Member Association News: CAN Announces Men's Football Head Coach for 2009 SU in Belgrade
June 9th, 2008
Mike Mosher
Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Thursday the appointment of University of British Columbia pilot Mike Mosher as head coach of Canada’s men’s football team for the 25th Summer Universiade set to take place July 1-12, 2009, in Belgrade, Serbia. Mosher was an assistant coach to Montreal’s Pat Raimondo at the 2007 Universiade in Bangkok when the Canadians dropped a penalty-kick decision to host Thailand in the bronze-medal game to finish in fourth place, their best result in history in the competition. Accompanying Mosher in Serbia will be assistant coaches Rock Basacco from The University of Western Ontario and Alan Errington from the University of the Fraser Valley, and team manager Randy Bardock of the University of Lethbridge. “I am honoured to be selected to coach our Canadian team and CIS athletes at the 2009 Games. My involvement in Thailand was a terrific experience with so many quality people and I really hope we can have a similar experience in Belgrade,” said Mosher. “With the group in Thailand we raised the bar very high for future teams, having come as close as a team possibly could to winning a medal, but we will set our goals high once again to try to make a medal a reality for 2009.” Mosher has been head coach of the UBC men’s soccer program since 1996, leading the Thunderbirds to the CIS title in 2007 and 2005, and to the national final in 2001 and 1997. He was an assistant coach with the T-Birds when the team captured the CIS banner in 1994. As a player, the resident of Vancouver suited up for the Canadian Olympic squad from 1989-1992, including a stint as team captain, represented Canada at the 1995 Universiade in Japan and led UBC to three CIS championships, including in 1989 when he was named CIS tournament MVP. Basacco was also an assistant coach with the Canadian side at the 2007 Universiade. At the helm of the Western program for the past 11 years, he has guided the Mustangs to a pair of CIS titles (1999, 1998) and seven OUA crowns, and saw his troops win CIS bronze last fall. He was named CIS men’s soccer coach of the year in 1999. Errington is a veteran of the Canadian national team program, including stints as assistant coach with the World Cup (1992-98) and Olympic (1992-98) squads, head coach of the World Cup team for a game against Costa Rica in 1994, and staff coach with the World Cup qualifying side in 1986. A member of the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame, he led Fraser Valley to a respectable 4-7-3 record in 2007, which marked the Cascades’ second CIS season. Bardock leads the Lethbridge Pronghorns since 1991. He was a scout for the Sheffield United Football Club of the English First Division in 2004 and 2005.
Canada’s finishes in men’s football at last 10 Summer Universiades: 2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): 4th (best result in history) 2005 (Izmir, Turkey): Did not participate 2003 (Daegu, South Korea): 15th 2001 (Beijing, China): Did not participate 1999 (Palma de Mallorca, Spain): Did not participate 1997 (Sicily, Italy): Did not participate 1995 (Fukuoka, Japan): 15th 1993 (Buffalo, USA): 15th 1991 (Sheffield, England): Did not participate 1989 (Duisbourg, Germany): Did not participate
