The Douglas College Royals welcome a new head coach to the department. Steve Beauchamp, a 20 year coaching veteran, will replace Courtney Gerwing as Head Coach of the Women's Basketball team.
Gerwing left the Royals at the conclusion of the season to pursue other aspirations. During her brief tenure she was named the 2016 PACWEST Women's Basketball Coach of the Year and lead the team to two consecutive provincial silver medals.
Beauchamp comes to the Royals having been the head coach of the senior girls basketball team at Holy Cross Secondary in Surrey for the past 11 season. He has led his team to multiple provincial championships and intends to continue being involved with the program while he is coaching at Douglas.
"I am excited to have Steve Beauchamp join the Royals family and be part of the Pride," says Douglas College Athletic Manager, Brian Mclennon. "With over 20 years of coaching experience at the college and high school levels, he brings a wealth of knowledge to our women's basketball program and can hit the ground running. I am confident his strong connections at the high school level within the Lower Mainland will contribute to a sustainable and successful program at Douglas College."
This will be Beauchamp's second tenure at Douglas College. From 1984 - 1994 he led the Douglas Men's Basketball team to 5 Provincial Championships. In 1994 he coached his team to a 2nd place finish at the National Championship Tournament.
The Beauchamp family are no strangers to the Douglas basketball community. Rachel Beauchamp is the starting forward for the current Douglas team and her mother, Wendy was a Royals Alumna as well. Beauchamp mentions how he is excited to return to the community.
"When I first started coaching at Douglas there wasn't a lot of tradition around athletics," he admits. "Today I am so impressed by Athletics at Douglas and how they place a focus on connecting with the outside community. I am also impressed by all the support that is given to the programs. Whether it is other athletes, students, or faculty, they are in the stands cheering."
Beauchamp explains how the hiring process, as well as his early interactions with the girls has been a gratifying experience. "I feel really fortunate to come into a program with such a strong nucleus of returning players. But mostly I'm impressed by their work ethic and desire to get better as individuals and as a team."
This particular Royals team has been successful over the past years winning the provincial silver medal two out of the last three seasons. According to Beauchamp, the team's goal remains the same, win Provincials and earn a spot at the National Tournament. He adds that the extensive buy in from all the players on the team makes it easy for him to adopt that same goal and believe that it is achievable.
"Coaching has always been something that I've been involved with because of my daughters. What I love about coaching is the improvements I see in the players I coach. The progression they go through and the skills they learn. I love being able to sit with a player and look at where they started compared to where they are now, it really leaves me with a positive feeling."
