Paddock Steps Aside; Wilson To Take Over

BRANDON, MB – After seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Brandon University Bobcats men’s volleyball team, Grant Wilson is set to take over the reins as head coach on a one-year term.

Wilson has been an assistant to Russ Paddock since the program was added to BU’s athletic program in 2005, however this is the first dramatic change to the coaching structure since the team’s inception.

Paddock is stepping aside for a one-year term after moving into the permanent Athletic Director role back in March.

Wilson’s list of accomplishments extend beyond his work with the Bobcats. He was named the Manitoba Volleyball Association Developmental Coach of the Year in 2001 and was a finalist for the Sport Manitoba 3M Coach of the Year in 2004.

“I’ve always aspired to coach at the highest level. When the program was started I was short-listed for the head coach position then, and Russ and I have always worked in tandem. Russ and I are very similar in terms of philosophy, so in terms of how the program is run things won’t change that much,” says Wilson.

Wilson is a graduate of Brandon University where he earned Bachelor of General Studies and Bachelor of Education degrees. Since then he has been teaching full-time within the Brandon School Division for 19 years. Wilson, a father of one, is currently a Grade 8 teacher at Brandon’s King George School, a post he will be taking a one-year leave of absence from to lead the Bobcats.

“In a one-year stint there’s only so much you can do, so my goal is to maintain the consistency and competitiveness of this program,” says Wilson. “Our goal has always been to play our best volleyball come February and March, and obviously the goal for any program is to win a national championship, but only one team can do that, so our goal has always been to have the team playing to the highest level at the end of the year. That won’t change.”

As well as being a BU alumnus he also holds a Master of Sports Science degree from the United States Sports Academy.

Wilson has been on the sidelines as an assistant for both of the Bobcats’ runs at CIS national championship medals, which included a bronze medal in 2009 and a silver medal in 2011.

“Grant will have control of the team next year, but I certainly won’t be far away,” says Paddock. “I think it will be fairly easy for him to adjust. There aren’t many seven-year assistant coaches at the university level. He’s been contributing to the program and had opportunities to lead the team in the past, and we’ve worked together for about 15 years since coaching provincial teams in the 90s, so I’m sure that he is going to excel and do a great job.”

“Grant will be the head coach and the one making the decisions, and if there is a way I can support that then I will certainly do that. I trust his judgment. I know he will do things a little differently than I do but I’m more than confident in his abilities,” Paddock adds.

Wilson will officially begin his one-year term on July 1, after the completion of his teaching duties for this school year.

For more information on Brandon University Bobcats Athletics visit: www.gobobcats.ca / www.facebook.com/bubobcats / www.twitter.com/bubobcats
                                                -30-

For more information, please contact:

Russ Paddock
Athletic Director
Brandon University
204) 727-7382
paddockr@bradndonu.ca
or
Grant Wilson
Men’s Volleyball Coach
Brandon University
(204) 761-6950
wilson.grant@brandonsd.mb.ca

Contact