July 20, 2009
LAURIER APPOINTS NEW CURLING HEAD COACH
WATERLOO, Ont. - Wilfrid Laurier University is pleased to announce the appointment of Gary Crossley as the head coach of the Golden Hawk men's and women's curling programs. Crossley will be taking over the lead position from former head coach Ken McCormack, who left the program after the highly successful 2008-09 season.
The men's and women's curling programs have seen countless successes in their time, especially as of late. In the 2007-08 seasons, both teams were OUA and CIS champions. In 2008-09, the women's team claimed their second consecutive national title.
With such strong curling programs, Crossley is looking forward to beginning the 2009-10 season.
"I find myself fortunate that Coach McCormack has left the team in such excellent shape. I am excited about continuing the long stream of success that Laurier curling has enjoyed for the past number of years," said the newly minted head coach.
Crossley was born in Halifax, England. After moving to Canada with his family at the age of two, Crossley was raised in Waterloo Region, with most of that time being spent in Elmira.
When he finished high school, Crossley attended Central Michigan University on a track scholarship, and then later transferred to the University of Waterloo. During his time at UW, Crossley competed at the varsity level in cross-country and track. As a track and field athlete, he competed for 12 years both nationally and internationally.
Crossley graduated with an honours bachelor of science degree in Kinesiology in 1981. After completing his undergrad, he attended teachers' college at the University of Western Ontario. Currently, he is a teacher at Cameron Heights Collegiate in Kitchener and resides in St. Jacobs.
A strong supporter of community initiatives, Crossley has been actively involved in community athletics and coaching for 30 years, resulting in a long list of achievements. In the past, he has coached 17 track and field athletes including Olympic athlete Adrian Woodley and local track star Maddie Buttinger.
For the past eight years, Crossley has experienced a lot of success specifically in the sport of curling. From 2003 to 2007, he was the under-17 head coach of the National Legion Camp. He has also coached numerous curlers, all of whom are regional qualifiers. Since 2007, he has coached Daryl Shane, who was a provincial men's finalist in 2008.
Curling plays a large role in Crossley's life. In the past, he was a Harriston Cash Spiel winner. He has played in numerous cash spiels against former world champions and OCA events. In 2008, Crossley played in the provincial men's intermediate championship as well. He is the former president of the Elmira Curling Club, and presently sits on the board of directors for the K-W Granite Club.
With so much experience coaching curling in and around Kitchener-Waterloo, Crossley is eager to begin this new challenge.
"This will be an exciting change from doing similar programs at a community level," said Crossley. "I am looking forward to working with a well-established, successful program taking place in an educational environment."
"Crossley brings a wealth of experience with over 30 years in high performance coaching both in curling and track and field," said director of athletics and recreation, Peter Baxter. "He is a builder of people and that is the key ingredient to the educational philosophy that contributes to the success of our Golden Hawk program."
Wilfrid Laurier University's Department of Athletics and Recreation is home to 22 varsity sports as well as numerous intramural, recreation and fitness programs. Laurier's varsity teams have brought home 55 provincial championships as well as 11 national championships in 97 years of competition.
Source: Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
The men's and women's curling programs have seen countless successes in their time, especially as of late. In the 2007-08 seasons, both teams were OUA and CIS champions. In 2008-09, the women's team claimed their second consecutive national title.
With such strong curling programs, Crossley is looking forward to beginning the 2009-10 season.
"I find myself fortunate that Coach McCormack has left the team in such excellent shape. I am excited about continuing the long stream of success that Laurier curling has enjoyed for the past number of years," said the newly minted head coach.
Crossley was born in Halifax, England. After moving to Canada with his family at the age of two, Crossley was raised in Waterloo Region, with most of that time being spent in Elmira.
When he finished high school, Crossley attended Central Michigan University on a track scholarship, and then later transferred to the University of Waterloo. During his time at UW, Crossley competed at the varsity level in cross-country and track. As a track and field athlete, he competed for 12 years both nationally and internationally.
Crossley graduated with an honours bachelor of science degree in Kinesiology in 1981. After completing his undergrad, he attended teachers' college at the University of Western Ontario. Currently, he is a teacher at Cameron Heights Collegiate in Kitchener and resides in St. Jacobs.
A strong supporter of community initiatives, Crossley has been actively involved in community athletics and coaching for 30 years, resulting in a long list of achievements. In the past, he has coached 17 track and field athletes including Olympic athlete Adrian Woodley and local track star Maddie Buttinger.
For the past eight years, Crossley has experienced a lot of success specifically in the sport of curling. From 2003 to 2007, he was the under-17 head coach of the National Legion Camp. He has also coached numerous curlers, all of whom are regional qualifiers. Since 2007, he has coached Daryl Shane, who was a provincial men's finalist in 2008.
Curling plays a large role in Crossley's life. In the past, he was a Harriston Cash Spiel winner. He has played in numerous cash spiels against former world champions and OCA events. In 2008, Crossley played in the provincial men's intermediate championship as well. He is the former president of the Elmira Curling Club, and presently sits on the board of directors for the K-W Granite Club.
With so much experience coaching curling in and around Kitchener-Waterloo, Crossley is eager to begin this new challenge.
"This will be an exciting change from doing similar programs at a community level," said Crossley. "I am looking forward to working with a well-established, successful program taking place in an educational environment."
"Crossley brings a wealth of experience with over 30 years in high performance coaching both in curling and track and field," said director of athletics and recreation, Peter Baxter. "He is a builder of people and that is the key ingredient to the educational philosophy that contributes to the success of our Golden Hawk program."
Wilfrid Laurier University's Department of Athletics and Recreation is home to 22 varsity sports as well as numerous intramural, recreation and fitness programs. Laurier's varsity teams have brought home 55 provincial championships as well as 11 national championships in 97 years of competition.
Source: Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
