Articles by author: Brock University

  • Brock Badgers name interim coach for men’s basketball

    MEDIA RELEASE: 8 Aug 2018 – Brock Sports

    A coach with significant university and international experience has been handed the keys to the surging Brock Badgers men’s basketball team.

    Madhav Trivedi, who spent the past five years as an assistant coach at McGill University, has been named interim head coach by Brock Sports Director Neil Lumsden.

    Trivedi will replace Charles Kissi, who is taking a one-year leave to become an assistant coach with Raptors 905, the NBA G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors.

    “We are very fortunate and excited to have Madhav step in as the interim head coach for our Brock men’s basketball team,” Lumsden said. “He brings a number of great qualities that align well with how Charles has built this program. Our expectation is that we continue to elevate the program, which matches the existing trajectory of the players, assistant coaches and Brock Sports.”

    Trivedi spent four years playing for the Ryerson Rams before joining the coaching staff as a student assistant in his fifth year under head coach Roy Rana, setting in motion a career behind the bench. He was then hired as an assistant coach at Queen’s University before moving to McGill in 2013, where he remained for five years.

    “I got a chance to work with and learn from one of the best coaches in our country,” he said of McGill coach David Deaveiro. “We won four out of five Quebec championships, went to four U SPORTS National Championships and had four all-Canadians. We really had a great run.”

    Away from the university basketball scene, Trivedi has been heavily involved in coaching and recruiting, most notably working as a scout with the Israeli Under-20 national team, which recently won its first-ever European Championship.

    Trivedi decided to move his family back to Ontario from Montreal this summer and thought he was headed back to Ryerson until Kissi called him with the opportunity to coach the Badgers.

    “Coach Charles embodies what I believe the coaching family should be. He’s providing me with an opportunity, which is so hard to get in this country because there are so few jobs. I couldn’t say no,” Trivedi said.

    Kissi has left the Badgers in good shape for his successor. The men’s basketball team won a record-tying 31 games in 2017-18, including a win in the consolation final of the U SPORTS National Championships. Just getting to the Nationals was a huge accomplishment for the Badgers, having not been there since Brock won a national title in 2007-08.

    The Badgers will have to move forward without graduating player Dani Elgadi, who led the team for five years, but Trivedi is confident others are ready to step up.

    “You can’t replace a guy like Dani, but he is who is because of his teammates and I know they are ready to keep this going. Coach Kissi has built a program where every young man is developing as a person, which means there are multiple leaders in the program. Guys here know what it takes to be a Top 5 team in the country and they want to do it,” he said.

    The new coach’s philosophy is that you must look at a team as starting from scratch each year.

    “Even if you’re coaching a team for 10 or 15 years, every season is totally different,” he said. “But with every program, you’re trying to be the best you can and get to Nationals. So for me it’s the day-to-day progress and constantly trying to get better. If you focus on that, you’ll reach your potential.”

    The Badgers 2018-19 regular season gets under way Oct. 26 at home against Wilfrid Laurier.

    Visit gobadgers.ca for gameday and ticket information.

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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    Categories: Media releases

  • Celebration of Lives for Robertson family to be held at Brock

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    MEDIA RELEASE: 4 August 2018 – R00152

    The families of Joe and Anita Robertson knew they were dedicated members of the community, but it’s only now they’re beginning to realize just how much of an impact they had on the region.

    The Niagara community was shocked and devastated this week to learn of the deaths of Joe and Anita, along with their 24-year-old daughter Laura. They were the sole occupants of a plane that crashed in Greenville, Maine on Monday, July 30.

    The Robertson family had a deep connection to Brock University. Joe spent a decade on the Board of Trustees and served as Chair from 2012-14. Anita was a dedicated volunteer and Laura had recently been hired to work in the athletics and recreation department.

    “It’s very heartwarming to see the response from the community following this tragedy,” Joe’s brother Andy Robertson said Friday. “We have been surprised to learn they touched so many in the community, and it’s clear that Brock was an important part of that community commitment. As a family, we are incredibly proud of our little brother, his teenage sweetheart and the lives they made together with their three beautiful kids.”

    Joe and Anita’s surviving children, Taylor and Clark, along with their extended family, are inviting the Niagara community to join them for a public Celebration of Lives service to be held at Brock on Friday, Aug. 10.

    The family will receive friends from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. inside the Ian Beddis Gymnasium. A service will follow in the same location at 2:30 p.m.

    In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Catharines and District United Way, War Child, or a favourite charity of choice. Memories, photos and condolences may be shared at morganfuneral.com

    More information such as directions and parking maps will be posted to brocku.ca/celebration-of-lives

    Note to media: No cameras will be permitted inside the Ian Beddis Gymnasium during the Celebration of Lives. We ask that members of the media please respect the privacy of the Robertson family at this extremely difficult time.

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca or 905-347-1970

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    Categories: Media releases