Avery Harrison (left) with the Olds Broncos women's basketball team. (Supplied)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

well-traveled

RDP hires esteemed Avery Harrison as Queens basketball coach

May 14, 2022 | 7:21 PM

Avery Harrison is the new coach of the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens basketball team.

According to RDP, Harrison comes with a long and impressive résumé, most notably the fact he is a 5x ACAC women’s basketball coach of the year, and has led his teams to five ACAC (provincial) and three CCAA (national) championships.

Additionally, his teams have played in 10 national championships, the most for an ACAC women’s basketball head coach.

“We are extremely excited to add Avery to the Red Deer Polytechnic coaching staff. He brings decades of experience, a proven championship mindset, and the ability to harness the potential in each student-athlete,” says Randy Stewart, Manager, Athletics and Student Life. “In addition to being an excellent coach and mentor, Avery has the innate ability to develop a winning culture and to be successful at the highest level.”

Harrison’s coaching stints include Mount Royal College, Lethbridge College, SAIT and most recently at Olds College from 2017 to 2020.

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He was an ACAC assistant coach for 11 years, and worked under legendary SAIT Trojans head coach Phil Allen, an ACAC Hall of Famer, and Alberta Sports Hall of Fame inductee.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to join the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens Basketball program as their new head coach,” he says. “We have a great mixture of veterans and I think one of our first goals is to establish a winning culture in our locker room. We need to create an on-court identity that the team can be proud of, so we can go out and give our best effort every night.”

Of all the players Harrison has coached, 46 earned spots on ACAC all-conference teams, and 12 have been named all-Canadians.

Last season, the Queens qualified for the ACAC playoffs for the first time since the 2009/10 season. After a 7-9 season, they lost to Med Hat College in the division quarter-final.

Harrison’s duties as coach begin immediately.