TORONTO - The Seneca Sting is pleased to announce the hiring of Kareem Griffin as the new women's basketball head coach.
Griffin comes to the Sting with nearly 20 years of basketball experience, coaching at the youth, provincial and post-secondary level.
Currently, Griffin is the Director of Canletes Sports where he conducts basketball events throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as well as oversees summer camps for youths age 9-18. It's this current experience which Griffin feels will benefit him in his role with the Sting.
"Working for Canletes has allowed me to see who are the next group of athletes that are coming through the pipeline. It has helped me build strong relationships with coaches at that level. We are looking to get quality student-athletes that can come into our program and start performing right away for us. Being a recognizable face in the community will help in the recruiting process. Players and coaches know that the Seneca Sting program will be a competitive basketball environment with quality education to match it."
An accomplished coach, Griffin's teams have claimed seven Toronto South District Basketball Championships, seven Toronto City Wide Basketball Championships, made ten trips to the OFSAA Championship, highlighted by a pair of OFSAA Gold medals. It was these accomplishments that made Griffin stand out to John Sharpe, Manager of Athletics and Recreation.
"Seneca College is very excited to have Kareem take the reigns of the Sting varsity women's basketball team. With success and experience as a head coach and assistant coach at the high school, club and university levels, Kareem understands the culture and what it takes to succeed on the court and in the classroom."
An NCCP Level III coach, Griffin already has a plan for how he would like his team to play this coming season.
"Our athletes have to take pride in defending. I want us to get up and down and play an exciting style of basketball that our student-athletes, admin and the whole student body can rally behind. We need to have a 'do whatever it takes to win' mentality. We want athletes that are committed to excellence not only on the court but in the classroom as well. To accomplish this will take hard work, but myself and our staff will be committed to making this happen for our program."
Coming off a season which saw the Sting go 10-7 before falling in the OCAA first round, Griffin has lofty expectations of both the team and student-athletes.
"My goals are very simple for our team. I want us to be the best conditioned, hardest working, most professional, unselfish, toughest team in the CCAA. I want to learn my new home at Seneca, learn the OCAA/CCAA and compete at the highest levels to put us in a position to win a championship. The most important thing is to graduate our senior-athletes. Coach Walker and coach Busby had an amazing tenure as coaches for Seneca College. They laid down a great foundation for me and my staff to bring this program to championship status."
Sharpe echoed Griffin's expectations and is looking forward to seeing the team in action this Fall.
"For a couple years now, the Sting have been near the top of the OCAA East Division. We haven't had as much post-season success as we would have liked, but we feel confident that the team will take that next step and compete for OCAA medals. Ultimately, we are looking to see growth in the program and the continued development of our student-athletes both in the classroom and on the court."
Tryouts for the women's basketball team will begin on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. in the Newnham Gym. The Sting will begin the regular season in late October. The OCAA Championship will be hosted March 6-8 at St. Clair College.
Source: Seneca Sting