TRURO – John Richard’s second AUS women’s volleyball championship was much easier on his health.
Not because the 38-year-old head coach had been through it before. But because the Truro native’s UNB Varsity Reds dominated the Saint Mary’s Huskies 25-9,25-22,25-15 on the weekend en route to the crown.
“It was a lot less stressful,” Richard said with a laugh. “It was a lot easier on my blood pressure.”
It took the Varsity Reds five sets to defeat the Huskies in 2007-08.
The victory was the Varsity Reds’ second in four years and their third trip to the final in the same timeframe. But Richard isn’t taking any credit for those stats.
“It’s all about the athletes,” he said. “All I do is try to get them in the right mind frame and scout the other athletes as best I can. Once you get to the championship your work is pretty much done. It didn’t have a lot to do with me.”
That’s a typical attitude for any good coach and Richard certainly loves the job he’s done for the past 13 years and his passion for helping players become their best has earned him a second trip to the CIS championship March 4 to 6 in Laval, Que.
“It’s extremely rewarding,” Richard said. “I love watching athletes develop on and off the court.”
Getting to this point started right here in the Hubtown, winning a provincial title as a player with the Cobequid Cougars under the tutelage of Bob Piers. After moving on to play three seasons with the Varsity Reds, Richard returned home to Truro to take a year off school and coached the Cougars girls team with Piers, who had switched from the boys to girls program by that time.
Upon returning to school the next year, Richard nabbed a part-time coaching position with the Reds, which he held for three years before the head coaching spot came up for grabs.
“I love waking up in the morning knowing coaching is my job,” Richard said. “It’s a job but it’s not really a job.”
Although even winning a match at the CIS championship has been a tall order for AUS squads in the past several years – the Moncton Blue Eagles were the last in 2001-02 – Richard said his Reds could do some damage this time around.
“We’ll be leaning on our four or five girls who have been there before,” he said. “Some teams in our conference have had success against some Ontario and Quebec teams.”
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