Entering 2018-19 season
Steve Price is in his eighth season as the head coach of UBC Thunderbirds swim teams.
Prior to arriving at UBC, he was the head coach of the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club for four seasons and spent a year in Ireland as the National Center Coach at the University of Limerick before returning to Canada. A career coach, Steve has spent over 30 years as a professional swim coach, working at all levels of the sport.
During his time at UBC, the T-Birds have dominated at the conference and national level.
The women’s team has won the Canada West title in every year Price has been head coach (seven straight heading into the 2018-19 season), while the men have earned six conference championships in seven seasons. Both squads have won in record fashion, scoring the most points in the history of the championships.
At the U SPORTS (formerly CIS) national championships, both teams enjoyed the same level of success. The UBC women have finished as national champions six times while the men have won four titles. In the years they did not win, they placed a close second.
Numerous records have been broken at these championships and UBC swimming remains the most dominant sport in UBC Athletics and U SPORTS history.
Entering this year, Price has been recognized by his peers on 11 occasions as the Canada West Coach of the Year (six as women’s coach and five as men’s coach), and seven times as U SPORTS Coach of the Year (four – women’s, three – men’s) for the success of his squads.
He has also served as a staff coach for the senior national team on many occasions during his illustrious career. Below are his national team appointments.
· Staff Coach Open Water – 2016 Olympic Games – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
· Staff Coach OW – 2015 World Aquatic Championships – Kazan, Russia
· Staff Coach OW – 2015 Pan American Games – Toronto, Ontario
· Staff Coach – 2013 Universiade – Kazan, Russia
· Staff Coach – 2011 Universiade – Shenzhen, China
· Staff Coach – 2011 Youth/Junior Tour – Great Britain
· Staff Coach – 2010 Junior Pan Pacific Championships – Kihei, Hawaii
· Head Coach – 2007 Junior European Champs – Antwerp, Belgium
· Staff Coach – 2006 Pan Pacs Swimming Champs – Victoria, B.C.
· Head Coach – 2006 World Cup Circuit – Stockholm and Berlin
· Personal Coach – 2005 World Cup Circuit – New York and Brazil
· Head Coach / Youth National Team – 2005 AYOF – Canberra and Sydney, Australia
· Staff Coach – 2003 Pan Am Games – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
· Staff Coach – 2002 Pan Pacs – Yokohama, Japan
· Team Leader – 2000/01 World Cup Circuit – Shanghai, Imperia, Sheffield, Berlin
· Personal Coach – 2000 Olympic Games Preparation Camps
· Personal Coach – 1999 Pan Pacs Swimming Championships – Sydney, Australia
· Head Coach / Junior National Team – 1999 Speedo Grand Prix – Sheffield, GBR
· Head Coach / Saskatchewan Prov. Team – 1997 Canada Games – Brandon, Man
· Staff Coach – 1997 World SC Champs – Gothenburg, Sweden
· Staff Coach – 1996/97 World Cup Circuit
· Staff Coach – 1996 Olympic Games – Atlanta, Georgia
· Personal Coach – 1995 Pan Pacs Swimming Championships – Atlanta, Georgia
Price is a Chartered Professional Coach with the Coaches of Canada and a NCCP Level 4 certified coach. In 2014, he was inducted into the UBC Big Block Hall of Fame along with swimmers and fellow coaches for his time with the team in the late 1990s and early 2000s in helping coach the famed “Decade of Dominance."
