UBC Seasons: 3
UBC Overall record: 52-36 (.692)
UBC Conference record: 38-22 (0.578)
2021-22:
In his fifth season as Head Coach, Hawkins led his team to an overall record of 12-8 and a conference record of 10-6. Key weekends came against the TRU Wolfpack and UBC-Okanagan, where the T-Birds swept both matchups on January 14-15th, and February 19-20th.
The T-Birds found their groove as they strung together five straight wins towards the end of the season, but were then defeated in the opening weekend of the Canada West Playoffs. After dropping their opener to the Saskatchewan Huskies 2-3, they bounced back and defeated the UFV Cascades 3-1 but were then bested by the Alberta Bears 1-3.
Matt Neaves was named a Canada West 1st Team All-Star, Mike Dowhaniuk was awarded CW 2nd Team All-Star honours, while Mason Greves made the All-Rookie team.
An impressive 2019-2020 season saw the Thunderbirds finished third in the Canada West regular season standings with a 17-5 record before falling to Alberta in a deciding third match of the Canada West semifinal.
Two second-year T-Birds earned Canada West All-Star nods in 2019-2020 – Matt Neaves was named to the first team, while Michael Dowhaniuk was named to the second team.
In Hawkins' debut campaign with UBC, a young Thunderbirds squad showed consistent improvement in going 11-11 in Canada West regular season play, advancing to the league quarter-finals.
Rookie Michael Dowhaniuk was named a second-team Canada West All-Star in 2018-2019, and earned spots on the Canada West and U SPORTS All-Rookie teams.
Hawkins replaced Kerry MacDonald in 2018, who joined Volleyball Canada as its new Director of Sport Science, Medicine, and Information. MacDonald remains with the Thunderbirds as an assistant coach.
Hawkins, from Lethbridge, Alta., has a wealth of coaching experience.
He served as the full-time assistant coach with UBC Okanagan two years ago, and was the interim head coach at his alma mater, Thompson Rivers, during the 2016-17 campaign.
Before heading back to TRU, Hawkins coached two seasons at Lethbridge College of the Alberta College Athletic Conference, serving as an assistant in 2014-15 before taking the head role the next year.
He began his coaching career after his playing days as a setter concluded at TRU. Hawkins was an assistant for two years with the WolfPack men’s team before also taking on a similar role with the TRU women’s squad in the latter part of his final year in Kamloops, B.C.
Hawkins is a rising star on the national coaching stage as he was an assistant to MacDonald on Canada’s youth national team before taking over head coaching duties in 2020 and 2021.
