- 5x U SPORTS Coach of the Year
- Part of the coaching staff of 32 U SPORTS national championship-winning teams
- Member of coaching staff of Canadian National team for Short Course and Long Course World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Pan Pacific Games, FISU Games, Junior World Championships, and Junior Pan Pacific Championships
- Three-time Head Coach of Canadian National team for FISU Games
- Inducted into the UBC Big Block Hall of Fame 2014
*As of September, 2025
Derrick Schoof was officially announced as the permanent head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds swimming program on May 26, 2020, after serving as interim boss the previous season. This is his second stint as head coach of the program, after previously holding the role from 2006 to 2009. Schoof has brought home 10 U SPORTS National Team titles across his two periods at the helm.
2024-2025:
The 2024-25 campaign was a remarkable one for the T-Birds, as they won both the men's and women's sides of the Sports Illustrated Clubhouse Colleges Cup, before sweeping not just the titles but also every individual award at the 2024 Canada West Championships, including both Men's and Women's Coach of the Year for Schoof. The Thunderbirds then regained their position at the top of the mountain at the 2025 U SPORTS National Championships, where they won both men's and women's titles for the program's 21st and 25th national banners, respectively. The T-Birds also showed well at the 2025 Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet, with a number of UBC athletes winning medals against steep competition in the 60th anniversary of the event.
Schoof led the Thunderbirds to another successful season in 2023-24. The UBC women captured yet another banner at the 2023 Canada West Championships, the 33rd championship in the program’s history. The men’s team, meanwhile, earned silver at both that tournament as well as at the 2024 U SPORTS National Championships, where T-Bird Hugh McNeill won the Swimmer of the Meet award. Both teams topped the podium at the 2023 Odlum Brown Colleges Cup and the 2023 Dino Cup. Schoof was named both the Canada West and U SPORTS Women’s Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 season.
The Thunderbirds were well-represented at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with current athletes Blake Tierney and Emma O’Croinin, future T-Birds Finlay Knox, and alumni Yuri Kisil and Ingrid Wilm all representing Team Canada.
Schoof also coached future Thunderbird swimmer Kayla Sanchez (Philippines) to 15
th place finish in the 100m freestyle.
2022-23 was another phenomenal season for Schoof and the Thunderbirds. The UBC men captured their sixth consecutive (and 20th overall) U SPORTS National Championship after they also earned a Silver Medal at the season’s Canada West Championships. They also snagged a victory during the 2022 Odlum Brown Colleges Cup. The UBC women won the 2022 Canada West Championships and earned silver at nationals. For her efforts, Emma O’Croinin was named the 2023 U SPORTS Women’s Swimmer of the Year.
Four T-Birds (Hugh McNeill, Keir Ogilvy, Raben Domman, Blake Tierney) represented Canada at 2023 Pan Am Games, and McNeill qualified to represent Canada at the 2023 World Aquatic Championships in Japan.
Schoof led the UBC swimming program to great success in the 2021-22 season as the men captured their fifth straight U SPORTS national title while the women took home a U SPORTS Silver.
Schoof is no stranger to the Point Grey campus, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from UBC followed up by a Chartered Professional Coaching Certification from the National Coaching Institute (University of Victoria).
That certification was quickly put to use. From 1996 to 2006 Schoof was a part of the UBC swimming coaching staff as an assistant coach before serving as the program's head coach from 2006 to 2009. During his time at UBC, Schoof was part of 22 CIS (now U SPORTS) national championship winning teams, including the 2007 and 2009 men's and 2007 and 2008 women's national title squads as head coach.
In 2014 Schoof was inducted into the UBC Hall of Fame along with the swimmers and coaching staff from UBC swimming's "Decade of Dominance" that saw the men's and women's teams win 10 consecutive CIS championships from 1998 to 2007, while also producing 42 international competitors.
Schoof brings with him a wealth of experience on the international stage. Most recently selected as head coach for Team Canada at the 2019 FISU Summer Games in Naples, Italy, Schoof was also named to the Canadian national team coaching staff at the 2003, 2005 and 2007 Summer Universiade as well as the 2008 and 2009 World Championships.
Schoof re-joined the UBC coaching staff in May of 2017 after spending eight years coaching in both Ottawa and Edmonton. His time in Ottawa was spent as the head coach of the Greater Ottawa Kingfish swim team as well as the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees varsity program. In just two years, Schoof helped bring both programs national recognition and improved each of them to top 10 finishes in the country. Schoof's athletes qualified for numerous national teams including the FINA World Aquatic Championships, World Junior Aquatic Championships, Pan Pacific Games and Pan American Games.
While in Edmonton, Schoof was the head coach of the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club, and in his last year also took on the role of head coach for the University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas swim teams. Schoof's impact was felt yet again, leading the Keyano Swim Club to three Senior National Team Championship titles while simultaneously placing swimmers on numerous national squads. The Golden Bears finished with 16 team records under Schoof's leadership as well as top-five finishes for both the women and men at the 2017 U SPORTS Championships.
