Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti

On this episode, we had the pleasure of chatting with Head Coach of UBC Men's Basketball and Winningest Coach in Canada West History, Kevin Hanson.   Bio courtesy of: https://gothunderbirds.ca/sports/mens...  UBC’s Kevin Hanson is one of most decorated head coaches in the Canada West, and all of U SPORTS. He enters his 20th season at UBC with 304 conference victories, and is the wins leader amongst current Canada West coaches. Hanson trails just Don Horwood (313) on the league’s all-time list. Hanson also holds the best regular season winning percentage in Canada West for active coaches at .770.   In the 2018-19, the Thunderbirds won 17 of 20 regular season games for the second year in a row. UBC went the distance in a pair of best-of-three series to advance to the Canada West final, where the team fell to Calgary. At the U SPORTS Final 8, the T-Birds battled to a fifth-place finish with a record of 2-1.   The 2017-18 campaign saw fifth-year forward Conor Morgan earn Canada West Player of the Year recognition for the second time in a row.   Hanson was an assistant coach with the Canadian team that, with UBC stars Morgan and Grant Shephard, won silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. At the end of the 2016-17 campaign, Hanson was recognized as the Canada West’s Coach of the Year. It was the sixth time he achieved this feat, tied for the most in league history. Hanson previously merited the honour in 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2011. In 2006 and 2010, he was named the U SPORTS Coach of the Year.   The 2016-17 edition of Hanson’s T-Birds went 19-1 in league play, improving their regular season record for the third-consecutive season. In addition to the coaching honour, UBC team members also earned three other major conference awards: Player of the Year (Morgan), Defensive Player of the Year (Jordan Jensen-Whyte), and the Ken Shields Award nomination for excellence in basketball, academics and community involvement (Phil Jalalpoor).   In 2015-16, Hanson recorded his 250th conference victory and led his Thunderbirds to a fifth-place showing at the U SPORTS Final 8 national tournament, which was played at UBC for the first time since 1972.   Since arriving at UBC in 2000, Hanson has turned the men’s basketball program into a national power, guiding the T-Birds to consecutive appearances (2009 and 2010) in the U SPORTS championship game. Hanson was also well recognized before coming to UBC and is a four-time BCCAA Coach of the Year (‘92,’ 94, ’99, ’00), was twice presented with the CCAA Coaching Excellence Award (‘94 and ‘99), and was also named Basketball B.C. Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1994. The two-time UBC graduate has also been involved with Basketball Canada for nearly two decades, leading Canada’s World University Games team to a bronze-medal finish at the 2003 Summer Universiade in Korea. In the same position in 2005, Hanson led Canada to fifth place in Turkey. He was the head coach of the 2011 Canadian roster that won the silver medal in Shenzhen, China. In 2017, Hanson served as Team Canada head coach at a Summer Universiade for the fourth time. Hanson graduated from UBC’s Faculty of Human Kinetics in 1988 and earned his Master’s Degree in Human Kinetics from UBC in 1994.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the opportunity to sit down with a successful basketball player from Langley B.C., Jadon Cohee.    Like many young basketball players Jadon aspired to play collegiate basketball and have his school paid for. Jadon grew up in Langley, and attended Walnut Grove Secondary. There, Cohee won a Provincial Championship and was named MVP of the tournament.   His university career only begun when he committed to Seattle-U out of high-school, but things didn't seem fit. He then transferred to Southern Utah University who plays in the NCAA Div.1 league, however he thought it would be best to come back to Canada and play close to home at UBC.   He is now a recent graduate from the UBC Men's Basketball program where he had a very successful ending to his collegiate career. He now hopes to continue his basketball journey and play professionally.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Ron Putzi, the Basketball BC Hall of Fame Inductee.    Ron Putzi started his elite basketball journey at Richmond High School where he was coached by Bill Disbrow. Ron captained the Super Colts to the Provincial Championships in 1987 and 1988. Ron ‘Putzi’ was selected MVP of those 1988 Provincials and subsequently named BC Junior Male Athlete of the Year. That same year he scored a famed tournament record 61 points in the final of the Vancouver College Emerald Tournament. He was later honored as a member of The Province newspaper’s all-time “Dream Team” and “Player of the Decade.”   Ron received a 5-year, Division 1 scholarship to play for New Mexico State University where the Aggies became Big West Conference Champions, received 4 NCAA Tournament bids, and reached The Sweet 16 in 1992.   Ron graduated from New Mexico State University with a BA degree in Finance & International Business (Hon. Econ).   In the Aggies’ off season, Ron played two summers with the Canadian National Team (FISU). With this team he played in the World Basketball League, NBA Summer League, and received the silver medal at the World University Games in Sheffield, England.   Ron played professional basketball for 10 years in Europe – specifically Switzerland – where his teams reached 7 National Finals, including winning the Swiss National Championship in 2000. Along with being the top scorer and winning the Canada Games gold medal, he played in the “Magic” Johnson Pepsi All-Star game in Zurich, Switzerland 1994 (Mark Aguirre, Kurt Rambis etc). Ron scored 10 points while Earvin Johnson scored 22.   Later, coaching alongside 2x Olympian Howard Kelsey & Q.C. Wally Oppal, (Att. Gen. of BC) Ron won a Gold medal at the World Police & Fire Games.   In 2018, Ron was inducted into the Basketball BC Hall Of Fame & Richmond Sports Wall of Fame (Athlete).   Aside from Putzi's basketball achievements, he is an accomplished athlete. Putzi has completed three Iron Man Triathlons in 2010-2012. He completed the Vancouver Sun Run 10 Km three times, he cycled from Vancouver to Whistler in the RBC Granfondo Canada Whistler four times, and completed many Kayaking and Canoeing adventures that last up to 7 days on the water. He competed in additional races and competitions including other marathons, and triathlons around BC, as wells as many Dunk Championships at local tournaments.    Read his full Bio at: http://www.putzi.ca/basketball-resume

