the incredible coaches in place to improve student athletes at their chosen sport and to help them mature as a person.  Whether a person holds the role of head coach, assistant coach, or associate coach, each one of them brings to the table a unique skill set able to help grow the student athlete not only athletically, but academically as well. 

Coaching in 2024 is much more than the usual x’s and o’s.  Coaches are mentors, mediators, listeners, and everything in between, and the PACWEST have some of the best in the country.

Langara Falcons’ men’s soccer head coach Marc Rizzardo is the longest standing PACWEST coach, serving for the past 35 years, beginning in 1986.   “Bottom line is it is really rewarding seeing these late teenagers arrive at the age of 17 or 18 and leave as men at 22 or 23,” he says.

“What they give back to me even after they leave is awesome.  For example, my three most recent Japanese players who have now returned home, have all reached out to me in the past few weeks.”

Rizzardo doesn’t take the impact he has on his players lightly and is excited to see them succeed, “I love it when a player who I gave a scholarship to then graduates with his diploma or degree.  I know that he would not have got the academic status if I had not given him a scholarship. I love how successful so many of my players have become in the work world and as dads.”

In PACWEST volleyball, no-one has coached longer or had the success Shane Hyde at VIU has had as the head coach of the women’s program.  He has been the head coach for 24 seasons, first getting the role for the 2001-2002 season.   He has led his teams to 15 CCAA national medals including seven gold.

With all this success, why still coach? “I do it because I enjoy seeing young athletes molding themselves into great people. I take tremendous pride in saying that I had a part in helping shape some strong, confident, classy leaders into who they are when they leave our program. We have 17/18-year-old volleyball players come in and when they leave, they are strong, confident people and not just volleyball players.”

The VIU program has been one of the most successful since Shane became the head coach, something the student athletes on his roster take ownership of, “Our program is unique in the fact that we are a national contender year after year and with that comes the excitement of the challenge of dealing with the pressure. Watching these young student athletes rise to the challenge on and off the court brings a sense of hope for the next generation. I love that my kids can be around such outstanding role models and watch how they need to handle themselves as they mature.”

On the PACWEST hardcourt Steve Beauchamp of the Douglas Royals has been involved in their basketball program for 26 years, more than any other basketball coach.  First as the men’s head coach for 17 seasons, and now the women’s for the past nine. His team comes into this year as the defending PACWEST champion.

“It’s all about the players.  The young women that I get to meet and train with, then watch their development and growth is very rewarding as they become better people.  To know that I played a very small part in that is just so gratifying,” says Beauchamp.

It’s not just the development of his players that inspires him to return, “It’s really about the competition.  Coming up with strategies, changing tactics along with the ups and downs of the game still gets me excited.  It’s a blessing to be back in the saddle again this year.”

Currently on the men’s side, VIU’s Matt Kuzminski has been the longest serving coach starting in 2012 and has created one of the most successful programs in the entire CCAA.   He says its not the winning that keeps him coming back, “I continue to coach at VIU because I love the coaches, players, and department I get to work with.  Without a doubt a big factor is the guys I get to coach with.  Not only are they driven, knowledgeable coaches, who demonstrate continuous learning which pushes me to continue to be better, but they are some of the closest people in my life that I have fun with and love being around.” 

Coach Kuzminski has a personal goal for each of the players he coaches on the Mariners roster each and every year, “One of my aims in life is to use sport to help young people thrive now and later in life.  I am blessed to get to work with some great young men who are role models and go on to be great contributors in our community.” 

Having a great coaching staff is one thing, but Kuzminski knows that is only part of the equation.  “To continue to put in time, you need institutional support.  We have a great Athletic Director who looks out for us and has our back.  As a department there is level of respect and camaraderie throughout the different coaching staffs which isn’t always a guarantee.   As much as I coach for the love of basketball, I coach for the love of people and being a part of teams.”

The PACWEST thanks every one of the coaches in the Conference that gives the student athlete the best opportunity to succeed.  With the countless hours and dedication these coaches put in, the PACWEST would not be as strong and able to compete year in and year out.

Thank you coaches!