WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Durham Lords News Release
Friday, March 7, 2008

SHANE CHRISTOPHER ANNOUNCED AS DURHAM COLLEGE’S NEW WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL HEAD COACH

Oshawa (OCAA) - The Durham College Athletic Department is pleased to announce the appointment of Shane Christopher as the new Durham College Women’s Volleyball Head Coach. Christopher will be taking over for legendary coach Stan Marchut, as he becomes only the second coach of the Durham Lords women’s volleyball program in school history.

Christopher has spent the last four seasons with Durham Lords women’s volleyball team as an assistant coach. In that time, he has been mentored by Stan Marchut, who had been the head coach of the program for 24 years before announcing his retirement last week. The Whitby native has gained a wealth of experience coaching under Marchut’s leadership enroute to becoming his ultimate successor.

"I am very excited to have Shane take over our highly successful Women's Varsity Volleyball program, stated Ken Babcock, Athletic Director. Very big shoes to fill but he is the perfect fit to follow in Stan's footsteps and he knows what it takes to deliver a successful program. He has worked hard with DC as an assistant and has a very successful background in high level club provincial ball as you can judge from his resume."

Coach Christopher brought a great knowledge of technical and tactical aspects with him when joining the Lords program in 2004. That season, Durham went on to win the OCAA Bronze Medal, their 10th medal in program history. The following three season, the Lords have compiled an overall record of 64-20 (37-6 OCAA Conference play) and three straight Central Region Titles. In the 2008 OCAA Championship, the Lords coaching staff were also honoured with the Championship Fair Play Award.

Prior to joining the Lords, Christopher spent the last seven seasons with the Durham Attack regional teams, coaching players aged 14-20. Christopher’s teams went on to win a Provincial Gold Medal (14U/15U) and a National Bronze medal (16U). He has also gained coaching experience in western Canada, having been an assistant coach with Grand Prairie Regional College during the 1998-1999 season. That season, the Wolves won the silver medal at the Alberta Championship, and went on to place fourth at the CCAA National Championship.

His other experience includes coaching at National Women’s Volleyball selection camp as well as the Ontario Summer Games where his team went on to win a silver medal. Christopher is a member of the 3M National Coaching Certification Program having completed his level two technical component.

The Durham College Lords are proud members of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association and compete in the OCAA and CCAA. For more information on Durham College Varsity Athletics visit www.durhamlords.com.

A QUICK LOOK AT SHANE CHRISTOPHER

Coaching Experience:
Durham College Assistant Coach Women’s Volleyball (2004–2008)
Durham Region Volleyball Club Head Coach (2004-2006)
Camp Organizer National Women’s Volleyball ID Camp Organizer (2004)
Grande Prairie Regional College Assistant Coach Women’s Volleyball (1998-1999)
National Women’s Volleyball Selection Camp Coach (2004)
Durham Attack Volleyball Club Head Coach (2000-2004)
Ontario Summer Games Coach (2001)
Regional Games Coach - Barrie, ON (2000)

Accomplishments:
Durham Lords - Provincial Bronze Medal (2005)
Durham Lords – Three Central East Region Championships (2006, 2007 & 2008)
Durham Lords Coaching Staff – OCAA Championship Fair Play Award (2008)
Grande Prairie Regional College - Provincial Silver Medal (1999)
Grande Prairie Regional College - National Fourth Place (1999)
Ontario Summer Games – Silver Medal
Penn State Nittany Lion Open - Gold Medal
National Silver Medal – 18U Nationals Tier 2
Durham Attack – Provincial Gold Medal 14U/15U
Durham Attack – National Bronze Medal 16U

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College and UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784 (P)
905.721.3117 (F)
scott.dennis@dc-uoit.ca

Shane's Contact Info:
Phone: 905-433-2988
Cell: 905-995-0497
E-mail: vb4life23@hotmail.com