BC Sports Hall of Famer, and Two-Time Olympian, Howard Kelsey, is the next guest on this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti.   Kelsey, born and raised in Vancouver, attended Point Grey Secondary where he led his lowly-ranked team to a city championship and a fifth-place finish at the 1975 Provincial Championships and was crowned tournament MVP. Kelsey still holds the record of BC's highest high school career scoring average with a whopping 37.5 points per game.   Towards the end of his high school career, Kelsey was approached by then Canadian National Team Coach, Jack Donahue, who recruited him straight to the Men's National Team where he played for eleven years (1977-88).   During his university career, Kelsey started at Oklahoma State, and then earned himself Conference MVP honours at Illinois’ Principia College, where he finished as the third leading scorer nationally amongst NCAA small colleges (29.2 ppg). Professionally, he played for Leones Negroes in Guadalajara, Mexico, averaging over 29 career points per game.   Despite his high school and university scoring prowess, it was on the Canadian national team where Kelsey truly shined. One of the top players to represent Canada internationally at his position, Kelsey appeared in over 400 games at a time when Canada was consistently ranked in the world’s top-five. The two-time Canadian Olympian (1980, 1984) stands as one of only two native British Columbian basketball players to represent Canada in two Olympic Games.   Among Canada’s best results with Kelsey aboard include a fourth-place finish at the 1984 Olympic Games, gold at 1978 Commonwealth Basketball Championships, and gold at 1983 FISU World University Games at a time when all national ‘A’ teams competed. While facing the best American players of his generation including Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, and Isiah Thomas, Kelsey was a key starter for Canada’s first-ever victory over the US in a major international competition at the 1981 FISU Games. The Canadians followed it up with another defeat of the US in the 1983 FISU games.   Beyond his playing career, Kelsey served as athletic coordinator under Ken Shields at the University of Victoria from 1983-90, producing thirteen national basketball championships, sixty-three UVIC Olympians, and sixteen Olympic medalists in that time.   Source: BC Sports Hall of Fame: https://bcsportshall.com/honoured_mem...

The interviewer becomes the interviewee on this episode, as Anthony sits down with one of BC's favourite sports writers, Howard Tsumura.   With over 38 years in the industry, Howard has covered high school, university, and professional sports with a unique flair that has made him one of the best to ever do it.   Growing up in rural Delta, BC, Tsumura never had the opportunity to participate in team sports. Keeping a scrapbook of newspaper clippings covering the Canucks, Canadiens and Expos, Howard's love of sports began to flourish. It wasn't until he entered Sands Jr. High that he saw his very first football game—he was hooked.   After finishing high school at North Delta Secondary, Howard graduated from Kwantlen Polytechnic's Journalism program, and from there, was hired to cover his very first team, the Houston Wolverines out of, you guessed it, Houston, BC.   Since that time, Howard has had an exciting journey, working as the Sports Editor for reputable publications like The Now newspaper chain and most notably, The Province and his very own, Varsity Letters.   During his interview, Tsumura recounts some of his most favourite teams over the years including Bill Disbrow's 1987/1989 Richmond Colts, and the Vancouver Grizzlies.   This is one you won't want to miss!

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we sat down with the UPEI Women's Basketball Head Coach, Matt Gamblin.

On this episode, we had the privilege of sitting down with Brookswood Secondary and NC State Alum, Aislinn Konig.   During high school, Aislinn led the Brookswood Bobcats to three consecutive AAA titles (2014-2016), earning herself three consecutive tournament MVP's along the way. Following her senior year (2016), Konig was named Basketball BC's Player of the Year.   Konig, a standout player for the NC State Wolfpack, averaged an outstanding 33.4 mpg, 11.0 ppg and 3.5 apg in her final season and became the second best three point shooter in program history with 294 made shots. Konig was also named ACC Tournament MVP after averaging 16.7 ppg in three Wolfpack victories.   Aislinn was also selected to be a part of the 2020 WNBA draft but unfortunately, went undrafted all three rounds. Now, Aislinn is training and setting her sights on 2021!

