Patrick Johnston wins CCAA Coach of the Year

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: FANSHAWE ATHLETICS
Fanshawe's men's volleyball head coach, Patrick Johnston, was awarded the CCAA Coach of the Year for the first time in the programs' history

After coaching his team to a Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) bronze medal for the first time in Fanshawe’s history, men’s volleyball’s head coach Patrick Johnston was awarded the CCAA Coach of the Year.

This is also the first time in Fanshawe’s history that a head coach of the volleyball program has received this award.

“It’s an honour winning the award, especially given the company that was nominated,” Johnston said. “It’s obviously nice to win, but I realize it [would have] been impossible without the 14 guys on the team coming together and executing.”

It has also been Johnston’s third consecutive season being named the Ontario Collegiate Athletic association (OCAA) West Coach of the Year and his second time winning the overall the OCAA Coach of the Year.

This is only his third year with the team.

“His knowledge for the game is ridiculous, being able to turn a program which has not been the best and making it third in the country in three years, winning OCAA [titles] each year and CCAA Coach of the Year this year, those accolades are just unheard of, he has been able to do it and deserves it wholeheartedly,” said first-year setter Sebastian Lethbridge.

And according to Lethbridge, it was obvious at the beginning of the season that Johnston brought an air of professionalism to the team that would help take them far.

“The thing I noticed right off the bat was the professionalism; we did everything like a professional team; we had film, we had a sports doctor, meal plans, eating nutritiously, we all studied together. It was all set up professionally … it makes you feel like you are more than just a team.”

And it was obvious that this tactic worked as Johnston was able to not only coach his team to an OCAA Provincial Championship gold medal, which is only the second time in the programs’ history and the first time in 46 years, but also to a CCAA bronze medal.

According to assistant coach Rob Thorpe, it was the extra work and numerous hours that Johnston put in to make the team as good as it was.

“To do what he did this year, with a team of [mostly rookies] and just to be able to have them play this kind of game right away shows something about what he is able to do with what he is given.”