Regina product Heather Ervin was recently named Team Canada’s men’s foam dodgeball head coach, becoming the first woman and first person from Saskatchewan to hold the position.
Published Aug 01, 2023 • 4 minute read
Team Canada’s mens’ dodgeball team in action at a recent tournament. Photo by Brandon Ferguson
Heather Ervin has made two firsts in the sport of dodgeball.
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Recently, the Regina product was named Team Canada’s men’s foam dodgeball head coach, becoming the first woman and first person from Saskatchewan to hold the title with Dodgeball Canada.
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“I’m really excited and proud to represent Saskatchewan,” said Ervin. “It’s nice to have some of that prairie representation at the national level and I think it will help hopefully inspire local players as well.”
Now the work begins as Ervin and her assistants have the role of selecting and coaching the team for the 2024 World Dodgeball Championships in Austria.
The Canadian men are coming off a bronze medal at worlds in Edmonton in 2022 and Ervin hopes to improve upon that finish next year. Dodgeball Canada is set to host tryouts in this weekend in Prince Edward Island, followed by national combines in Winnipeg and Vancouver.
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“There’s three opportunities for athletes to try out,” said Ervin. “The combine is a two-day grind that involves lots of complicated drills around footwork, accuracy, dodging.”
There are also other things the coaches look at when building a team, according to the head coach.
“Who can succeed under pressure, who can be a good team player, who’s going to elevate their teammates and be a good representation of Canada on the world stage,” said Ervin.
“It’s really about how do we put together a team to drive each other to success and support each other to represent our country and to ultimately win, that’s the goal.”
Following the combines, a group of 24 to 30 players will be identified to attend several weekend clinics over the next few months. From there, 12 players will be named to the Canadian men’s team, who will also collaborate with the national women’s and coed teams.
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Having competed on the world stage herself, Ervin is excited to see the talent that comes out.
“From the provincial level, there’s a big step up to the national level,” said Ervin. “And then for our national players, it’s another step up to that world stage.”
Heather Ervin Photo by Peter Scoular
After growing up in Regina, Ervin moved to Toronto to go to school, where she got involved with dodgeball. And what started out as a recreation sport soon turned competitive.
“It was kind of a niche, fun sport, but as it turned out I was pretty good at it,” said Ervin.
She would go on to play five years of elite dodgeball, which included winning a gold medal with her team at the first national championship. She was also a member of Team Canada before a hip injury forced her to retire from completive playing.
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Then after moving back to Regina, she got back into the sport.
“A couple of the players encouraged me to maybe come out of coaching retirement,” said Ervin.
Ervin was brought on by Sask Dodgeball to help develop the training in the provincial program, which has approximately 230 recreational players, 100 youth players and 40 high-performance players. Ervin was also tasked to be general manager for three different teams at the most recent nationals in Montreal.
Then, when the Canadian men’s head coaching job opened, Ervin was once again encouraged to apply by former teammates and players she had coached in the past.
After a significant hiring process, she was awarded the job and is set to embark on a journey with Dodgeball Canada, which has full programs in both foam and cloth dodgeball.
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“I have a great team of assistant coaches who have come on from Ontario and Quebec to support me,” said Ervin, who played and coaches the foam team.
After making their debut in 2012, the Canadian men’s team has medaled in each of the world championships they have attended, winning three gold, two silver and four bronze medals along the way. Now, Ervin is tasked with bringing another medal home in 2024.
“At this level, a lot of our work happens before we get to a tournament,” she said. “It’s building that strategy. It’s building that comfort level in the players so that when they’re on the court, they shouldn’t have to be turning to me (to ask) ‘who am I throwing at?’
“They should know. It should be instinctual for them.”
And since Dodgeball Canada is still working on getting national sport funding, the program is mainly self-funded, meaning there’s a fundraising and sponsorship-finding component of Ervin’s job as well.
“Part of our work is also related to sponsors and finding support in that way,” she said.
All of that adds up to countless hours of work and dedication for Ervin, who has grown to love the sport and everything associated with the high-level of competition it offers.
“Everyone kind of always makes the joke about the movie (Dodgeball),” she said, “But really, these athletes are so impressive and awe-inspiring.”
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