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we sat down with TSN reporter and Head Coach of the New Westminster Hyacks Football program, Farhan Lalji.   Born in Tanzania, Lalji moved to Vancouver at the age of four. After graduating from Simon Fraser University in Liberal Arts, his career in sports began at SFU, where he served as the Sports Information Director from 1991-1994. From there, Lalji worked as a producer and reporter on the ‘Sports Machine’ at CKWX Radio in Vancouver. From 1995-1997, he was a sports and weekend news anchor for the CBC, before joining TSN.   Lalji is the Vancouver correspondent and Senior Football Reporter for SportsCentre, TSN’s flagship sports news and information program.   Lalji, who joined TSN in 1997, covers the Canucks and BC Lions, as well as other sports stories in the Vancouver area. He also covers football (NFL, CFL and NCAA) across North America and is a CFL Insider. In addition to his television work with TSN, Lalji is also a regular contributor on TSN 1040 radio and a fill-in sports anchor at CTV Vancouver.   Along with covering the Vancouver sports scene, Lalji has reported from some of the biggest sporting events in the world, including multiple Super Bowls, four Olympic Games, the Stanley Cup Final, College Football Playoff, NBA Finals, Grey Cup, MLB and NBA All-Star Games, golf’s U.S. Open and PGA Championship.   Farhan is a five-time winner of the Best Sports TV Reporter in Vancouver for 2012-15 and 2017 at the Paul Carson Broadcast & Media Awards. In 2016 he was recognized for his philanthropic work in the community.   Lalji continues to be extensively involved in developing and coaching football at the grassroots level in his home province – something he’s done for the past 30 years. He is currently the head football coach at New Westminster Secondary School, and is the past-president of the British Columbia Secondary School Football Association Board of Directors.   For his efforts and contributions to his community, Lalji was named the 2012 Citizen of the Year in New Westminster, the 2009 Scholastic Provincial Coach of the Year at the BC Lions Orange Helmet Awards and was the 2004 and 2012 runner-up for NFL Canada National Coach of the Year.   Bio: https://www.farhanlalji.com/

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti we had the chance to talk to Goran Nogic, the head coach of the Thompson Rivers University Women's Basketball team.

On this episode, we sat down with Founder and Lead Instructor at G2 Athletics, Gabe Gibbs.   Gibbs, a Detroit native, is a professional skills coach with over ten years of experience. Having worked closely with pros like Ron Artest, Gibbs shares his thoughts about what it takes to succeed at the next level.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the opportunity to sit down with the Head Coach of StFX Women's Basketball team, Lee Anna Osei.    Lee Anna Osei is in her second season as head coach of the X-Women basketball program. Having previously coached at the The RISE Centre (TRC) Academy in Brantford, Ont., Osei guided the women’s program in 2017-18. She was awarded the 2018 Prep School Coach of the Year award, concluding the season as one of the youngest and most successful coaches in Canadian prep school basketball, amassing an 18-3 record in the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association.   With 12 years of coaching experience under her belt, Osei founded the Canletes Basketball program in Toronto, providing services ranging from general sport specific fitness training, recruitment consulting, and showcase events. She is a former basketball skills trainer for Universal Hoops Canada and has several years of coaching experience at the Ontario provincial level for various girls and boys teams. In honour of Canada's 150th anniversary, Osei was selected as 1 of 150 women nationally who excel in their field, push for greater diversity and who help build vibrant communities in the ‘HERSTORY in Black’ series as televised by CBC News.   Osei is a graduate and former varsity athlete at Wilfrid Laurier University where she was named an ‘Outstanding Woman of Laurier’, was an OUA all-star and was recognized as a four-time academic All-Canadian. She also competed for the University of Miami in the NCAA Division 1 level and at Trinity Valley C.C in Athens, Texas where her experiences have helped shape her coaching style and ability to mentor athletes.   Bio: goxgo.ca

On today's episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti we had the chance to sit down with a BC Highschool Basketball Coach legend, Neil Brown.   Over the years of coaching BC Schools, Neil Brown has coached 10 Provincial Championship teams and 16 Fraser Valley Champions.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti we had the opportunity to sit down with the Head Coach of the SFU Men's Basketball team, Steve Hanson.    Steve Hanson, long-time coach of the Terry Fox Ravens who served as an assistant at Simon Fraser University, has been appointed as the school's head coach of the men's basketball program, Senior Director of Athletics and Recreation Theresa Hanson announced today.    Steve Hanson, who is not related to Theresa, was the lead assistant on the Clan men's basketball team this past season and has been interim head coach of the program since April 7. Prior to joining Simon Fraser, Hanson coached Terry Fox Secondary to the 2012 BC High School Boys Basketball 3A provincial championship and led the Ravens to a second place finish at the 2015 4A tournament. Steve Hanson, 41, is a native of Coquitlam with deep roots in the British Columbia basketball community. Terry Fox had a 93–27 win-loss record during Hanson's four-year tenure as head coach. He was also an assistant to Canadian coaching legend Rich Chambers at Terry Fox for six years.    Hanson's coaching resume includes Head Coach of the Canada Basketball Centre for Performance (CP) program in British Columbia where he worked with BC's elite players.  Previous CP head coaches include Jay Triano, Scott Clark, Rich Goulet and Rich Chambers. Hanson was also an AAU Coach with the 3D Basketball Academy where he led their boys' academy for three years. He has the equivalent of Level 3 certification from the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP).    Hanson has ties to Simon Fraser University as well. He received his Bachelor of Education from Simon Fraser in 2013. Hanson is married to Mary-Anne, and they hey have one son, Adryan, who played for the Clan in 2009-10 before going on to a successful international modelling career.    As the lead assistant on the Clan last season, Hanson is familiar with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.    "In order to compete in the GNAC we need to recruit the right individual for SFU's high academic standards and players that want to develop in our system," explained Steve.  "I want to recruit athletes that value a world-class education, that want to live in one of the best cities in the world and that want to play against NCAA competition."    Hanson is an excellent communicator and skilled at building relationships. His Terry Fox teams were known for their competitiveness on the court, their team-first attitude and their engagement within the community.    Hanson is the eighth head coach in the history of the men's basketball program at Simon Fraser. He assumes control of the program immediately and will now begin assembling a coaching staff.    "We are committed to building men's basketball into one of our flagship athletic programs at the university and we know it is not going to happen overnight," said Theresa Hanson. "This is a positive step forward and I'm looking forward to the future of men's basketball."    Steve Hanson also spent six years as a Speed & Strength Specialist with Gridiron Sports Development Inc., working with players in the NFL, CFL and NHL.     Hanson received a Bachelor of Physical Education and Coaching from Douglas College in 2011.   Bio: athletics.sfu.ca

