DOUBLE DUTY
Niagara College men’s volleyball coach Sloan is now also working with the women
Tommy Sloan will be doing double duty when the 2021-22 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) volleyball season gets underway in the fall.
Sloan, head coach of the Niagara College men’s team since 2018, will be taking over the women’s program as interim head coach. The 33-year-old native of Fort Mcmurray, Alta., replaces Steve Dow who stepped down to take a fulltime teaching position.
Sloan didn’t take long to accept the school’s offer to become the first person to coach two varsity teams since Frank Dechellis oversaw the men’s and women’s soccer programs in 2016.
“It kind of made logical sense from all sides, for the school and for myself, especially with the uncertainty and the unknowns of this season,” he said. “It gives the school some time to find the right fit for the future of the program, and for me, it gives me some additional financial security over this next season.”
It would be fair to say Sloan won’t require much of a learning curve adjusting to coaching women’s volleyball. He was head coach of the women’s team at Keyano College, his alma mater in Fort Mcmurray, for three years and spent one as an assistant on the women’s team at Brandon University before coming to Niagara.
Since he already knows most of the Knights women’s team, taking on the additional duties “seemed kind of natural.”
“I believe that already having a connection with many of the athletes will make the transition seamless as we continue to build off the success that the program has had over the recent years,” he said.
Sloan won’t be setting a precedent by filling both roles.
“It’s been done before at a few schools,” he said. “Redeemer only has one coach for both programs.
“Essentially, it will be doing both games back-to-back.”
He isn’t worried that one team will be shortchanged by the arrangement.
“In our league, all the coaches are part-time to begin with,” Sloan said. “Being able to do both teams now lets me focus fully on Niagara College.
“It will be kind of the only thing I do. I don’t think it’s going to affect the amount of time I spend with either team.”
He doesn’t regard the double duty as a chance to see which team he wants to keep coaching going forward.
“For now I’m the men’s coach and they are going to do a search for the women’s team,” Sloan said. “As far as I understand, the women’s job will be eventually posted for 2022.
“I’m not sure where that puts me, but I’m committed right now to the men’s program.”
He won’t be taking any of his assistants from the men’s team with him.
“Most likely not. There is already one assistant in place for the women’s, she is returning from last season,” he said. “It looks like I’ll have two separate assistant coaching staffs.”
Sloan is a “big fan” of giving assistant coaches autonomy and having a “decent amount” of responsibility already.
“That’s kind of baked-in anyways already,” he said. “There might be some pre-game stuff for the second match that needs to be taken care of by the assistant coaches, but when it comes to game-planning and practice planning and whatnot, I feel that the system that I have in place will work for both teams.”
A “teacher by trade” before moving to Niagara Region, Sloan is now involved in volleyball on a full-time basis. Besides coaching with the college, he coaches with the Niagara Rapids, a club program based in the region.
When the interim head coach gets on the court with the Niagara women’s team has yet to be determined. Practice schedules for fall-winter sports haven’t been released.
“Your guess is as good as mine on that one,” he said. “We don’t know yet, we’re still waiting to hear on what the season will look like from the OCAA.”
Dechellis, who stayed on as the head coach of the men’s team after Rob Lalama took over the women’s soccer program, has offered to share any things he picked up coaching two teams.
“I know Frank well,” Sloan said. “He is open to give me any help I need.”
Michele O’keefe, associate director of athletics and recreation, said having Sloan coach both teams was an “easy decision to make.”
“He has previous experience coaching the women’s game, so we have no doubt he will be able to create an excellent program for both teams,” she said.
Neither team has competed since COVID-19 cancelled all sports at post-secondary and high school levels in March 2020.
“We’re getting excited to get back to the rhythm of training and competing in a sports season,” O’keefe said.
Sloan has compiled an overall record of 26-16 over two seasons since succeeding Nathan Groenveld as men’s head coach.
The Niagara women went 12-6 and were eliminated in the provincial quarterfinals in Dow’s lone season at the helm.
Since 2014-15, the Niagara women’s team has earned five medals at the OCAA championships: silver, 2016, 2018, 2019; bronze, 2015, 2017.
The Knights’ last provincial medal in men’s volleyball was gold under Groenveld in 2015.