Trinity Western University’s Spartans Men’s Volleyball Coach Ben Josephson has been named U Sports Coach of the Year.
"What a great honour for Ben to be selected by his peers for this prestigious award,” said TWU Director of Athletics Murray Hall. “Ben is a student of the game and has set the standard for coaching excellence at TWU in a number of areas under our Complete Champion Approach™.”
A former Spartan, Josephson graduated from TWU with a Bachelor of Human Kinetics degree in 2003. He served as the Spartans Assistant Coach for three years before taking over as Head Coach in 2007.
“I am truly humbled at being selected at the U Sports Coach of the Year,” said Josephson, who is a Langley resident. “It is a reflection of the great staff I have the pleasure to work with, the exceptional student athletes we have in our program, and the great support from Trinity Western University and our Spartans Athletics department.”
Under Josephson’s leadership, TWU’s Men’s Volleyball program has developed into one of the country’s elite programs. In his first five years behind the Spartans bench, Josephson guided his team to two U Sports national titles (2011 and 2012), one silver medal (2010), and a Canada West championship (2012).
The 2013-14 regular season saw the Spartans garner their first-ever 20-win season. “Our team was ranked number one or number two all year,” said Josephson, who was also U Sports Coach of the Year in 2012. “This award is largely a reflection of our team's success.”
In addition to the nod to Josephson, Spartans first-year setter Adam Schreimer was named U Sports Rookie of the Year.
The U Sports National Championships in Calgary saw the Spartans bested by the Western Mustangs in the quarterfinal, for the second consecutive year. But the Spartans battled back to earn a 5th place finish over the Dalhousie Tigers, improving on last year’s 6th place finish.
“Ben recruits the very best student athletes who fit the high-performance, high-character culture he demands,” said Hall. “His team knows the game of volleyball—but are also learning about contributing, and serving, as local and global citizens.”