Chris Critelli swinging into retirement
Brock assistant athletic director leaving after 35 years to focus on her golf game
A Niagara native whose name has become synonymous with women’s university basketball in Ontario will soon have more time to play another game.
In fact, while Chris Critelli’s last official day as assistant athletic director at Brock University is Friday, Aug. 31, the former hoops coach will use her final week playing in the Canadian Golf Championships at Lookout.
Critelli said one of reasons she is retiring after 35 years at the university is to focus on golf.
“I admire people I compete against who are going down to the USGA (United States Golf Association) and British Open seniors,” Critelli, 61, said. “I really aspire to be that good.
“On the other hand, I have a lot of other interests. I have to decide whether I want to put all my time and effort into golf.”
Critelli has achieved remarkable results from investing time and effort, on the basketball court especially. She went to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and won three international medals as a player.
She is only player is history to have won both an NCAA and CIS championship.
She joined the Brock women’s team as an assistant to then head coach Pat Woodburn in 1982.
“That was perfect because it gave me an opportunity as an assistant coach to get my feet wet and learn under Woodburn,” she recalled. “After that, it was 27 years of coaching, and I loved every minute of it.”
Critelli retired from coaching when she became assistant athletic director after leading the Badgers to 393 victories, six division titles and an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship.
In 2016, the OUA renamed its women’s basketball championship trophy the Critelli Cup in honour of the Canada Basketball, Ontario Basketball and City of St. Catharines hall of famer.
“That’s a huge highlight of my career, I was so honoured and blown away,” she said of having a trophy named after her.
“I never thought in a million years they would name the cup after me.”
To Critelli, the biggest rewards
from coaching came from lasting relationships she built over the years.
“It’s about people for me,” she said. “When my alumni come back and show me their kids … to think that they value being at Brock and playing basketball so much to stay in touch is really special to me.”
Stepping away from coaching gave Critelli time to follow such other passions as writing a book, taking up curling and perfecting her golf game to the point of becoming
one of the best players in Ontario.
She won the overall women’s Champion of Champions title last year and qualified for the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship taking place next week in Fonthill.
Critelli is also looking forward to spending more time golfing with her 92-year-old father.
“My family has been very supportive,” she said. “They’ve been really important in my career as an athlete, a coach and an administrator. “I always go to them for advice and help, and they’ve been wonderful.”
Critelli feels her experiences playing and coaching basketball have helped her in golf.
“I can apply a lot of things I’ve learned through my coaching career about letting things slide,” she said. “Whether it’s wind or rain or an opponent getting in your head, those things don’t bother me.”
Brock athletic director Neil Lumsden has no doubt Critelli will succeed in whatever she decides to focus on.
“She will continue to challenge herself and those around her, and always with a smile,” he said, adding with a smile, “That’s the
‘‘ “When my alumni come back and show me their kids … to think that they value being at Brock and playing basketball so much to stay in touch is really special to me.” CHRIS CRITELLI Brock University assistant athletic director
same smile you would see from her when she schooled an opponent on the court in her playing days.”
Lumsden said Critelli made a huge and positive impact in sport in her years at Brock.
“She didn’t just spend her years in sport, she made a massive impression at every level she touched,” he said. “Her depth of experience and knowledge in sport while caring for studentathletes will be missed.”
Succeeding Critelli as associate athletic director will be Emily Allan, head coach of the crosscountry team for the past seven years and with the applied health sciences faculty since 2007.
“Handing over the reins to a young female is awesome,” Critelli said. “She is going to have the energy and enthusiasm that was maybe waning with me because I was looking forward to other things.
“I think it’s great for the department and for Emily. She has been part of our team, so she knows what we’re all about.”
Allan ran in the Boston Marathon earlier year and over the past seven years has raised nearly $60,000 for cystic fibrosis research through such initiatives as running all 895 kilometres of the Bruce Trail in 2017.