Greenlaw hired to coach women's hoops at Acadia

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

In his search for a women’s varsity basketball coach to replace the departed Angie McLeod, Acadia athletic director Brian Heaney says he was looking for an experienced coach with a solid community presence. In Bev Greenlaw, he will now have both.

Acadia announced Friday the hiring of Greenlaw as the new head coach of the Axewomen basketball program for the 2008-2009 season.

Greenlaw, a former Coordinator of Varsity Athletics at Acadia, will officially begin his new coaching duties effective July 1. Unofficially, he will begin to prepare immediately for the 2008-2009 season and beyond.

Greenlaw brings an extensive coaching resume to his new position. He has coached at the provincial, university, high school and club level for three decades, including the Community YMCA in Halifax, Dalhousie University and King’s College, and coached Team Nova Scotia to a gold medal at the 1987 Canada Winter Games in Cape Breton.

His most recent coaching position was with the Horton Griffins D-1 girls’ program, which he skippered to back-to-back NSSAF provincial titles in 2005-2006. For the past year, he has served as lead instructor for the Annapolis Valley Basketball Academy.

‘Very pleased with our decision’: Heaney

“I toyed around with this in my own mind for about a month, and I’m very pleased with our decision,” Heaney said Friday. “We wanted to do what was best for Acadia and for the local community, while at the same time not sacrificing our commitment to working toward a national championship. In hiring Bev, I think we’ve accomplished both.”

Greenlaw, he noted, “is not only a knowledgeable coach, he’s a genuine educator with the best interests of (the student-athletes he coaches) at heart.”

Moreover, “he’s a fierce competitor – a characteristic essential in this kind of position –

who kicks it up to a whole other level when he’s on the sidelines coaching. His players, and the players he recruits, will be the real beneficiaries of his expertise.

“I am delighted he has accepted this challenge, and I enthusiastically welcome him to our varsity coaching staff at Acadia.”

For his part, Greenlaw, who makes his home in nearby Grand-Pre, says he’s delighted by the opportunity to coach the Axewomen program. “For many years,” he said, “Acadia has offered its students a uniquely rewarding undergraduate experience with a commitment to high standards of academic, athletic and personal excellence.

“I’m pleased that several key players from last year’s team are returning and I’m looking forward to coaching in a women’s basketball program that I’m confident will take its place within Acadia’s outstanding tradition of athletic achievement.”