CALGARY – One of the most successful players to ever put on a Dinos jersey is now the eighth head coach in University of Calgary women's volleyball history.
Wayne Giles, dean of kinesiology, announced Tuesday that Natalie Schwartz, BA '07, will take over the Dinos women's volleyball program effective immediately.
Schwartz, 27, is the first alumna to be head coach of the Dinos women's volleyball program since Theresa (Sekura) Maxwell, who was at the helm from 1972-79.
A native of St. Albert, Alta., Schwartz headed south in 2001 to begin a more than 10-year association with the Dinos, including stints as a student-athlete, an assistant coach, and executive director of the Dinos volleyball club – nationally recognized as one of the elite volleyball development organizations in Canada. Now, she takes on the challenge of providing leadership to the entire program.
“Coming full circle through the program as an athlete and now a coach is exciting for me,” Schwartz said. “My passion is to walk alongside people, especially young women, as they discover who they are and what their goals are while they develop as students and as athletes. This is an opportunity for me to invest in a program that, I believe, is one of the best in the country and one that I have a vested interest in.”
In her five-year varsity career, Schwartz was a two-time All-Canadian setter, a three-time Canada West champion, and part of the Dinos' 2004 CIS national championship squad. She was the 2002 winner of the Bill Popplewell award as the University of Calgary's female rookie of the year, and she was the starting setter for all five of her seasons with the team.
She holds the Canada West single-season record with 842 set assists during the Dinos' undefeated 2004-05 season and posted the second-best single season in conference history the following year with 822.
A former member of the junior national team, Schwartz represented Canada again at the 2005 Summer Universiade in Izmir, Turkey on the national 'B' team.
A two-time Academic All-Canadian, Schwartz graduated from the University of Calgary in 2007 with a BA in communications. She became the first executive director of the Dinos women's volleyball club. She spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the varsity squad from 2007-08 through 2009-10, a period during which the team earned CIS silver and bronze medals. Her experience also includes head and assistant coaching duties with the provincial team program and the Dinos club. In 2009, she was an assistant with the Alberta team that captured bronze at the Canada Games.
Administratively, she co-founded the 'Best of the West' tournament which runs in Calgary each spring and brings together the top 17U and 18U club teams in Western Canada. Not only is the event an important recruiting showcase where CIS coaches and club players can connect, but it serves as a fundraiser to support women's health and wellness initiatives in the communities of all participating teams.
“Any successful program is about people,” said Schwartz. “I'm committed to surrounding myself with student-athletes that are all about loving to compete, winning, overcoming challenges, supporting each other, and being positive role models in the community. I can't wait to get started and continue to build the Dinos program.”
The Dinos enter their 44th season of Canada West competition in the fall of 2011.
University of Calgary Dinos
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL COACHES
Andrea Borys (1969-72)
Theresa Maxwell (1972-79)
Brad Kilb (1979-83, 1984-91)
Greg Ryan (1983-84)
Marla Taylor (1991-99)
Kevin Boyles (1999-2008)
Jesse Knight (2008-11)
Natalie Schwartz (2011-)
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