After serving the past season as the interim head coach of the UBC Okanagan womensa国际传媒檚 basketball team, Bobby Mitchell has been named the continuing full time head coach of the Heat effective immediately.
Named interim head coach at late last summer, Mitchell will continue his head coaching duties after working his way up the bench from an assistant in 2013, to lead assistant in 2015, and now as head coach in 2019.
sa国际传媒淚 am very excited to continue with the program and coaching in the Okanagan community,sa国际传媒� Mitchell said. sa国际传媒淯BCO and the Heat womensa国际传媒檚 basketball program has special meaning to me and to be given the opportunity to build something special is unique and I am very grateful for that chance. I want to thank Tom Huisman, UBCO Athletic Director, for this opportunity and I am extremely thankful for all the support I have had over the years, a lot of people supported me helped this happen.sa国际传媒�
UBC Okanagansa国际传媒檚 athletic director Tom Huisman stated in his announcement that it was time to remove the interim tag Thursday morning.
sa国际传媒淭his begins a new chapter,sa国际传媒� said Huisman. sa国际传媒淚 am very excited for the future of the program and confident that we have the coaching leadership in place to complement and maximize the opportunity we have to build a womensa国际传媒檚 basketball program that can complement the academic reputation of UBCsa国际传媒檚 Okanagan campus.sa国际传媒�
READ MORE: Kelowna Owls look to defend crown at girls basketball provincials
The news couldnsa国际传媒檛 come at a better time for Mitchell as he is currently at the BC Secondary School Girls AAA provincial championships recruiting the top players in the province alongside other university coaches at the event.
With no chance of bringing in players for his interim year, Mitchell was able to achieve a lot with his squad in 2018-19 as the effervescent coach ended an extended losing streak, tirelessly worked on adding talent and has signed a half dozen new players, all prior to the end of the high school basketball season.
A major coup for Mitchell, and one that showcases his focus on building a strong culture within the program is the recent announcement of Jordan Korol as the Sylvia Sweeny Award winner for community spirit exhibited by a student-athlete.
READ MORE: UBC Okanagan player wins 2019 Sylvia Sweeny Award
The Sweeney award is a major Canada West award handed out right before the conference championships. The award recognizes the conferencesa国际传媒檚 student-athletes who best excels in three key areas: basketball, academics, and community involvement. Since joining Canada West in 2011-12 UBCO has never had a student-athlete earn any major conference award.
Tireless and community-oriented can also be used to describe Mitchellsa国际传媒檚 year-round approach to basketball. More specifically, Mitchell continues to lead the girls Junior Heat Club basketball program developing basketball and basketball players in the Okanagan.
Mitchell has been coaching female basketball in the Okanagan since 2003. He led the Vernon Secondary senior girlssa国际传媒� team to nine consecutive AA Provincial Championship appearances and multiple Okanagan Valley Championships.
The Heat, identifying the same competitive need in the central Okanagan, tapped Mitchell to lead the inaugural UBCO womensa国际传媒檚 U17 Junior Heat club team in 2012.
With development a priority, and community in his DNA, Mitchell will look to improve the UBC Okanagan womenssa国际传媒� basketball program.
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