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Changes ahead for women's volleyball as head coach Scott Hunt steps down

Changes ahead for women's volleyball as head coach Scott Hunt steps down
Posted: Mar 11, 2019

OAKVILLE, Ont. - With the completion of the national championship this past weekend, the book is now closed on the 2018-19 OCAA volleyball season. And when the league starts back up in the fall, it will be the beginning of a brand new chapter for the Sheridan Bruins women's volleyball team, as head coach Scott Hunt is stepping down from his post to accommodate a move out of the area.

"I'd like to thank Wayne Fish, Jim Flack, and Rory Cooper for entrusting me with rebuilding the Sheridan women's volleyball program," Hunt said. "We were able to bring it back to a point where we're competitive every season. The last couple years we've been in contention at Ontario championships, including a semifinal appearance last season, which was the first time in 20 years for this program. I'm very proud of what we were able to accomplish.

"I say 'we' because it was a true team effort here at Sheridan. The student athletes, our assistant coaches, and the entire athletic department staff put in so much time and effort to make it a fantastic experience. I can't thank them enough."

"I want to thank Scott for all he did to put Sheridan women's volleyball back on the map," volleyball coordinator Rory Cooper added. "He truly embodied the Double Blue spirit and bought in to the Bruin philosophy from day one. His eagerness to grow the program was evident in the tremendous amount of preparation and structure he brought to each practice and game. Although we are disappointed to see him go, we are happy for him that he's making a decision for the betterment of his family."

When Hunt first took control of the program in 2014, his impact was profound and immediate. The team was coming off a season in which they were ninth in the OCAA West with a 3-15 record and having posted just one campaign above .500 in the previous decade, but Hunt guided them to a 12-6 regular season record and back into the OCAA Championship after a 3-0 road sweep of Seneca in a first round matchup.

Though they would ultimately drop a 3-1 quarter-final decision to Humber, the Double Blue gave the eventual champions all they could handle and ended the season as one of only three teams to take multiple sets off a Hawks squad that dropped just 11 in 21 OCAA matches. For overseeing a nine-win turnaround, Hunt was named OCAA Coach of the Year and was the Ontario nominee for the National Coach of the Year.

He shaped his program utilizing an holistic model that equally valued the academic and competitive aspects of the student-athlete journey. During his tenure, he saw achievements in both areas with nine OCAA All-Stars, four Academic All-Canadians, and 28 OCAA All-Academics. The club also advanced into the OCAA medal round for the first time in 20 years when they reached the semifinal and subsequent bronze medal game in 2018.

Hunt compiled an overall record of 88-62, qualified for the OCAA Championship in three out of five seasons, and picked up six invitational tournament titles along the way. The search to find his successor will begin immediately.