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we spoke with Founder and Director of Girls Basketball at Calgary Basketball Association, Carey Blaskin.   Blaskin's playing career ended in high school but his love for the game was reinvigorated when his daughter began playing back in 2008. Since then, Blaskin's CBA has grown to 30 teams and continues to assert itself as one of the most dominant programs in Calgary.

On the next installment of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the distinct privilege of sitting down with one of the greatest coaches in Basketball BC history, Rich Chambers.   Chambers, a Port Moody native, coached the Centennial Cenaturs Sr. Boys for 17 seasons before moving on to coach both the girls and boys programs at Terry Fox on and off for the past 20+ years.  Chambers has also taken his coaching talents to the University level coaching briefly with the UBC Men's & Women's programs, SFU Men's program, and the University of Victoria Women's program where he served as Head Coach from 2011-2012.   Chambers has also been a fixture in the Jr. Women's National team program with Canada Basketball coaching various squads at the FISU Games and other international competitions.  Chambers has won many coaching awards including the Tom Tagami Award (2008), B.C. High School Coach of the Year (2003, 1985) and Gary Scott Award for coaching excellence (1998).   Chambers, who has been teaching in B.C. since 1973, also served as B.C.'s Technical Reference for Basketball B.C./Canada Basketball and the Head Coach of the Centre of Performance for Canada Basketball. He is a graduate of SFU with a BA in education, majoring in history and geography.

Damian Jennings was appointed the eighth coach in Dinos women’s basketball history in July 2012.    Jennings moved to Calgary from Wales where he led the Cardiff Metropolitan University (formerly the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff) women’s basketball program beginning in October 2005. Under his leadership, the UWIC Archers became one of the elite teams in the England Basketball League’s Division I, winning the league title in 2010 & 2012. In 6 years, Jennings turned a Division 2 outfit into a semi-professional program making 11 finals, and developing Olympic level basketball players.  In his final season (2011-12) before moving to Canada, Jennings led the Archers to a 19-2 record, winning the regular season title before losing in the championship game. He was named EBL coach of the year in 2006-07 & 2008-09.    The Archers also won three consecutive British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) national titles from 2007-10 under his leadership, going undefeated through 52 games across 4 seasons.    In addition to his basketball duties, he has also been a senior lecturer in sports management at UWIC since 2004. Jennings received a First Class BSc (Hons) degree in sport development in 2001 and a Distinction in his MA in sports development and coaching in 2004, both from UWIC.    From 2007-09 Jennings was selected by Basketball Wales to complete the inaugural FIBA Europe Coaching Certificate, achieving the highest grade in the European class of 35 with the prize of leading the very first European U18 All-Star game where his team included Toronto Raptors Jonas Valanciunas & Golden State Warriors Nemanja Nedovic. - they won by 2pts    Jennings has also been involved with Great Britain Basketball since its inception in 2006 after London was awarded the Summer Olympics, coaching in more than 110 games to date for Britain. Alongside being the Assistant Coach to the Senior Great Britain Women’s team in the build up to London 2012 he was the Head Coach of the U20 program leading them to promotion from Euro-Basket Division B to Division A, winning the European title and was named eurobasket.com coach of the European tournament. In the following year he took them to an unprecedented quarter-finals in Division A. He was then named the head coach for the British entry in 2011’s Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, China. After being one of the Assistant Coach at London 2012 Olympics he was then appointed Head Coach of the Senior team and took them to the best ever finish by any Senior Great Britain basketball team in the 2013 Eurobasket finishing 9th with a 3-3 record.    In Jennings’ first year as Head Coach of the Calgary Dinos he led them to a National Final 8’s winning the Canada West regular season with a 19-3 record, a silver medal in the Canada West Final, and eventually securing 4th place in the National Championships. He was voted the 2012-13 ‘Coach of the Year’ by his Canada West peers.  Each year since then, Jennings has secured playoff basketball for Calgary, with 2017-18 culminating in another National Championship appearance after a bronze medal performance in conference play. Calgary would drop a close one in the opening game to the eventual national champions, Carleton, to then move on to beat McMaster and Laval to win consolation gold.   Bio courtesy of: godinos.com

On today's episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the chance to sit down with the Head Coach of Brock University Women's Basketball Team, Mike Rao.   Mike Rao begins his second season as head coach of the Brock women’s basketball team. In his first campaign, Rao guided the Badgers to their first playoff berth since 2012.   Rao coached the Notre Dame high school boys basketball team for 36 years before joining the Badgers in 2016.   He played a key role under coach Charles Kissi during the 2017-18 season as the men’s team made it to the U SPORTS National Championships for the first time in 10 years.  Rao holds a degree in Business from Niagara College and a Bachelor’s of Education from Brock University.  Bio:  gobadgers.ca

