Briercrest College Athletics is excited to announce the addition of Patrick Havard as the new head coach of the women’s basketball program.

Briercrest Athletic Director Nigel Mullan is excited to add Havard to his coaching staff this year.

“We are excited to have Patrick join the department and look forward to his contributions to the program,” Mullan said.  “We believe that he will work hard to recruit players that will help bring the program to the next level.  He has a passion for recruiting which should help with his ability to bring success to this program.”

Havard brings with him 12 years of coaching experience at the high school, club, Provincial Team, CCAA, U SPORT (formerly CIS) and professional ranks as an assistant and head coach, and plans on using those experiences to help form a strong program in the CCAA.

Previously, Havard was the women’s basketball coach at Olds College, and prior to that coached in the NBL Canada as an assistant coach to NBA great Paul Mokeski, who acted both as a basketball mentor and Christian leader. Havard also coached for three seasons as the head men’s basketball coach at Crandall University where the team was nationally ranked every year and set many records for the school including the first trip to the CCAA National tournament.

A graduate of Acadia University, his post-secondary coaching career started in the CIS at Acadia under Canadian women’s senior national team assistant coach Steve Baur, and continued with the women’s program learning under coaching legend Bev Greenlaw.

Havard said that the decision to coach at Briercrest was a very easy one as the opportunity to gain employment coaching at a Christian Institution was just too much of a great opportunity to pass up.

“After speaking with former Crandall Director of Athletics and Briercrest alum Bryan Cawthra, and saying a prayer with Crandall Dean of Chapel Tim Milner; I knew that Briercrest was the right place for me to take next step in my journey” said Havard. “The opportunity to be able to be part of helping young people grow their faith, learning the lessons that the great game of basketball teaches, and being at a school that has a great reputation in academics, with quality degrees, is truly a blessing”

“I plan on having the team play a style that is team oriented, and unselfish on both ends of the floor,” Havard explained. “I plan on moving the ball on offense and playing intense team defense where every player supports each other. Developing players and aiming to compete at the highest level they can achieve will be the emphasis of the program.”

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