Coaches of the Year

Thank you to all our coaches for everything you do on and off the field of play.

Dave Scott-Thomas

Dave Scott-Thomas, Track & Field

Since arriving at the University of Guelph in 1997, Dave Scott-Thomas has established the Gryphons as perennial national powers in both track and field and cross country. During the 2018-19 season, Scott-Thomas led the Gryphons to arguably the greatest single-season in school history in track and field, with a sweep of national titles on both the men’s and women’s sides at the U SPORTS Championships in Winnipeg. In the process, Scott-Thomas earned coach of the year honours at both the OUA and U SPORTS Championships. He has now been named national coach of the year in track and field on 10 different occasions (six on the men’s side, four on the women’s).

Rachel Flanagan, Women's Hockey

Rachel Flanagan not only made school history in 2018-19 coaching the team to the first national title in women’s hockey in University of Guelph history, she also added to her already decorated coaching resumé. In her 13th season behind the U of G bench, Flanagan was named OUA Coach of the Year in women’s hockey for the fifth time in the past seven seasons. She was also recognized at the OUA’s year-end annual general meeting in May where she was named the OUA Female Coach of the Year, making her the top female coach not only in women’s hockey, but across all OUA governed sports. It marks the second time in the past three seasons that she has been awarded the conference-wide honour. Flanagan is just the third individual in University of Guelph history to be named OUA Female Coach of the Year (joining Angela Orton, 2004-05 women’s basketball, and Linda Melnick, 2002-03 women’s volleyball), and is now the University of Guelph’s only two-time recipient of the award.

Shayne Campbell, Women's Soccer

In his first two seasons in charge of the women’s soccer program at U of G, Shayne Campbell has already left quite the impression. As a first-year head coach in 2017, Campbell helped guide the Gryphons to their first OUA title in program history. In 2018, he led the team to a first-place finish in the OUA West Division and as a result, has become just the fourth head coach in program history to be named OUA Coach of the Year. On the field, no team in the OUA was better defensively than Coach Campbell’s Gryphons, who conceded a league-low 3 goals in 16 games played during the regular season. Prior to taking over as head coach in the spring of 2017, Shayne spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Gryphons and is a proud U of G alum, having starred with the Gryphons men’s soccer team from 1992-1994 where he was a three-time OUA all-star.

Colette McAuley, Women's Rugby

Following an impressive 2018 season by the Gryphons women’s rugby program, head coach Colette McAuley was named the Shiels Division Coach of the Year for the fifth time in her 12 seasons in charge of the Gryphons (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, & 2018). The Gryphons are the most successful program in OUA women’s rugby history and the 2018 team added to that wonderful legacy. McAuley’s Gryphons went undefeated during the regular season and completed a three-peat at the conference level with their third consecutive OUA title. The Gryphons have now claimed 16 OUA banners in their decorated history, with McAuley serving as head coach for eight of those.