On today's episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti we had the pleasure of sitting down with the UBC Women's Basketball Assistant Coach Carrie Watts.    From Agassiz, B.C., Watson became the program’s full-time assistant coach in June of 2007. Since then, the Thunderbirds have captured a U SPORTS national championship and three Canada West banners, while going 152-58 in Canada West league play.    As a player, the former Canadian national team member led UBC to the 2004 U SPORTS championship, the school’s first title in 30 years at the time. That season she was recognized as a Canada West all-star, second team U SPORTS All-Canadian and U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year before taking home championship MVP honours. She still holds the school record for steals in a game with 10.    Watts went on to a stint with the senior national team that started in the summer of 2005 and continued into 2007, with highlights including the 2006 FIBA World Basketball Championship in Brazil and 2007 Pan American Games.    Watts holds three degrees from UBC, Bachelor of Human Kinetics (2004), Bachelor of Education (2005), and a Masters of Kinesiology (2011).    This past summer, Watts served as the head coach of the B.C. Under-17 provincial team that competed in the 2017 Canada Summer Games. In 2015, she held the same role, coaching the provincial team to a fourth-place finish at the national championship. The year before, Watts assisted at Canada Basketball’s Western Canada Juvenile Assessment Camp. She has also assisted with the Canada Basketball Centre of Performance. From 2008-11, Watts was the head coach of the Basketball BC U-15 provincial team, which she led to back-to-back bronze medals at the juvenile National Championship tournament in 2010 and 2011.   Bio: gothunderbirds.ca

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the chance to sit down with three-time Canada West Coach of the Year, Scott Edwards.   Edwards, the current Head Coach of the University of Alberta Pandas has, had an impressive fifteen-year coaching career which has led him to one CIS Silver Medal (2007), one CIS Bronze Medal (2009) and six Canada West Bronze Medals (2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016).   After a season and a half as the Interim head coach, Scott Edwards officially became the Pandas basketball head coach on February 15, 2008, replacing 15-year coach and former Pandas All-Star Trix Baker.   Edwards grew up on Vancouver Island in Duncan, B.C., where he played competitive basketball during his high school days.    In 1993 Edwards moved to Edmonton, where he completed a Bachelors degree in Education at the U of A in 1997, though he chose not to try out for Coach Don Horwood’s Golden Bears hoop program while completing his studies.    Upon graduation Edwards became a teacher with Edmonton Public Schools at Britannia Junior High, teaching Social Studies and coaching both boys and girls basketball.    He became assistant coach for the ACAC Concordia University College Thunder in the fall of 1999 and assumed head coaching duties the following year.    Over the seven-year existence of the Concordia Thunder women’s basketball program under Edwards, the team improved it’s conference record each year, finally winning the ACAC title in spring 2005 and taking the ultimate prize, a CCAA national championship title with a thrilling 86-63 victory over College of the Fraser Valley at SAIT in Calgary on March 19, 2005.   For his efforts Scott was named 2004-05 ACAC Coach of the Year and two of his team members were selected as All-Canadians.   Scott has coached various teams and shared his knowledge at many coaching clinics and in other coaching positions; Assistant Coach – Basketball Alberta Juvenile Provincial Team (2004 & 2005), Head Coach – Basketball Alberta Juvenile Provincial Team (2006 & 2007), Basketball Alberta Regional Training Centre (2005-06).   His Alberta Juvenile squad took silver at the 2004 national championship in Regina, and his team garnered silver at the 2005 Canada Games held at the University of Regina.   In his first year he guided the Pandas to the CIS national final and within five points of their first national title since 1998-1999, winning a silver medal and the CIS Coach of the Year Award in the process.   Bio courtesy of: https://www.ualberta.ca/athletics/tea...

On the next installment of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we sat down with Head Coach of the SFU Women's Basketball team, Bruce Langford.   Langford has been a fixture in the British Columbia basketball community for 30 years, having coached 21 years in the B.C. school system before arriving at SFU in the fall of 2001.   During his tenure at SFU, Langford has guided the Clan to seven 30+ win seasons. Entering the 2018-19 season, Langford has a career record of 426 wins and 127 losses (.770 winning percentage) and a 207-38 home record (.844 winning percentage). Since moving to NCAA in 2010-11, Langford's record is 140-91 (.606 winning percentage).   In the NCAA, Langford has guided the program  to the NCAA tournament three times, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2013 and 2017 and the round of 32 in 2014.   During the 2014-15 season, Langford passed legendary Clan coach Allison McNeill in career wins, becoming the most successful coach in program history. McNeill compiled a 363-79 record at SFU.   In Langford’s first nine seasons at SFU the Clan competed in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). The Clan advanced to the CIS National Championship tournament every year under Langford, winning five CIS national championships. Langford compiled a win-loss record of 286-36 over nine seasons in CIS, including a 142-9 mark at home. During that time the Clan also had a 54-game winning streak straddling the 2009-10 and 2008-09 seasons, and a 45-game winning streak during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.   Twice Langford’s teams have gone undefeated. His first team in 2001-02 went 35-0 and his 2004-05 team compiled a  38-0 record, the most wins in SFU history.  Bio: https://athletics.sfu.ca/coaches.aspx...

