SAIT Polytechnic’s Art O’Dwyer is the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) South Division Coach of the year, ending a nearly 30-year-old drought for the SAIT Trojans women’s volleyball program.
O’Dwyer received the award Wednesday evening at the ACAC Women’s Volleyball Conference Championship banquet held in Red Deer, Alta.
The win for O’Dwyer makes him the first Trojans women’s volleyball coach ever to earn the honour since the ACAC started handing out the award following the 1986/87 season.
His fifth season on the sidelines for SAIT saw O’Dwyer’s team finish second place in the ACAC South Division with a 17-7 record — their highest win total ever. His team also cracked the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national rankings for the first time in the program’s history, reaching as high as No. 5 during the season.
O’Dwyer was part of powerhouse generation of volleyball players from the valley, which included names such as Derek Wade, Glen Farmer, Kelly Colberg Bob Rosgen and Tony Rosgen, to name a few.
Former coach Ian Jones said that in high school, Art was one of the best players in the province and went on to captain the University of Calgary squad.He also played on the junior national team.
