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OUR COACHES
Ron Hopkins - Director of Basketball
Ron Hopkins has been coaching both men’s and women’s basketball for nearly 33 years at all levels from community league to summer basketball clubs to college teams. He as been an assitant coach for NAIT as well as The Kings University womens basketball programs. As well he has been the head coach of Bellerose Composite High School’s Senior Girl’s Basketball team. Upon starting with Bellerose, the team quickly became one of the top teams in Tier 2 Basketball in Edmonton. He also helped Scona High School achieve their first ever #1 Provincial Ranking. Throughout his career, he has been a critical part of helping three different colleges change their history. His club teams have been successful both nationally and internationally. Ron has coached over "1000 athletes" that have gone to play at the post-secondary level in both Canada and the United States. Ron’s hard work, determination, and passion for the game are the cornerstones of Edmonton.
Marvin Washington has coached basketball for almost 20 years. Originally from the USA, Marvin's first love was track and field, as he was a track athlete at "Northwestern University". His love affair started with the sport when he was a university student on the track team. Before the start of his last year at university, the school announced they were cutting the track team, with nothing to do between 3 and 5pm for the first time since the 3rd grade, Marvin started playing pick up basketball. From there, he went on to coach his nephew's community teams. After obtaining his PhD in Organizational Behavior, and having his own sons, Marvin and his family eventually moved to Canada when Marvin was offered a job as a professor in the school of business. As his sons grew, so did Marvin's coaching career. Over the past 12 years, Marvin has coached the Edmonton Zone team to a 3rd place finish at the Alberta Summer Games, he was an assistant coach for Team Alberta's Boys U15 and U16 team. He was the head coach of DS Mackenzie jr girls team for 3 years and the head coach of DS Mackenzie sr boys team for 3 years. More recently he was the assistant coach for the Harry Ainlay's senior girls' basketball team. For the past 7 summers he has coached with Swoosh (both on the girls side and the boys side). His boys spring league team won the Jasper Place Spring League won back to back championships and he has coached girls teams to numerous tournament victories (in Canada as well as in the US).
Marvin Washington
Heather Bejcar
Heather Bejcar has been coaching since she was 15. Starting by coaching Devon Minor Basketball while she was a member of the John Maland High School team, graduating in 2004 winning a 2A provincial title. Heather then played one year at Kings University College but after suffering from an ACL tear in her rookie season she was not able to continue playing. Instead she turned to coaching. Being asked to help assistant coach the Sr. Girls team at her former high school. She spend the next two years as the assistant coach of the Sr. Girls then in the 2007/2008 season she took on the roll of the JV girls head coach at JMHS,medaling in the zone championships all 3 seasons. She spent as may of her summers as she could coaching with NBC Camps in Olds, Edmonton and Prince Albert. In 2010/2011 with the lack of interested for a JV girls team she took the challenge of coaching JV boys instead, once again coming home with a medal finish at zones. In 2011/2012 Heather was asked to take over coaching the JMHS Sr. Girls team and she jumped at the opportunity. She built a strong womens basketball program at JMHS and she brought the team to provinals in 2014/2013 as well as 2018/2019. Heather joined Swoosh Canada Basketball in 2016 and has coached both the U15 and U17 girls programs over the years. Under her direction the U15 team won the B side JP spring league in 2018, and she has coached may Swoosh teams to tournament championships over the years. She has travelled with the teams, getting wins in BC, California, Vegas, and Chicago.
Avery Harrison
Avery Harrison recently guided the Olds women’s basketball team to their first Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national championship. Avery's third National title as a head coach and fourth overall.
Coach Harrison began his coaching career at Hugh Sutherland High School in Carstairs coaching alongside Blaine Vadnais. In their time together, the team accumulated a 139-15 league and playoff record, taking home gold and silver medals from three provincial championships. After graduating from the University of Calgary, Harrison began his ACAC coaching career as an assistant with the SAIT Trojans men’s team in the 1980s. In his five seasons with the men’s team, the Trojans won four ACAC banners and appeared in three consecutive CCAA gold medal games, winning in 1986 to cap a perfect 34-0 season.
After being named Head Coach in 1990-91 he guided the team to two ACAC Silver medal finishes and two trips to Nationals. He then coached at Mount Royal College for two seasons taking the team to two ACAC championships, and an appearance in the CCAA National Championship game in 1998. The team went 47-1 in ACAC league and play-offs games over that time. Returning to SAIT in 1998-99 he coached them to a 19-1 regular-season record and their first CCAA National Championship. The Trojans followed that up with another National title in 2001. After the 2005-06 season, Harrison took a short break from coaching but returned for a two-year stint as an assistant with Mount Royal University. He was then named Head Coach at Lethbridge College where he remained for four years taking them to a Nationals appearance in 2012. After a one-year break, he returned to the ACAC basketball court as an Assistant Coach with Steve Shoults at St. Mary’s University, and in two seasons the team went to the ACAC final earning two Silvers and the first appearance at the National Championships in the school history.
In 22 years as a head Coach his teams have won 5 ACAC championships, 3 Silver and 5 Bronze, as well as a Silver and 3 Gold at the CCAA National championships. He has coached 43 ACAC All-conference players, 11 all Canadians, and three CCAA Players of the Year. His cumulative regular season and playoff record is 326-168 (510-263 overall). As an assistant, he was part of four ACAC Gold medals, three Silver and one Bronze, as well as two silver and one Gold at the CCAA national championships. Harrison picked up his fifth ACAC Coach of the Year award in 2018-19, a season that saw him pick up his 500th career win as a head coach in the ACAC (Feb. 8, 2019, vs. RDC). He also has two CCAA Coach of the Year awards on his resume. Coach Harrison has 34 years of coaching in the ACAC, spanning five different decades, and we are proud to have Coach Harrison as our lead instructor.
Amy Jakubec grew up in a basketball family, and basketball is in her blood. Her father played college basketball and then coached the sport for 20 plus years taking several teams to provincial competitions. Her brother has also played college basketball, been an assistant coach, and currently privately trains players. Her sister has been an assistant coach for their dad for eight years. Amy has been playing basketball since the age of ten, participating both in school and club basketball. Most recently, she played three years of ACAC women’s basketball at The King’s University. Shes played under several different coaches and gained valuable knowledge and skills that she loves to share with younger players. Amy is currently working on her university degree and now in the beginning phase of her own coaching career. Thanks to Ron Hopkins and Swoosh, she has been given the opportunity to coach in some of the Swoosh programs. Since 2018, she has assisted in the Level Up Clinics. In 2019, she began coaching in the Swoosh Homeschool Academy program and continues to do so. In the fall of 2020, She started to assist in the Level Up Academy that is coached by Avery Harrison. Amy is grateful to be learning and developing her own coaching skills from such accomplished coaches.