On the this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we're joined by the Superintendent of Schools for West Vancouver, Chris Kennedy.   Kennedy, a Richmond native and long-time basketball coach, shares how he's watched the game of basketball grow and evolve over the past 20+ years of his career.   By studying the successful high school coaches that came before him, Paul Eberhardt and Bill Disbrow, Chris became a student of the game. In fact, during his time at UBC, Chris could often be found in the library reading up on offensive strategy. This constant drive to know more and be better, earned Chris coaching opportunities with some of the best high school and provincial teams to ever come out of BC.   By taking advantage of unique opportunities, Chris was also able to accelerate his career, becoming an Assistant Superintendent by the age of 32, and Superintendent by 36 (the youngest Superintendent in the province).  Chris holds a Bachelor's of Education from UBC, a Master's in Educational Leadership from San Diego State University, and is now currently working towards his Ph.D.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, BC SportsHub Founder sits down with Assistant Coach of the SFU Women's Basketball Program, Jessica Wallace to learn more about her basketball journey.   Bio from SFU Women's Basketball:  Jessica Wallace returned to the SFU Women's Basketball program in May 2019 after a year away. Wallace was Head Coach, Bruce Langford’s lead assistant coach for three seasons from 2015 to 2018 and the team went 56-34 during that time, including a 26-8 record and trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2016-17.     A native of Vanderhoof, BC, Wallace originally joined the SFU Women’s coaching staff in May of 2015, after completing her collegiate playing career (2011-2014) and one season as a graduate assistant coach (2014-15) at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which competes in NCAA Division II. Wallace, a guard, captained the Crimson Hawks her final season. During her three seasons at IUP, the Crimson Hawks had an overall record of 62-24 with three conference tournament berths and two appearances in the NCAA Atlantic Region Semifinals.   Wallace originally attended UNBC in Prince George after graduating from Nechako Valley Secondary School. Knee injuries limited her to just one season (2008-09) at UNBC, before re-starting her career with IUP in 2011.    As an assistant coach with the Crimson Hawks in 2014-15 the team posted a 25-4 record, won the regular season PSAC West Title and made a first round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.    Wallace graduated with a Bachelors Degree of Science in Athletic Training and a minor in Sports administration with a 3.9 GPA from IUP. She is a certified Athletic Trainer in the United States.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the privilege of sitting down with Head Coach of the Ryerson Rams Women's Basketball program, Carly Clarke.   Clarke was named the Head Coach of the Ryerson Rams women's basketball team back in June, 2012.  The 2018-19 season was certainly a special one for Clarke and the Rams as the team would qualify for the playoffs for a 12th consecutive season before playing host to the 2019 U SPORTS Women's Basketball Final 8 National Championship, finishing fifth at the tournament.    The 2016-17 season saw Ryerson go through a slight rebuilding year, after three of the best Rams to ever lace-up in blue and gold, graduated. However, Clarke refused to let that affect their team mantra: #ChampionsMindset. Through strong recruiting which lead to the arrival of 5th-year impact transfer guard, Kellie Ring, and a recruiting class that brought in two OUA all-rookie forwards, Clarke lead her Rams to their 10th consecutive playoff appearance. As head coach the Canadian U19 Junior Women's National Team, Clarke led the squad to its first ever medal at the World Cup, claiming the bronze medal with a victory over Japan in July of 2017.   Clarke guided the Rams to a record setting season in 2015-16, tying a program-best 16 conference victories before winning the first OUA championship in Ryerson history. The Rams also became the first Ryerson team, in any sport, to appear in a national championship final where they finished with the silver medal. The Rams were nationally ranked in all 13 Top Ten polls and peaked at the No. 2 position in early January to mark the highest ever ranking for the program.   In 2014-15, Clarke led the Rams to a program-best 16 victories for a 16-3 record, winning the OUA silver medal and qualifying for the CIS Final 8 championship for the first time.   In her second season with Ryerson, Clarke and the Rams posted an 9-13 record while making the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Ryerson's season was ended with a heartbreaking 69-66 loss to the University of Toronto in the OUA playoffs.   Prior to joining the Rams, Clarke spent three seasons in the head coaching position at UPEI. The Halifax, N.S. native and Level III NCCP certified coach has garnered both national and international accolades working with Canada Basketball as well as various provincial sport organizations.  Clarke won silver as she led the Canada's U18 women's junior national team to a 4-0 record before dropping the gold medal game to team USA at the 2016 FIBA Americas tournament in Valdivia, Chile. In 2015 as head coach of the Canadian Cadette Women's National Team, Canada struck gold at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Women which marked the first championship for Canada in the age division.  In 2014, Clarke led Canada to a sixth place finish at the U17 FIBA World Championship for Women in Pilsen, Czech Republic losing to Australia in the fifth place game. The year before that, Clarke led the Canadians to a silver medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Women. In 2012, Canada, with Clarke at the helm, captured a bronze medal at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  She also guided the squad to a bronze medal finish at the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, which qualified the team for the World Championship. As an athlete, Clarke played five seasons with Bishop's where she guided the Gaiters to a QSSF championship and fifth-place finish at the CIS Final 8 in 2004. The former academic all-Canadian, who completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology, also topped the nation in 2004 in three-point field-goal shooting percentage.

