Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Ken Briggs made history on Wednesday by becoming the first MacEwan Griffins bench boss to win a Canada West coach of the year award.
After guiding the Griffins women's volleyball team to a 17-7 record to qualify for the first Canada West playoff spot in program history, Briggs was selected by his peers for the prestigious conference honour.
"I think it's a tremendous honour for the institution and a testament to all the hard work of the student-athletes and coaching staff," said MacEwan Director of Athletics Ken Schildroth. "We're really proud of their accomplishments and Ken's ability to motivate those young women to higher levels.
"He's got a very experienced roster and he's put in a lot of time in developing their skills, so it's nice to see him get rewarded. They came together at the right time. I think that's a tremendous credit to them as a group of women."
Nicole Ban, who is an associate coach on Briggs' staff, couldn't be happier for him to finally get recognized.
"I played for Ken and I've been working for Ken for over 10 years," she said. "He's one of the hardest-working coaches and doesn't get recognition for it because we've been adjusting to the challenges of Canada West. I'm just really proud of what he's done and the growth that he's really made since we've joined Canada West."
After missing the playoffs on the wrong end of a three-way tiebreaker with a 12-12 record in 2018-19, the Griffins improved by five wins in 2019-20 to finish fourth in Canada West and earn the right to host a best-of-three quarter-final series.
"It was phenomenal," said Schildroth. "There were many instances in games of exceptional volleyball. It was a phenomenal experience for those young women and the institution. It's emblematic of what we're trying to do."
Although they lost to No. 5 Thompson Rivers University in the opening round, the Griffins' season was groundbreaking for the program on many levels.
"I think this year we have the athletes that finally allowed us to win and have success," said Ban. "Ken works just as hard every single season that we've had. But to have athletes to succeed and excel on the court allowed Canada West and the other coaches who voted him in to recognize that we did have something truly special."
Briggs has been MacEwan's head coach for 18 seasons, six of those in Canada West. He has a 59-85 regular season record since the Griffins joined the higher-level loop out of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference in 2014-15.
The Griffins have been trending upward under Briggs recently, going from four wins in 2017-18 to 12 a year ago to 17 in 2019-20.
"Ken's really taking feedback from everybody – his athletes, myself, other coaches in the league," said Ban. "He's a lifelong learner and I think that's something I'm truly proud of because I do challenge him as an assistant coach. He's really working to improve himself and I think that really shows in our performance on the court."
