April 7, 2016 – Brian Stackhouse of Red Deer College is this year’s recipient of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association’s Coaching Excellence award.
The Coaching Excellence Award recognizes coaching contributions to sport and to student-athlete development over a period of at least five years. Stackhouse, who recently announced his retirement, coached Red Deer’s Cross-Country Running team in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference for the last 41 years.
“Brian has always strived for team and individual performance excellence and he has found success through integrity, honour and respect for his own student-athletes and those from other institutions,” said David Munro, CCAA VP Sport Development.
“Even with all of his many achievements, he has been able to keep sport in perspective and thus continue to demonstrate passion for Cross-Country Running and enjoy the experience of teaching, coaching and learning from others.”
During Stackhouse’s 41 years as head coach at Red Deer, the women’s team captured 10 ACAC Championships while the men’s teams won gold four times. Stackhouse was twice voted the ACAC Coach of the Year.
The Queens were crowned CCAA National Champions in 2007 with a roster that comprised of all central Alberta student-athletes. The Kings, meanwhile, took home CCAA bronze medals in 2008, 2010 and 2011.
Stackhouse was instrumental in the development of the CCAA Cross-Country National Championships and was a lead organizer of the first Championships, held in 2002 at Red Deer. He also served as the CCAA’s Cross-Country Running Convenor for nine years.
“In my observation of Brian, at ACAC meetings/coach meetings and at the CCAA annual general meetings, he has always presented Cross-Country Running from the perspective of the student-athlete with emphasis on inclusion and excellence,” said Allan Ferchuk, former CCAA and ACAC President and RDC Athletic Director.
“When Brian speaks, no matter the forum (provincially or nationally) he is listened to for he represents the true integrity of sport.”
Former Red Deer Athletic Director Keith Hansen, also a previous winner of the CCAA Coaching Excellence award, worked with Stackhouse for 23 years and says he is one of the most honest and caring individuals he knows.
“His judgements are not clouded by competition and a desire to win; rather they are driven by a love for the sport and respect for the athletes,” said Hansen. “He is the type of coach that all of us wish our children could experience.”
Stackhouse, a Physics and Sciences Instructor at Red Deer, has continued to participate in coaching workshops throughout the years, including all of the NCCP courses up to and including his Level 3.
The CCAA works in partnership with the Professional Coaching Department of the Coaching Association of Canada and recipients of the Coaching Excellence award receive a one-year membership to the CAC.
“The Coaching Association of Canada is proud to honour Brian as the 2016 recipient of the CCAA Coaching Excellence award," said Lorraine Lafrenière, Chief Executive Officer of the CAC. “Brian’s achievements truly represent the outcomes of a lifetime dedicated to coaching. Throughout his extensive coaching career, Brian’s investment to his personal development as a coach exemplified his passion, commitment, and focus of his athletes development, and contributed to positively shaping our Canadian sport community.”
