Olivier Caron, who guided François-Xavier Garneau to four Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship titles, was inducted into the CCAA Hall of Fame in the Coach Category.
In 13 seasons as head coach of the Women’s Volleyball program at F.X. Garneau, Caron and the Élans captured six provincial championships. His squad earned CCAA crowns in 1990, 1996, 1997 and 1998 as well as silver medals in 1988 and 1991.
Caron received the CCAA Coaching Excellence Award (now Coach of the Year) for Women's Volleyball in 1997 and 1998.
“As Garneau’s head coach from 1985-98, Olivier contributed to the growth of the program that has now earned a total of 18 medals on the national stage,” said Éric Lavigne, Assistant Director, Student and Community Affairs at Cégep Garneau. “He played a major role in developing women’s volleyball in the Quebec City region.”
Caron is now head coach of the Laval Rouge et Or (U SPORTS).
His fondest CCAA memory is Garneau’s breakthrough performance at the 1990 CCAA Volleyball National Championships at Durham College in Oshawa, ON, where they defeated Red Deer in the final.
“We won with a committed group of girls in the spring of 1990 and it was the first of a series of wins on the national stage for the Cégep, in any sport,” said Caron. “It was the result of the hard work of the girls and the athletic staff at Garneau.”
The growth of the Women’s Volleyball program gave a boost to the institution’s athletics program, which today includes 450 student-athletes across 19 teams.
“The Cégep would likely not have such a strong tradition of excellence in sport if not for Olivier’s involvement as a builder,” said Lavigne.
For his part, Caron is grateful for the support he received from the Cégep staff, which helped his group strive for excellence and achieve the results they did.
“At the beginning of each year, the group I was working with motivated me to give my best throughout the season,” he said.
Caron’s experience at Garneau was the launchpad that allowed him to develop skills as a high-performance coach.
“I had the opportunity to work with outstanding student-athletes and leaders at Garneau and the key to our success on the provincial and national stage was that everyone was involved,” he said.
“I consider myself privileged to have had the opportunity to work in the collegiate sector, to help players reach the university level, the national team and, for some, the professional leagues.”
