Dan Lewis named new head coach of Canada’s men’s volleyball team

Volleyball Canada (Wikimedia Commons)

Dan Lewis of Oakville, Ontario has been named the new head coach of the Canadian men’s volleyball team according to Lukas Bernasiewicz of the Oakville News on Wednesday. Lewis replaces Tuomas Sammelvuo, who decided to step down from coaching when he became a father over the past year.

Lewis was an assistant coach for the Canadian Olympic team at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. He was later Canada’s Next Gen head coach. During that time, Canada won the gold medal at the 2023 North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation Men’s Pan American Volleyball Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico. In the gold medal game, Canada beat Brazil 26-24, 20-25, 25-23, 25-22. Canada then defended their title in the tournament in 2024 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic with Glenn Hoag of La Tuque, Quebec as the head coach. Canada defeated the United States in the final, 26-24, 26-24, 26-28, 25-19. These are the only two times Canada has ever won the Men’s Pan American Cup for volleyball.

As a player, Lewis was a libero for the University of Manitoba Bisons from 1995 to 2001. He had a magical 1995-96 season as he was the CIAU Men’s Volleyball Rookie of the Year, won the 1996 CIAU Men’s Volleyball Championship, and was named the championship most valuable player. Lewis went on to play professional volleyball in France, Poland and Slovenia.

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