This season marks Shiaz's 13th year as the head coach of the UBC's men's field hockey program. With over 30 years of coaching experience at the club, provincial and national levels, Shiaz has turned the UBC program into a feeder system for the Canadian national team.
Prior to coming to UBC he spent seven years as the head coach of Canada's senior national team, leading them to an 8th place finish at the 1998 World Cup, a gold medal at the 1999 Pan Am Games, and a spot at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He also was the interim head coach of the women's national team in 2008 and was a consultant for the Belarus women's national team for three years.
The Thunderbirds currently play in the BC provinical league, the top league in Canada, and face competition from across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, including the University of Victoria.Â
Shiaz graduated from the University of Nairobi with a Bachelor of Science and is currently a technical consultant in the IT field. He and his wife Diane (a former Canadian Olympic field hockey player) have one son, Arif, who is a current member of the Thunderbirds.
