Becomes first paid national head coach in Dodgeball Canada’s history
EDMONTON (September 26, 2019) – Dodgeball Canada’s Board of Directors voted in favour of retaining Victor Gravili as head coach of the Team Canada national program with the signing of a three-year contract with an option for an additional fourth year in 2024. The contract includes a compensation structure that is the first of its kind for Dodgeball Canada and comes with the intent of emphasizing the value of strong coaching with the hope of creating pathways for future coaches.
The announcement, which comes during National Coaches Week, is part of Dodgeball Canada’s commitment to guiding Canada back to the top of the WDBF rankings. While working with Gravili and the provinces, Dodgeball Canada aims to build a comprehensive long-term player development program that will be equipped with full regional scouting and coaching capabilities by 2021.
"Victor is a leader in player development for the sport of dodgeball. The successes of our National Program have been due in no small part to his vision and drive over the past several years. He’s done a remarkable job building one of the best national programs in the world and his accolades, accomplishments, and track record of getting the most out of his athletes is a testament to his leadership and knowledge of the game. On behalf of the Board, we’re thrilled to Victor remain as our head coach and extending our commitment to building stronger pathways for future coaches in the years to come,” said Duane Wysynski, President of Dodgeball Canada
“I want to thank the Board of Directors for their continued support of both myself and the process of building a respected National Program. Since joining Dodgeball Canada in 2016, we’ve seen tremendous growth in our programming and our athletes. We’ve been very committed to our vision and we’re excited to put on a strong performance in Cancun, Mexico this November. It’s an honour to continue working with Team Canada, our staff and athletes, and I look forward to celebrating our future success with communities across Canada,” said Victor Gravili, Head Coach Team Canada
Gravili’s new contract will commence immediately following the WDBF World Championships held in Cancun, Mexico between November 26 and December 1. He will report directly to the Board of Directors until a new Team Canada Executive Director has been recruited and identified by Dodgeball Canada. Locked to coach Canada Mens until 2023, Gravili will also have the option of resuming head coaching responsibilities for Canada Womens in 2020 should he wish to exercise those provisions within his contract. A decision will likely be made in December 2019.
For more information about Team Canada, please contact communications@dodgeballcanada.org.
About Victor Gravili Regarded as a pioneer in coaching, Gravili is one of the most recognized and successful dodgeball coaches of all-time. With a career spanning over 11 years, he is widely credited with developing the top collegiate program in Canada (Humber Lakeshore) guiding the school to a 132-15-1 OCR record and 19 OCR championships over 10 seasons. He is a three-time Humber Lakeshore Athletics Coach of the Year and recently was named Humber Athletics Coach of the Decade. On the international scene, he has led Team Canada to playoff berths in each year since taking over behind the bench in 2016. He has helped guide Canada to the finals three times and has led the program to a gold, two silver and a bronze medal. He is a former board member of Dodgeball Canada and is the current head coach of Humber Lakeshore (Lakeshore Hawks), and the Mavericks Dodgeball Club, a newly formed team from Toronto, ON.