OFF TO AUSTRALIA
CBU hoops coach an assistant with Commonwealth Games team.
For the first time in his 11 years coaching with the national program, Fabian McKenzie is heading Down Under.
The 45-year-old from Glace Bay will serve as an assistant coach with the Canadian women’s national basketball team as it competes at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games starting this week in Queensland, Australia.
“It has been an incredible honour for me for the past 11 years to represent Canada at numerous competitions,” he said in an email interview from Brisbane, Australia. “This is my fifth multisport games and first time at the Commonwealth Games. Multisport events bring together so many people from around the world and the exposure to different cultures is amazing.”
McKenzie said that although experiencing the beauty and
culture of a new part of the world (and maybe seeing a koala or a kangaroo) would be cool, the focus remains on basketball. The Canadian women open preliminary-round play on Thursday against England.
“Getting to compete at a high level, go against top level coaches and see the trends happening around the world is very exciting for me,” said McKenzie. “I don’t have the words to describe what it feels like to travel the world. I fell in love with the game, respected it greatly and it has treated me better than I ever could have imagined. The game has taken me all over Canada and to 18 countries around the world.”
In Australia, McKenzie will be an assistant to bench boss Steve Bauer of Sackville, N.S., a former head coach of the Acadia Axemen men’s team. McKenzie has spent the last 20 seasons as head coach of the Capers women and has guided CBU to six Atlantic University Sport titles and a silver medal at nationals in 2006.
McKenzie has worked as both an assistant with the national team and a head coach with the women’s development squad. He won a silver medal with the development team at the World University Games in 2015 and also captured the William Jones Cup in 2014.
“I get so much out of being involved. I get exposed to the trends around the world. I get to study how other coaches do things but most importantly, I work beside some absolutely amazing coaches here in Canada. We are second to none in the world, in my eyes. As a person who is passionate about learning, I live through a coaching clinic every day I am involved.”
Through his time with the national squad, McKenzie said watching a number of players move on to participate in both the Olympics and world championships has been a highlight.
“Off the court, the highlight for me has been what the game has done for me. I had a goal of being involved with the national team and it has taken me around the world,” he said. “From the Eiffel Tower to the Great Wall of China to here in Australia, it’s been a phenomenal journey.
“Not bad for a kid from Glace Bay.”