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University of Victoria Athletics

University of Victoria Varsity Athletics

UVic Sports Hall of Fame

KathyShields1978

Kathy Shields

  • Class
  • Induction
    2002
  • Sport(s)
    Basketball

CATEGORY: Coach

Kathy Shields has had an incredible career as both an athlete and a coach, spanning over three decades with highlights such as 14 Canada West titles and eight CIAU national titles as the head coach of the University of Victoria Vikettes and a bronze medal at the 1993 FIBA Americas Championship for Women along with a fourth-place finish at the 1984 Summer Olympics as the assistant coach of the women’s national team.
 
As head coach of the Vikettes women’s basketball team for over 20 years, Shields was known for her exceptional work ethic and for always demanding the most from her players.
 
Shields had a way of bringing together even the most wayward of players as she placed an enormous emphasis on the concept of teamwork and the need for a common goal. She had a very disciplined coaching style and consistently challenged her athletes to exceed her expectations, as she truly believed that each team was only as strong as its weakest player. 

In many ways, Shields has shaped the landscape of Canadian women’s basketball as a large percentage of her athletes have gone on to play, and excel, at the national level. Additionally, an unbelievable eight of her former athletes and assistant coaches have gone on to be head coaches of university teams. 21 of Shields’ athletes have been named CIAU/CIS First or Second Team All-Canadians and she was twice-named CIAU/CIS Coach of the Year (1979-80, 1991-92) and nominated Canada West Coach of the Year an incredible nine times.
 
Shields often speaks of the challenges that she faced as a female coach in the male dominated arena of sport and in particular, basketball. Encouraged by her husband, the equally as accomplished Ken Shields, to attend coaching seminars, Shields rarely came across a female counterpart and was often forced to contend with men that felt she was not equal to her position. 

For the entirety of her career Kathy Shields exemplified coaching success and even upon retirement she continued to provide mentorship and support to former athletes and peers. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, Shields uses her skills honed over years of coaching to meet with and counsel others going through breast cancer treatment.
 
In the fall of 2007 the University of Victoria Vikes men’s and women’s basketball teams played their first “Shoot for the Cure” event, an initiative that was launched as a result of Shields’ battle with breast cancer. It has grown from a single event in Victoria to a cross-country CIS campaign that has raised over half a million dollars in donations ($512,394.58). 

Already a member of the Order of BC, Shields was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in the summer of 2016.

TEAMS
 
1970-73                     Athlete, University of British Columbia Thunderettes
1973-75                     Athlete, Laurentian University
1970-75                     Athlete, Team Canada
1977-78                     Assistant Coach, University of Victoria Vikettes
1979-01                     Head Coach, University of Victoria Vikes
1981-94                     Assistant Coach, Team Canada
1992-95                     Head Coach, Senior Women’s National Team
 
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
 
UVic Achievements (1979-2001)    
                 
- 14 Canada West titles (1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1994,
   1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
- Eight CIAU/CIS National titles (1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1997, 1999)
- Had 21 athletes named CIS First or Second Team All-Canadians
- Nine Canada West Coach of the Year Awards (1979-80, 1986-87, 1911-92, 1992-93,
  1994-95, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2000-01)
- Two-time CIAU/CIS Coach of the Year (1979-80, 1991-92)
- In 371 regular season games had a record of 320-50
 
 
International Achievemetms 
- 1981-94 Team Canada Coach 
- 1981 junior national team coach, exhibition tournament in Cuba and the Jones Cup
   in Taiwan
- 1983 assistant coach of the senior national team at the Pan American Games
   (Caracas, Venezuela), exhibition tours to China and Cuba
- 1984 assistant coach of the Canadian women’s Olympic team, Olympic Qualification
   Tournament (Cuba)
- 1984 assistant coach of the Canadian women’s team, fourth place finish at the 1984
   Summer Olympics (Los Angeles, USA)
- 1986 named head coach of the women’s national development team
- 1989 named assistant coach of the senior national team
- 1991 Pan American Games (Havana, Cuba)
- 1991 Goodwill Games (Seattle, USA)
- 1992 announced as head coach of the senior national team
- 1993 FIBA Americas Championship for Women (Bronze Medal)
- 1994 FIBA World Championship for Women (Seventh)
- 1994 Goodwill Games (Moscow, Soviet Union)
 

Hall of Fame Achievements 
- 2002 Inducted into the University of Victoria Sports Hall of Fame                                    
- 2003 Inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame
- 2003 Inducted into Basketball Canada Hall of Fame
- Member of the Basketball BC Hall of Fame

 
Other Achievements, Awards and Recognitions 
- CIS Rookie of the Year award known as the “Kathy Shields Award”
- 1992 3M Coaching Canada Award of Excellence
- 1996 CAC Master Coach Recognition
- 2003 Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal
- 2007 University of Victoria renamed its basketball court the “Ken and Kathy Shields    
  Court”
- 2008 Order of BC
- 2011 recipient of the Jean-Marie de Koninck Coaching Excellence Award
- 2016 Order of Canada (Member)

University of British Columbia Thunderettes (1969-71)
- Helped the team to win a Canadian Senior Championship title in 1970
 
Laurentian University Achievements (1972-76)
- Helped the team to win three CIAU titles in 1973-74 , 1974-75 and 1975-76
 
Team Canada, Athlete Achievements (1970-75)
- 1970 FIBA World Championship for Women (Brazil)
- 1971 Pan American Games (Colombia)
- 1973 Summer Universiades (Moscow, Soviet Union)


 
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