Shawn Camp, coach of the University of Guelph men’s hockey team, has been named the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) FOX 40 Male Coach of the Year. The annual award recognizes the top male and female OUA coaches for all sports.
Camp was named the winner Thursday during the OUA general meeting in Collingwood.
In addition, Gryphon cross-country runner Ross Proudfoot was named OUA male athlete of the year. Last month, he became the first-ever Gryphon to be named male athlete of the year by Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).
Camp, who just completed his eighth coaching season at U of G, was credited with pulling off an improbable championship run this year. Having won only three of the first 16 games this season, the men’s hockey team won eight of its final 11 games to qualify for OUA playoffs. The Gryphons then upset four higher-ranked opponents on the way to winning the 104th Queen’s Cup, U of G’s first since 1997.
At the CIS hampionships, the Gryphons took home a bronze medal, marking the sixth podium appearance for the men’s hockey team at the national championships.
Before joining U of G, Camp coached the Sarnia Sting and was head coach of the Guelph Storm, which won the Ontario Hockey League 2004 championship and represented the OHL in that year’s Memorial Cup. He was head coach of Canada’s under-18 hockey team that won silver at the 2005 world championships. His teams won gold at the Junior World Cup in 2004 and 2005, and Camp helped coach the Canadian team at the 2011 World University Games.
Four U of G coaches have received OUA FOX 40 awards since they were introduced in 1996-97: Angela Orton, women’s basketball, 2005; and Linda Melnick, women’s volleyball, 2003.
In cross-country competition this past season, Proudfoot was named MVP at both OUA and CIS levels, and won team titles at provincial and national championships.