Provincial champion Jr. Pilots coach honoured

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This article was published 26/06/2024 (349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

By all accounts Kyla Zacharias has had an outstanding volleyball season.

The coach of the 16U girls Junior Pilots helped her team win a provincial championship and led them to a strong showing at nationals. She was rewarded for her season by winning one of the Mary Jean England awards at the Volleyball Manitoba hall of fame and awards banquet June 9 in Winnipeg.

Zacharias was named an elite coach of the year, with Mike Hamm (Junior Bisons) and Lindsey Habib (WinMan Clutch) also nabbing a coaching award.

“It’s the first time I’ve actually ever been to that banquet, as this is the first time I’ve ever won provincials with a team for club,” Zacharias said.

“It was a complete surprise when I got there that I was winning that award.”

Zacharias said it’s been a privilege to coach this group, which she has been with for the last three years. She also said it’s been special to coach alongside her father and mother (Carl and Heather Fast) and husband Dylan this year.

“(They’re) one of the nicest, hardest-working groups of athletes that I’ve ever dealt with,” Zacharias said.

“They’re the reason why I love to coach, and they’re a big reason why I got this award as well.”

The 16U Navy Junior Pilots only lost two games in Manitoba this year in the club volleyball season, and finished as a top 16 team in the country at nationals.

“I grew up playing in the same program,” Zacharias said.

“Now getting to coach it, I couldn’t ask for a better club to coach for and a better group of athletes… I loved playing it and now I love coaching it even more.”

The Junior Pilots program has grown by leaps and bounds since Zacharias’ playing days. The club now boasts a full slate of age groups for both boys and girls.

“We’ve grown in our teams, and we’ve actually grown in our competitiveness as well,” Zacharias said.

“(We had) a lot of top three finishers at provincials this year in both the boys and the girls categories, and tons more athletes playing. It’s nice to see the Southeast representing that way.”

Zacharias will continue to move up with this group of players, coaching them in the 17U age category next season.

“We should have another strong squad coming back next year, but there’s always good competition,” she said.

In addition to Zacharias’ award win, Michelle Sawatzky-Koop was honoured at the banquet as well.

The champion University of Manitoba Bisons teams she led from 1990-1992 were inducted into the Volleyball Manitoba Hall of Fame. Sawatzky-Koop won back-to-back national player of the year awards in 1991 and 1992.

Mary Jean England was a coach on the 1971 University of Manitoba Bisons, which won the first official national collegiate women’s volleyball championship in Canada.

Just a year after winning the title, England, alongside standout player Cheryl Cable, were killed in a car crash. Their memories are honoured by Manitoba Volleyball through their annual coach and player of the year awards.