Shiaz Virjee, who has coached the Thunderbirds men’s field hockey for 13 years, is leaving UBC to coach at local field hockey clubs as well as teach international coaching courses for the International Hockey Federation.
“There’s a lot of coaching that needs to be done locally. There’s a lot of athletes that need top-level coaching,” said Virjee.
Virjee is grateful to have coached field hockey and proud of the program’s successes and achievements over the decade.
“It’s been a great opportunity for me to coach for the last 13 seasons. I’ve really enjoyed it. We’ve developed a really solid program here at UBC,” he said.
Over his career at UBC, Virjee has been an instrumental force behind the transformation of the program from a run-of-the-mill team to winning back-to-back championships and comprising an overwhelming portion of Team Canada.
The 2008 Olympics games featured six Thunderbirds and, more recently, this year’s Pan-American games featured nine. This number will likely increase to 10 at next year’s Olympic games according to Virjee.
“Representing Canada at the Olympics against the best in the world, that really shows how good our athletes are and how good our program is in developing those athletes,” said Virjee.
Virjee said that the program is presently in a suitable position for a coaching transition.
Virjee’s career as a field hockey coach extends far beyond his time at UBC. Prior to coaching the Thunderbirds, Virjee had coached both the men’s and the women’s Canadian National Teams for seven years, including the 2000 Olympic games, two Pan-American games, where he received gold and silver medals, and a best finish in the 1998 World Cup. Virjee also teaches other coaches for the International Hockey Federation.
UBC is in the process of selecting the next head coach for the men’s field hockey program and will announce their decision before the season begins in October.