The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens basketball team will have a new bench boss for the 2022-23 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference season.
Avery Harrison, a five-time ACAC women’s basketball coach of the year and most recently head coach with the Olds College Broncos, will take over the post next season in Red Deer.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to join the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens Basketball program as their new head coach,” Harrison said in a release.
“We have a great mixture of veterans and I think one of our first goals is to establish a winning culture in our locker room. We need to create an on-court identity that the team can be proud of, so we can go out and give our best effort every night.”
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Harrison takes over for Ed Major, who stepped in after the holiday break after coach Mandy Botham resigned.
Harrison has a long history of success in the college basketball ranks across the province.
He has won five ACAC provincial titles and three Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national titles in 23 years. Harrison has led his teams to the national championships 10 times, which is the most for an ACAC Women’s Basketball Head Coach.
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He also worked with SAIT Trojans head coach Phil Allen for 11 years. Allan is an ACAC Hall of Famer and a member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. The duo won four ACAC titles and one national title.
Harrison coached the Broncos from 2017 to 2020 and helped them win a provincial and national title in 2019.
“We are extremely excited to add Avery to the Red Deer Polytechnic coaching staff. He brings decades of experience, a proven championship mindset, and the ability to harness the potential in each student-athlete,” says Randy Stewart, Manager Athletics and Student Life.
“In addition to being an excellent coach and mentor, Avery has the innate ability to develop a winning culture and to be successful at the highest level.”
Harrison will step into the role immediately.