OSHAWA, Ont. - The Department of Athletics at Durham College is pleased to officially announce that Heather LaFontaine is the new head coach of the varsity women's basketball program. The veteran and highly successful local high school and club basketball coach assumes her new role effective this Friday.

"We are absolutely thrilled to have one of the finest basketball coaches in Ontario leading our women's basketball program," said Athletic Director, Ken Babcock. "Heather is highly respected locally, regionally and provincially for her basketball knowledge, incredible resume of team success and her commitment to the success of her players on and off the court. We look to coach LaFontaine to quickly build a program that will end an unenviable streak of seven straight seasons of not advancing to the OCAA Championship."

The long time Physical Education teacher at Paul Dwyer in Oshawa and Father Leo J Austin in Whitby has led her high school teams to an amazing 14 Lake Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association (LOSSA) Championship titles and an equally impressive 14 trips to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) Provincial Basketball Championships. Her basketball resume also includes co-founding and coaching rep club teams in the successful and well-respected Whitby Wildcats Basketball Club program for the past 16 year, which she is still actively involved with.

Other coaching benchmarks and accomplishments for LaFontaine, who currently is a Guidance Counselor at Father Leo J Austin, include involvement with the Toronto Raptors Basketball Camp, original Durham College Kids Summer Basketball Camp program, Dick Baumgartner Basketball Shooting Camp (Indiana) and Future Stars Basketball Camp. She has been recognized with the prestigious Pete Bleach Award for outstanding contribution to High School Athletics in Durham Region; theColin Hood Award for contributions to high school athletics in Ontario; theOFSAA Leadership Award; prestigious Ontario Volunteer Service Award in 2012 and the Basketball Ontario Volunteer Recognition Award.

"Again we are thrilled to have Heather leading our program and excited about a new era of college women's basketball starting at Durham College," stated Babcock.

Durham College is committed to the overall student experience and is completely committed to varsity athletics at the institution. Durham College competes as a proud member of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) and Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and looks forward to a successful offseason under its new head coach and an exciting training camp come this fall, in preparation for the 2013-14 OCAA season.

Source: Durham College

Photo Credit: Al Fournier