There isn’t much that Kristine Drakich hasn’t done in her volleyball career.
The women’s volleyball head coach for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues has held the position since 1989-90 and has led the team to the OUA final four in 30 of her 31 years, including a 22-year streak to start her career and a current nine-year run. Under her leadership, the team has won 11 OUA Championship titles. She led the team to a perfect record in 2015-16, winning the first National Championship in program history, one year after being honoured as the U SPORTS National Coach of the Year.
Drakich has coached at all levels of the game, both indoor and beach up to international levels. She’s coached in world championships, NORCECA championships, and at the Canada Games. She’s been named both Ontario Volleyball and 3M National High Performance Coach of the Year, and was the OUA Coach of the Year nine times.
Even in her playing days, also with the Varsity Blues, Drakich was a team captain and an all-Canadian. She was a member of both Canada’s indoor and beach national teams. Her mom Mary and her brother Ed, Volleyball Canada’s beach Director of High Performance, were also national team members. In 2001, Drakich was inducted into the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame.
Volleyball Canada recently had a chance to talk with Drakich about her coaching career and some general thoughts on coaching in the sport.
