The UBC Thunderbirds men’s volleyball team has hired Kerry MacDonald as its new head coach, replacing Richard Schick, who was relieved of coaching duties back in March.
“I’m definitely excited to be involved with the Thunderbirds program and to be working with the men’s volleyball program,” said MacDonald.
MacDonald previously served as assistant coach for the University of Calgary Dinos, capturing a CIS championship title in 2010. He has also held various positions as coach and events coordinator for Volleyball Canada.
In addition to his coaching experience, MacDonald specializes in sports injury prevention, which is part of his current PhD studies at the University of Calgary. Prior to that, MacDonald completed a Bachelor of Kinesiology and a Master of Education in coaching.
“To be able to be a coach and a scientist at the same time is the unique opportunity that really wasn’t available anywhere else,” said MacDonald.
MacDonald sees his knowledge of sports injury prevention as invaluable, in keeping the athletes healthy and enhancing the performance of the team. During MacDonald’s initial years as a PhD candidate, he successfully coached a volleyball club to a championship without the team sustaining a single injury.
“There are definitely some things that I learnt along the way … that I think will definitely help us hopefully try to be a little bit healthier in our competition and give us a bit of a performance advantage,” said MacDonald.
Gord Hopper — UBC Director of Athletics, Performance and Team Support — sees MacDonald’s expertise in sports injury prevention as being an asset not only to the men’s volleyball team, but also the other varsity teams and the Athletic Department as a whole.
“That’s a strengthening skillset that we want to have in the entire department and all of our programs, so it brings a new skillset to the department as a whole,” said Hopper.
Like many other hiring processes that UBC Athletics has conducted over the years, the position of new head coach for men’s volleyball was a competitive one.
“We’re very excited about having Kerry [MacDonald] on board. We had a very good talent pool. We had 17 applicants, many with proven track records,” said Hopper.
As a native of Revelstoke, BC, and having completed his master’s degree at Mount Royal University, MacDonald has special feelings about the move to UBC.
“I definitely do have a connection with the province ... I absolutely love the coast, and I’m thrilled, my family is thrilled to be heading back,” said MacDonald.