The George Brown Huskies are excited to announce Tyler Latu'ila as the new Head Coach of the Men's Volleyball team, effective immediately.

"I am stoked! Having had conversations with previous Huskies men's volleyball Head Coaches, Josh Nichol, Sam Schachter, and Luke Sim, and getting to know the values of the athletics department has me confident that it's going to be a great fit," Latu'ila explained.

His resume in volleyball is impressive as a coach and an athlete. Most recently, he served as an assistant coach for the York University Lions in the OUA. Additionally, he is an assistant coach for Team Canada's Men's Beach Volleyball program, where he works with Olympians and FIVB World Tour athletes as part of the Team Canada Next Gen. His extensive coaching experience also includes roles as head coach for Canada All-Nations, Indigenous Team Ontario 19U Men's Beach Volleyball team, and the Phoenix Volleyball Club 15U Boys team.

"Tyler's previous successful high performance playing background as a player both in the CCAA and professionally, combined with his coaching experience both with USports and the Beach national program made him a perfect fit for taking over the reigns of our Men's Volleyball program," said Manager of Athletics Melanie Gerin-Lajoie. "He also brings an enthusiastic approach to culture-building and community impact for our Huskies, which we're excited to see unfold."

The Auckland, New Zealand native had an impressive playing career before transitioning to coaching. As a student-athlete in the CCAA, he played for the SAIT Trojans Men's Volleyball team for five seasons, from 2015 to 2020. He contributed to the program's success during his tenure, securing an ACAC championship in 2018 and ACAC bronze medals in 2019 and 2020. He earned recognition as an ACAC First Team All-Star and a two-time CCAA National Scholar. After his collegiate career, he turned professional, playing for A.S. Athlisi Mytilene in the Greek Volleyball League for two seasons (2020-2021 and 2022-2023). Additionally, he served as team captain for the New Zealand Youth National Team from 2011 to 2012.

"It feels like a lifetime ago, but my five years as a SAIT Trojan were the most fun years of my volleyball career, and I learnt a lot about myself. I would love to provide that same feeling to the student-athletes coming through our program," Latu'ila explained. "I will be putting in a lot of effort into understanding the academic & athletic motivations of each of our athletes. Finding the balance between individual needs and what's best for the team is part of the art of coaching! I'm looking forward to that challenge."

He was as dominant in the classroom as he was on the court. He got his Bachelor of Business Administration from SAIT and is nearly done his Masters in High Performances Sport from the University of Technology Sydney.

The men's volleyball team is coming off a successful campaign. They finished with an 11-7 record and secured fourth place in the division. They also hosted a crossover playoff match for the first time since 2018. Latu'ila aims to build on this success while instilling his culture into the program.

"I have been lucky to be around high-performance environments for a number of years. There is a standard that separates high-performers from the rest of the population. I hope to raise the standard of our program to the next level by exemplifying high-performance behaviours and creating training environments that challenge our athletes to excel," he stated.

Taking on a program comes with a massive learning curve and challenges, but Latu'ila has his goals set and will have the Huskies ready to make noise in the fall.

"We are going to win volleyball games, graduate athletes into their next pathways, and develop leaders who can uplift our communities," he explained. "Building off Sam's and Luke's hard work, I'm hoping that we can continue to build our program and make an immediate impact in the league this season. My long-term goals will develop as I settle into the head coach role and have a better understanding of our context," he explained."

For more information on George Brown Men's Volleyball, contact Huskies Varsity Coordinator Mark Couch at mark.couch@georgebrown.ca. If you're interested in possibly joining the Men's Volleyball team, fill out the prospective athlete form.