Patrick Johnston, Head Coach of the Fanshawe Falcons Men’s Volleyball team, is the 2019 recipient of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association’s Coaching Excellence Award.
The award recognizes coaching contributions to sport and to student-athlete development over a period of at least five years.
“Patrick is a coach that is known for his professionalism both on and off the court,” said Michelle Ball, CCAA VP Sport Development. “His coaching success was reflected in his recent national championship win and perfect league and playoff season.”
Johnston guided the Falcons to a perfect 18-0 regular season record in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) in 2018-19. Fanshawe defended its provincial crown with a thrilling five-set victory over the Humber Hawks in the OCAA Championship final. The Falcons then went on to defeat the host Red Deer Kings to earn gold at the 2019 CCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship last month.
Perhaps just as impressive is Johnston’s determined and professional approach in how he goes about his daily business – always in a classy, respectful manner.
“Patrick is a very high character individual and the complete package when it comes to a head coach,” said Nathan McFadden, Manager of Athletics at Fanshawe College. “He is an excellent communicator, tactician, recruiter, and motivator in addition to many other talents.”
In the last four seasons, the Falcons have posted a 69-3 record in the regular season, have earned three OCAA crowns and three CCAA podium finishes (gold in 2019, silver in 2018 and bronze in 2016).
“From Day 1, Patrick has been a confident and trusted leader for our Men’s Volleyball program,” said McFadden. “He has personified coaching excellence in the CCAA, so I am thrilled to see him be honoured with this extremely prestigious award.”
Johnston is the Technical Director at the London Volleyball Club, where he oversees coach development, coach pathway and athlete development pathway for more than 1,000 athletes.
He is also the lead coach at the University of Waterloo High Performance Centre and the Ontario Volleyball Association High Performance Centre.
The CCAA works in partnership with the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) and recipients of the CCAA Coaching Excellence Award receive a one-year membership to their Chartered Professional Coach designation.
“Coach recognition not only celebrates performance, it gives us the opportunity to highlight the outstanding character of those who adhere to the utmost professional standards in developing people first,” said Lorraine Lafrenière, Chief Executive Officer of the CAC. “Congratulations to Patrick Johnston of Fanshawe College for receiving this well-deserved honour.”
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