On this episode, Anthony sits down with another member of the VK Basketball coaching staff, Katja Fuess. VK is lucky enough to have had Kat as both a parent and a coach since our program first started back in 2016.   During her high school career, Kat played on one of the best high school teams to ever come out of BC; Heritage Park. Under Head Coach, Bruce Langford, Kat played with standouts by the likes of Dani Langford, Kim Smith, Julia Wilson, and Lisa Sigurdson. The team won three straight provincial championships together.   Coming out of high school, Kat was heavily recruited by various Canadian and American universities, but eventually found a home at Jacksonville State in Alabama where she attended for four years on a full-ride scholarship. Throughout her time at Jacksonville State, Kat had great success both athletically and academically, earning herself an All-American Athletic Award and a spot on the President's List (4.0 GPA) in her senior years.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, Anthony sits down with Jeremy Neufeld; a retired collegiate athlete, parent and coach in our program.   During his interview, Jeremy talks about the value of getting in the gym for extra practice and finding opportunities to go and watch high-level basketball in order to improve your knowledge of the game.  Following his high school career at Sardis Secondary, Jeremy played on the BC U19 Team where he led his squad to a gold medal win the Canadian National Championships.   From there, Jeremy went on to have a very successful post-secondary career playing for both UFV, under Head Coach Pat Lee, and SFU under Head Coach, Scott Clark (2000-2002). During Jeremy's career at SFU, he played in both the NAIA and the CIS, averaging 33 mpg, shooting 46% from the field.   After ending his university basketball career, Neufeld went on to become a teacher and Athletic Director at Riverside Secondary in Port Coquitlam where he has coached in both the boys' and girls' programs for the past 13 years.  In 2009, Neufeld laced his sneakers back up, playing one season for Vancouver's Professional IBL Team, The BC Titans.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the pleasure of sitting down with one of our VK Alumni, Nikki Cabuco.   Nikki played a very successful high school career at Dr. Charles Best Secondary in Port Moody. During her time at Charles Best, Nikki earned herself Female Athlete of the Year honours in grades 9-12.  During her summers, Nikki was a member of the Basketball BC Provincial team and VK Basketball's U17 team. Nikki and her teams won gold medals at BBALL Nationals in 2017 and 2018 and Nikki was named MVP of the tournament in 2018.   After graduating high school, Nikki signed with the UFV Cascades under Head Coach, Al Tuchscherer. In her rookie season (2019-2020), Nikki earned herself a spot in the starting five, averaging 22 minutes per game.

In this episode, we had the privelege of sitting down with two-time CIS National Champion, Morgan McLaughlin. In this interview Morgan, an Ontario native, shares her experience of moving across the country while learning to balance both basketball and academics.   Morgan was recruited to SFU by former Head Coach, Allison McNeill for whom she played two seasons—one in the NAIA and one in the CIS.  In Morgan's third year at SFU, Bruce Langford was hired as Head Coach, and led the squad to an undefeated 35-0 season, capped off with a CIS National Championship (2002). Following two 4th place finishes in 2003 and 2004, Morgan closed out a fantastic career at SFU with another undefeated season (38-0) and CIS National Championship over the Winnipeg Wesmen in 2005.   After taking a brief hiatus from the game, Morgan laced up her shoes once more and took her talents overseas to play professionally in Germany for one season. After that, Morgan went on to live in Scotland for a year, playing in both the national league and the University of Glasgow's varsity team.  Morgan now works as a teacher, Head of the Athletic Department, and Sr. Girls basketball coach at Collingwood School in West Vancouver, BC.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the pleasure of chatting with former CIS player, current coach, and former VK Basketball parent, Danie Gardner.   Danie played her high school basketball career at DW Poppy Secondary in Langley, BC. From there, she went on to play three years in the CCAA at University College of the Fraser Valley under Head Coaches Bruce Langford and Mike Hind.   After recovering from a season-ending knee injury in her final season at UFV, Danie was recruited by former Head Coach at Dalhousie University, Carolyn Savoy, who helped her fulfill her dream of playing in the CIS.   After a successful three-year career at Dalhousie, Danie returned home to BC and began to give back to the game—coaching first at Langley, Sr. Secondary and then at Langley Christian School, the AA Girls Basketball powerhouse we know today.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the privilege of sitting down with one of the longest-serving coaches in BC high school basketball history.   Since beginning his coaching career back in 1975, Paul has coached numerous high school basketball teams ranging from the Gladstone Jr. Boys, to the Riverside Sr. Girls, where he's been for the past 22 seasons. Consistently among the best teams in the province, Paul's Rapids have made it to thirteen of the last fourteen BC Girls Provincial Championships.   Graduates of the Riverside Basketball program have gone on to exceptional success at the collegiate level. Riverside is one of only two B.C. girls basketball programs to have sent over 25 athletes to play basketball at the college/university level during Paul’s time at the school, with 6 of those going on to play at the NCAA level. Riverside graduates have won national championships, Canadian College Player of the Year awards, and NCAA All-American awards.   Along with his illustrious high school career, Paul has also coached numerous Basketball BC U13, U14, U15 & U17 Provincial Teams, winning a Silver Medal at the 2009 Canada Summer Games in Prince Edward Island.   Back 1992, Paul started JABOG—a girls youth basketball club that's still alive and well today, helping hundreds of young female athletes discover their love of the game.  ...And in 2016, Paul joined forces with Anthony Beyrouti and Jenna Ralston to bring our VK Basketball club to life!

