Rams coaches earn conference honours

A pair of Dalhousie AC Rams coaches are getting their due.

Joy Galloway-Jones, who heads the Rams cross-country running program, and Jackie Ryan, head coach of the women’s soccer team, were recently named Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) coaches of the year in their respective sports. Winners are decided in a vote among fellow coaches.

“I’m honoured the other coaches in the league appreciate my enthusiasm,” said Galloway-Jones, who led the women’s running squad to a conference team championship for the first time last month. “It definitely made an awesome day even better.”

Galloway-Jones’ athletes occupied four of the top seven spots at the conference championships in Brookvale, P.E.I., to give the Rams a 17-point advantage over the runner-up Mount Allison Mounties. Danielle Albers crossed the line third in 22:37 in the 5km race.

The coach, in her eighth season directing the program, also helped the Rams to victory in two of the three regular-season meets, while finishing second in the season-opener, also held at Brookvale.

Ryan guided her Rams to their best finish in years. Dalhousie AC posted a 5-7 record — after finishing 3-8-1 (W-L-T) a year ago — to slot fifth and miss a berth in the conference championship by just one point. The team has improved its results each year since her appointment in 2012.

Dalhousie AC athletic director Judy Smith was glowing with the results the two coaches brought to the Truro campus this Fall.

“I am really pleased with the steady improvement both the soccer and cross country teams showed this season,” she said. “With the soccer team just a point from a playoff spot and, of course, the cross-country women winning the championship, it was a very good season for both coaches.”

Smith said she could see success on the horizon for both programs once the two coaches were awarded their postings.

“Both coaches displayed excellent sports knowledge and a tremendous ability to teach,” she said. “So it was evident both were quality hires from the beginning of their time working with Dal AC athletes.”

Both were quick to credit their athletes and fellow coaching staff members. In Ryan’s case, she pointed to the contributions of assistant coaches Melanie Hill and Josh MacKinnon.

“Melanie and I started coaching at the AC together in 2012 and this recognition is just as much a reflection of her hard work as it is mine,” Ryan said. “We were pleased to add Josh MacKinnon this season and I feel the three of us make a great team.”

The atmosphere Ryan and her staff put together was praised by striker Sian Rankin recently, after she was named a CCAA All-Canadian. The 20-year-old Edmonton, Alta, native said her surroundings allowed her to lead the league in scoring with 15 goals in 12 matches. She also topped the seven-team circuit in points with 34.

Ryan said she could see the players were enjoying themselves this season.

“The girls bonded well on and off the field and if you were to ask the veteran players they would tell you this was one of their most memorable seasons,” she said.

Galloway-Jones said she recognized early in her coaching career that eating right helped get the best performance from her athletes in both competitions and training. Her wife, Keltie, helped the athletes get the nutrition they needed by preparing meals the night before competitions. Galloway-Jones also said the contributions from several area runners who trained with the athletes were invaluable.

Galloway-Jones said the best part of her job is watching the athletes get faster.

“I get to watch them grow and improve,” she said. “They are an incredible group and I love working with the team and learning how to get better year after year. Cross country is an amazing sport and a wonderful community and I am thankful I get to be a part of it.”

As a result of their ACAA selections as Coach of the Year in their sports, both coaches have been nominated for CCAA Coach of the Year. These national selections will be announced at the CCAA National Championship Awards Banquets this week in conjunction with the National Championship Tournament/Race. The women’s soccer nationals is in Montreal November 8-12 and the Cross Country is in Sault Ste Marie November 10-12.