Seasons with UBC: 1
Canada West conference record: 5-1-2
*As of March, 2025
Geoff Matthews has completed his first season at the helm of the UBC Thunderbirds, where he led the program to its best campaign in over half a decade.
The T-Birds roared out to a 3-0-2 start to the season to begin 2024, conceding only one goal through those first five games. A 1-0 victory at home over Victoria put the team at 5-0-2 and the final game of the season pitted the T-Birds and Vikes against each other in a de facto championship game. Sadly, the T-Birds fell to the Vikes who took the Canada West championship.
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Matthews played field hockey at the premier club level in both the United Kingdom and South Africa, before beginning his coaching career in 2000. After moving to Canada in 2012, when his wife, Kerryn, was offered a contract to do her post-doctorate at UBC, he became an assistant coach for the Canadian U21 Men's National Team. He later became the head coach of the program in 2022, as well as assistant coach for the senior Men's National Team in 2023.
Throughout his time with the national team setup, Matthews served as the Technical Director for the West Vancouver Field Hockey Club (WVFHC). During his tenure, he coached their Women's Premier team to seven league and playoff trophies. He also led the club's Men's Premier team to a 2023 playoff title, the first time WVFHC has ever won both the Men's and Women's playoffs in the same season.
Matthews, his wife, and their son Rory all became Canadian citizens in 2021.