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the privilege of sitting down with our very own, Simon Dykstra. For those of you that don't know, Simon is both a parent and a coach in our VK Program, having coached his younger daughter Louise in 2019 and his older daughter Marah in 2020.   As a teacher and coach in the Vancouver School District for over 20 years, Simon continues to give back by sharing his knowledge and love of the game with hundreds of  young student-athletes.   Prior to becoming a teacher, Simon had a very successful playing career at SFU from 1986-1990 under Head Coaches, Stan Stewardson (1986-1989) and Jay Triano (1989-1990); who would go on to become the Head Coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2008-2011.   Following his successful career at Simon Fraser, Simon went on to play professionally overseas in Copenhagen, Denmark from 1991-1994.  During Simon's second year abroad, he was named to the Denmark All-Star Team.   Simon was also part of the Roskilde BBK team that was promoted into the Elite-division during his second year as a player-coach.   After returning to Canada and obtaining a B.A. from UBC, Simon coached the Jr. and Sr. Boys teams at Kitsilano Secondary to provincial titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. From there, Simon went on to earn himself the job as Head Coach of the Langara Falcons from 2002-2004.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we chatted with VK U12 and Holy Cross Bantam and Jr. Girls Coach, Amy Beauchamp to learn more about her basketball journey.   In her interview Amy shares how playing and coaching basketball has helped her become more patient—a skill she uses often in her career as EA. She also speaks to how basketball has acted as a safe place for her when life gets stressful.   Thanks for sharing your story with us, Amy!

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we had the privilege of sitting down with UBC Women's Head Coach, Deb Huband.   Entering her 25th season as Head Coach of the UBC women’s basketball team (2019-2020), Huband is the longest-serving female Head Coach at UBC. She is the only Thunderbirds basketball head coach, male or female, to win to three U SPORTS championships (2004, 2006, 2008).    On January 28, 2017 against Brandon, Huband – the wins leader amongst active Canada West coaches – earned her 300th victory in conference play.    In 2014-15, UBC played to a 17-3 record in during the regular season as the T-Birds went on to capture the fourth Canada West title under Huband’s guidance. The ‘Birds went on to win the bronze medal at the U SPORTS Championship. In 2011-12, Huband led the T-Birds to a Canada West title and a trip to the U SPORTS Championship final, unfortunately losing in the final to Windsor 69-53. it was another outstanding season in which UBC was 15-3 during the regular season and 6-1 in the Canada West playoffs and U SPORTS tournament.    The 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons saw Huband lead the T-Birds to identical 21-2 regular season records as they went on to capture back-to-back Canada West championships in addition to the 2007-08 U SPORTS crown, the seventh title in the program’s history.   In 2005-06, Huband and the ‘Birds went 17-3 in Canada West but were knocked off by the Saskatchewan Huskies in the Canada West championship final. The ‘Birds enacted their revenge by beating Cape Breton 56-53 in the Final 8 title game, claiming their second national title in three years. Huband has served her country for over a decade in various coaching roles with Canada Basketball. She started as an assistant with the senior national team in 1998, and served in the same role at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was the mentor coach on the Cadette women’s team that competed at the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship in France.   She helped coach Canada to a silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games and was the head coach of Canada’s squad at the 2003 Summer Universiade in Korea.    Huband’s other roles have included:  Assistant coach - Canada Summer Universiade team in 2005 (Turkey)  Assistant coach - Canada Under-20 team in 2006  Co-head coach - Canada Summer Universiade team in 2009 (Serbia) Huband is one of the few Canadian basketball players to participate as both a player and coach in the Summer Olympics. One of the finest our country has ever produced, Huband joined the national team as a player in 1978, and was the starting point guard and captain of the Canadian squad that earned a fourth-place finish at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She was also the starting point guard of the bronze medal-winning world championship teams in ‘79 and ‘86.   A graduate of Bishop’s and UBC (Master’s of Science in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology), Huband was a three-time U SPORTS All-Canadian and was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Basketball BC Hall of Fame in 2017. She also holds a spot in the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, the Basketball Ontario Hall of Fame and the Concordia Hall of Fame (along with her 1976-77 teammates). She has also been honoured by the Nepean Sports Hall of Fame and has a place on the Bishop’s University Wall of Distinction.   Huband’s single-game career high of 50 points during the 1981-82 season with Bishop’s tied her for the unofficial U SPORTS record until it was surpassed last year.

On this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti, we sat down with one of, if not the best, player to ever come out of Simon Fraser University. Under Head Coach Allison McNeill, Michelle Hendry was a two-time NAIA Player of the Year and three-time All American from 1988-1992.  Following an exceptional university career, Hendry went on to play professionally overseas for an impressive 15 seasons in both Germany and Spain.  In 2000, Hendry also earned her spot on the Senior Women’s National Team, representing Canada at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia under familiar face, Allison McNeill.  Following her illustrious career, Hendry was inducted into both the SFU and Basketball BC Hall of Fame.