According to Isaac Hung of CBC Sports on Tuesday, Volleyball Canada has named Giovanni Guidetti as their new coach for the women’s national team. Guidetti replaces Shannon Winzer of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, who had been the women’s coach since 2021. Winzer has been reassigned to the role of high performance director.
The goal for the Canadian national women’s volleyball program is clear. That is to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Canada has not qualified for the Olympic Games in women’s volleyball since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
A native of Modena, Italy, Guidetti is joining his fifth national team. He has previously coached the women’s national volleyball programs of Germany (2006 to 2015), the Netherlands (2015 to 2016), Turkey (2017 to 2022), and Serbia (2023 to 2024).
Guidetti has had remarkable success coaching Vakifbank in Turkey. With Guidetti in control, Vakifbank won 73 straight games during domestic and international play. The winning streak has made the Guinness Book of World Records. Guidetti is also married to Turkish national team player Bahar Toksoy. They wed in 2013.
There is no doubt that Guidetti is taking over a veteran bunch that has significant potential, The team includes outside hitters Kiera Van Ryk of New Westminster, British Columbia, and Alexa Gray of Lethbridge, Alberta and middle blocker Emily Maglio of Cranbrook, British Columbia.
