Volleyball Canada has named Trinity Western men鈥檚 volleyball head coach Ben Josephson as the new senior men鈥檚 indoor head volleyball coach.
Josephson will begin his national team coaching duties in April of 2022.
鈥淎 couple weeks ago I was in Disneyland with my family having a great day,鈥� Josephson recalled.
鈥淚 received a message from Volleyball Canada High Performance Director, Julien Boucher, asking to jump on a call.鈥�
He was offered the position sitting in a quiet booth in an empty restaurant in Disneyland while A Whole New World played and Mickey Mouse strolled by.
鈥淭he 鈥楬appiest Place on Earth鈥� got a little happier鈥� Josephson remarked.
It is, he said, his 鈥渄ream job.鈥�
鈥淭here is no other volleyball team I would ever care about as much as I do Canada. I鈥檝e been a Spartan since 1998 (23 years) but I鈥檝e been a Canadian my whole life. If I have to leave TWU, I鈥檓 glad it鈥檚 for the 鈥楲eaf. It鈥檚 a dream come true.鈥�
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Spartans men鈥檚 volleyball coach Josephson records 200th win
Josephson guided TWU to five national championship titles, winning in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2019, and has qualified for the U SPORTS championship tournament 11 times.
Josephson has also led the Spartans to five Canada West championships, winning in 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020, which includes TWU鈥檚 current run of nine straight appearances in the conference final. He was named both the Canada West Coach of the Year and U SPORTS Coach of the Year, three time, in 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2019-20.
This past fall, his TWU team represented Canada at the NORCECA Men鈥檚 Pan Am Cup winning a silver medal.
Josephson takes over from Canadian Olympian Glenn Hoag, who previously announced he would coach the team until Tokyo 2020.
The men鈥檚 team, based in based in Gatineau, Quebec, is currently ranked 12th in the world.
They have qualified for the last two Olympic Games, making it to the quarter-finals in both events.
READ MORE: Right place, right time for Josephson
Beginning in April, Spartan Athletics will promote TWU men鈥檚 volleyball assistant coaches and former U SPORTS players of the year Ben Ball and Adam Schriemer to the positions of co-interim head coaches.
Ball has been part of the TWU men鈥檚 volleyball program for 16 years. As a setter, he won two national titles, and also won three U SPORTS championships as an assistant coach. Ball was named U SPORTS men鈥檚 volleyball Player of the Year in 2011-2012.
Schriemer joined the Spartans as a student-athlete in 2013-14, and has been an assistant coach with the men鈥檚 program for the past three year. Schriemer won two national titles as a player and has won one as an assistant coach. As a setter for the Spartans, Schriemer was named the U SPORTS Player of the Year in 2017-18.
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