Winston Brown was named the new head coach of the women’s basketball program at Langara, the college announced Thursday.
An assistant coach with the Falcons since 2014, Brown will take over for Mike Evans who led the Langara team for the past 14 years.
"My goal, as head coach, will be to continue building a foundation and a culture of success. Langara College is a unique and special institution and it's important to me that our student-athletes represent the qualities of the school both on and off the court,” Brown said in a prepared statement. “I'm incredibly grateful for and excited about the opportunity that Jake [McCallum, the school’s athletic director] has given me to continue the growth of the women's basketball program here at Langara.”
Last season, the Falcons went 8-13 to finish fifth out of eight teams in the PACWEST.
In an interview with the Courier, Brown said he intends to shake things up on the hardwood at Langara, which the majority of students attend to complete a diploma or transition to university.
“I'm going to start by changing the expectations of our players as well as our coaches,” he said. “Our program has to provide an environment where the athletes who are staying here will be given all the experiences a post-secondary athletic program has to offer, whereas the athletes who are looking to transition need to be provided a framework that will help them be successful when they move on. While I'm excited about achieving on-court success, so much of what we do as coaches goes on outside of the lines. The early mark I hope to make is recruiting players and coaches who will help us establish the foundation for that type of success.”
Brown will name his assistant coaching staff over the summer.
Formerly the head coach of the junior and senior girls teams at York House School, Brown led the senior Tigers to 10 consecutive AA B.C. championships and brought home an impressive seven provincial titles. He won the Basketball BC award for coaching excellent in 2006 and 2011. He stopped coaching the team after the spring of 2013.
He started coaching at the high school in 2003 and joined the faculty as a teacher five years later. During his decade on the bench for York House, he posted a regular season record of 108-8.
Before he joined the Tigers, he intended to roll back his coaching commitments but that changed after a U15 team he led through the summer season inspired him.
“I spend the summer coaching a pretty special group,” he said. “Seven of the 10 players on the team, as well as both alternates, went to York House.”
At the same time, the Tigers junior coach pursued a job out of province, and York House’s athletic director, David Prissinotti, approached Brown.
“That summer and that team revitalized my passion for coaching,” said Brown. “I took him up on his offer and, within five years I completed a bachelor's in both English and Education, got married, had my first child, and started teaching at York House. It was a busy time.”
Further cementing his credentials in the basketball community, since 2003 Brown has been the director of the Triple Threat Basketball Training Academy.
Langara last won a PACWEST provincial championship in the 2005-06 season with Evans. Their last national collegiate championship dates to 1983.
