VANCOUVER – It's a proud day for the UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball program as alumna Shannon Winzer has been named the new head coach of the Canadian women's indoor volleyball team.
A member of the blue and gold from 2000-2002, Winzer will become the first Canadian head coach of the women's team in 15 years and the first female head coach of the program in nearly 40 years when she officially takes the reins in January from Tom Black who recently stepped down from the post.
"I'm very honoured and extremely excited to be named the next head coach for team Canada," Winzer said in a Volleyball Canada press release. "The potential of this current group of athletes, as well as all the athletes coming up our pathway, was the single biggest factor in deciding to move back home from Australia to work with team Canada."
Originally from Port Coquitlam, B.C., Winzer graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002. She went on to play volleyball professionally in Europe and Australia. She later began her coaching career down under and in 2016 became the head coach of Australia Volleyball.
Her meteoric rise in the coaching ranks didn't go unnoticed by her native federation, and in the spring of 2019 she joined Volleyball Canada as an assistant coach with the senior women's national team as well as the head coach of the National Excellence Program.
"Tom (Black) has done an outstanding job with this program and has laid a solid foundation upon which we can continue to build on," Winzer added as she looks to continue building on some solid momentum. "There is no doubt that we are moving in the right direction, working towards great things, which I'm optimistic will lead to future Olympic qualification."
Photo courtesy of Kevin Light/Volleyball Canada
Winzer's new position marks the first time a Canadian will lead the senior women's team since former UBC coach Lorne Sawula who guided the program on two separate occasions, most recently from 2001-2005. She also becomes only the second woman to lead the team, and the first since a fellow former T-Bird in Betty Baxter who was head coach from 1979-1981.
The many connections between the UBC Thunderbirds and the national program are certainly not lost on the current T-Birds women's head coach, another former national team boss.
"To have so many connections with UBC and the national program, it's a proud moment for our team and myself to see yet another former T-Bird leading our national team," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer who led the women's national program from 1996-2001 and also coached Winzer in her final year as a T-Bird. "She will do a great job, she brings the passion, commitment, and high standards needed to help our national team program."
Winzer's historic hiring as the first female head coach in 39 years also serves as a nod to the legacy of former UBC head coach and long-time Thunderbirds supporter, Sandy Silver, who also served as assistant coach with the women's national team from 1980 to 1982.
"Sandy was such a strong proponent of women in coaching and such a strong volleyball and T-Birds supporter, I wish Sandy was here to see this today," said Reimer of Silver who passed just over a year ago following a lifetime of groundbreaking social justice advocacy.
Winzer will continue to be based at the women's training centre in Richmond, just a figurative stone's throw away from her former home court at War Memorial Gym.
"It's incredible to see the growth Shannon has had since being a T-Bird and she's built a terrific resume of international experience since her days as a UBC student-athlete," added Reimer. "Shannon brought such great intensity and commitment as a player and I see her bring those exact same traits to the coaching realm. Trying to compete internationally is incredibly challenging and I think her determination and competitive spirit will be very valuable in the years to come."
