(FREDERICTON, NB) 2023 will mark Jeff Speedy’s 30th year as a head coach in Canadian university basketball.
It will also mark his last.
After 17 seasons as the head coach of UNB’s women’s basketball team, and 13 seasons as a head coach elsewhere, Speedy will step aside following the 2022-2023 Atlantic University Sport season and become the REDS’ full-time Associate Director of Athletics.
“UNB has given me an amazing opportunity to become the Associate Director here, and I know I’d have regretted turning that down,” said Speedy. “And the grind, especially recruiting, has been wearing me down for a few years. I really care about this program, and I think a new, younger, energetic coach can have more success than I’ve had attracting more quality student-athletes to UNB.”
Speedy arrived at UNB ahead of the 2006-2007 season, taking over a program that had been run by the legendary Joyce Douthwright-Slipp.
What followed was almost two decades of highs and lows.
The thrill of taking UNB to the conference final in 2011, the pain of a 2-and-18 season, the frustration of a season lost to the global pandemic, and the joy of coaching his daughter.
Speedy’s teams have made the AUS playoffs in 11 of his 15 competitive seasons, with the final chapter of his 16th still to be written.
“I’m pleased that I’ve helped players grow and improve at many levels,” he said. “From Grade 3 and 4 kids in our Hoops School, to middle and high school players while coaching provincial teams in three different provinces and my work with the national team program, to the couple of hundred young women who’ve come through our program.”
“I’ve had some individual success and met so many great people,” he added. “But the amazing young women that I’ve had the opportunity to recruit, coach, and stay connected with after they’ve graduated has been an unbelievable gift.”
Colleen Daly is one of those young women.
She played five seasons for Speedy.
Now, she’s a member of his coaching staff.
“No matter how much he emphasized winning and competing, what mattered more to him was, and is, the individual,” said Daly. “What I remember as a player and what I witness while coaching alongside him is how much he cares for each player. I’m so thankful to have been able to spend the last few years learning from Speedy. He truly values each student-athlete as a person before a player.”
Speedy’s coaching career began during the 1990-1991 season, at Acadia, when he served as an assistant under head coach Laura Sanders, a UNB alum.
He spent the next two seasons as an assistant at the University of Victoria before taking over as the Vikes’ head coach for a single season.
Speedy credits Sanders (BEd ‘80/MEd ’81) for helping launch his career. He says her endorsement opened doors with the Vikes and the National Coaching Institute program.
He then took over as head coach at University College of the Cariboo, now Thompson Rivers University, for eight seasons before moving on to the University of Regina.
Speedy led the Cougars to the Canada West championship and the silver medal at the national championship tournament in just his second season (2003-2004).
Along with his successes on the court, Speedy has developed a reputation as one of the hardest working coaches off the court.
His teams have been known for their work in the community, helping foster basketball at the grassroots level, ensuring community Christmas-time assistance programs are supported, and the annual Think Pink effort to support the Canadian Cancer Society through U SPORTS’ ‘Shoot for the Cure’ program.
“I feel I’ve led by example, running an ethical program that stresses the value of giving back,” said Speedy. “I think our involvement in the community and helping those less fortunate than us, by our program’s student-athletes and really all REDS student-athletes, is something that has really grown in my time here and has been pretty special.”
Asked to pick a highlight from a career spanning more than three decades, Speedy’s answer, like his career, featured a couple of stops.
“The first championship a team I coached won, back at UCC, or maybe winning the Canada West championship with Regina on our home court. The highlight here at UNB would be seeing my daughter (Kylee) named MVP of this year’s Stewart-McKelvey Helen Campbell Tournament while our team went 3-and-0 to win.”
While he’s leaving the bench and the team room, Speedy isn’t going far.
In his role as REDS’ Associate Director of Athletics, he’ll help oversee all REDS athletic programs, including women’s basketball.
“I think this program is poised to take off and accomplish some special things,” he said. “I’ve had my turn. I think someone else should get the same opportunity.”
“Jeff has served the REDS and UNB admirably,” said REDS’ Executive Director John Richard. “He’s built a great program that’s seen success on and off the court. Now he’ll help us grow the entire REDS athletics program. We’re lucky to be able keep him in the family.”
“I want fans to remember Speedy as a dedicated coach,” said Daly. “He’s gone above and beyond what is required from a coach. I hope he’s remembered as someone that loves the University of New Brunswick. He built a program that made all of us proud to wear a REDS jersey.”
At the holiday season break of the 2022-2023 season, Speedy’s REDS are fifth in the AUS standings with a 5-and-4 record.
While he’s eager to begin his new job, he’s focused on a strong finish.
“An AUS championship would be pretty sweet, don’t you think?”
“While that is a goal our team has, I know I’m going to miss the amazing student-athletes I get to hang out with every day, so my hope for the rest of the season is, while having success on the court, to enjoy every second of the journey.”
“I want to thank Laura Sanders and Kathy Shields for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to start my coaching journey. I want to thank my wife, Linda, and my parents, Carl and Jennifer, for their unbelievable support over my career. Last, but not least, I want to thank the many young women I’ve coached the past 33 years. They’re the reason why I coached, and they are what I’ll miss the most.”
STORY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTO: Nick Pearce/for Atlantic University Sport