TAYLOR NAMED ASSISTANT COACH FOR U17 BOYS NORCECA PAN-AM CUP TEAM

Jordan Taylor has no shortage of experience coaching on the provincial and national stage, and, this summer, he’ll get his first chance to coach for his country.

The York University Lions men’s volleyball bench boss was named last month to the coaching staff for the upcoming U17 Boys NORCECA Pan-Am Cup.

Taylor has coached extensively in his home province of Alberta, where he won two provincial gold medals. He also won a gold as the head coach of Team Alberta at the Canada Cup in 2022, one of his four national medals as a coach with the Albertan squad. The others were a pair of silvers in 2014 and 2015 and a bronze in 2016.

The Lions head coach, who came to York after serving on the coaching staff of the NAIT Ooks (Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference) for nine seasons including the final two as head coach, says the opportunity to coach and compete against some of the best teams in the world and learn from those among the best of his peers in Canada is privilege.

“It means a lot,” he said of his appointment to the Canadian staff. “I am honoured to have the opportunity to represent our country on the international stage, but also incredibly excited to work with some of Canada’s other top coaches where we can collaborate, exchange ideas and learn from one another.”

Taylor guided a young York team, which graduated only one athlete, to a 6-14 record in his first season at the helm. The Lions, who narrowly missed out on the OUA playoffs, were in a number of tight matches, and promise to be firmly entrenched the playoff picture in 2024-25.

Taylor says he will take the opportunity to expand his coaching repertoire at the Pan-Am, and use much of what he learns in the upcoming season.

“As a lifelong learner, It will be a great professional development opportunity,” he said. “I look forward to this experience with Team Canada.”

The 2024 NORCECA Pan-Am Cup will be held June 15-23 in Colima Mexico.