Curry Hitchborn Gerald McGavin Coaching Award Winner

There’s no doubting the passion that Curry brings to coaching, he loves rugby and where it’s taken him. He started coaching in 2006 at the high school where he first played rugby as a youth, Handsworth Secondary, not far from the club that would take him to the next level of coaching, Capilano Rugby Club.

He coached the Capilano men’s 3rd Division team and over the next eight years the club’s U16, U17, U18 and U19 teams. He was asked to assist with the men’s Premier side as the forward’s coach in 2012. That was the year they came back from relegation and made it to the Premier final against James Bay. It’s a year Curry remembers very well and you can tell the pride in his voice when he talks about that team. He credits the Capilano Rugby Club and the Vancouver Rugby Union (VRU) with actively supporting him during his early coaching career.

The Vancouver Rugby Union asked him to run their Vancouver North U16 squad which made it to the final and next year he was coach for the BC Blue U16 team. He went on to coach national championship teams for BC in the U16, U17 and U19 levels. He has also worked with the Canada U17 program as a guest coach.

He had a chance to be part of the UBC coaching staff in 2013 when they started their meteoric rise through the men’s elite ranks. UBC won the Division One Provincial title in 2014 earning them promotion to the BC Premier which they immediately won in 2015. Since winning the award he’s added two national U19 championships with BC, a national U16 championship, two Rounsefell Cup titles with UBC – as well as a club U18 championship.

His philosophy during his rugby coaching career has remained the same, care about the people you coach and try to listen more than you talk, pay attention to the process and the results will come.

Posted in Foundation News.