Tuesday, April 8th saw Volleyball Canada's High Performance Program announce that Niagara College women's volleyball head coach Joey Martins has been selected as an assistant coach for the Canadian National women's program for the summer of 2014.
Martins will join fellow assistant Lee Carter (Brandon University) and full-time head coach Arnd Ludwig in preparing the Women's National Program for this summer's Pan-Am Cup being held in Mexico from June 10-20th.
"We are excited about the staff we have assembled for our summer programs," said Julien Boucher, High Performance Director for Volleyball Canada. "We will have a very nice mix of youth and experience, and everyone is looking forward to a successful summer."
"As a coach, being a part of the Canadian Women's Senior Program is something that I have been striving towards" said Coach Joey Martins. "This is going to be a great learning experience for me and I am really looking forward to seeing and learning from the ways Coach Ludwig teaches, speaks and conducts himself with his players."
Martins has served as head coach of the Niagara College women's volleyball program since 2011-12, a season that saw the Burlington native named OCAA West Division Coach of the Year.
The Knights have qualified for the OCAA playoffs in two of three seasons during Martins' coaching tenure, and he has seen two of his student-athletes named CCAA Academic All-Canadians. Martins has also coached four OCAA All-Stars during his three seasons with the Knights.
"On behalf of the entire Knights Family, we would like to congratulate Coach Martins on his coaching appointment to Volleyball Canada's High Performance Program" said Niagara College Director of Athletics and Recreation Matthew Davies. He continued "this is an exceptional opportunity for him to continue developing as a coach, and we are excited about how this experience will positively affect our student-athletes next season."
Prior to turning his attention to coaching, Martins enjoyed outstanding domestic and international playing careers.
As an outside hitter for the Loyalist Lancers and Red Deer Kings in the CCAA, Martins was a two-time CCAA Player of the Year, four-time CCAA All-Canadian, two-time ACAC Athlete of the Year, and an OCAA Athlete of the Year. Martins is also a back-to-back recipient of the CCAA Athlete of the Year award.
In 2005 Martins was selected to the Canadian International University Sports Federation (FISU) Team when they traveled to compete at the World University Games held in Turkey. After the FISU event he was named a member of the Senior Men's National Team. Martins also played professionally in Portugal's Division One premier league.
Coach Martins continued "As a player I will never forget the first time I put on the Team Canada jersey before a match. I am really looking forward to this opportunity. Whenever you get the chance to represent your country, whether it be as an athlete or a coach, I believe it to be a true honour."
The Canadian Women's National Volleyball Program is currently preparing for the World Cup Qualifications tournament being held March 16-19th in Mississauga, Ontario. Martins will join the program in late May in preparation for the Pan-Am Cup.
Matthew Davies continued "We would like to wish Coach Ludwig and his entire staff the best of luck as they prepare for the World Championships Qualifications and Pan-Am Cup this summer."
