U of W honours Manitoba, Canada volleyball legend Pischke

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This article was published 22/11/2019 (2130 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Garth Pischke’s farewell tour continued Friday night with a special twist.

The 64-year-old volleyball legend, in his final season at the helm of the University of Manitoba men’s volleyball program before he retires, was honoured by the University of Winnipeg prior to a Canada West conference match between the Bisons at Wesmen at the Duckworth Centre when a plaque bearing his name was unveiled on the school’s ring of honour.

Pischke, undoubtedly the finest player Manitoba has ever produced, was the star player on the U of W’s national champions during the 1973-74 and 1976-77 seasons — he spent the intervening seasons with Canada’s national team — before transferring to the U of M for another national title in 1977-78. He starred for Canada at the 1976 and ’84 Olympics.

“It means a lot, really,” said his son Dane Pischke, who successfully kept Friday’s ceremony a secret from his dad until just prior to the match. “He’s been talking about his retirement for a while now. First it was when I finished my career at U of M (after the 2012-13 season) he was going to retire, and then when my sister (Taylor) finished he was going to retire.

“He always found another reason to stick around because he enjoys coaching so much. He finally found a good time to do it.”

Pischke, who turns 65 on Aug. 12, will leave the game as the most accomplished coach in Canadian university history.

In 38 years of coaching (he was on sabbatical for two more seasons and another three when he ran the national team) at the U of M, his squads won nine national titles, lost in the final nine times and earned five third-place finishes.

Wesmen men’s coach Larry McKay said Pischke’s legacy was and is an important standard for the sport.

“We greatly admired him growing up as high school players,” said McKay. “I graduated in ’83 (from John Taylor Collegiate) and I managed to convince him to come out to my high school to play an exhibition game…. We were all just almost in complete hero worship of this guy as a player…

“The combination of how great he was a player and the Bison men’s volleyball program that was winning championships with him as a coach. That was our dream.”

McKay, currently in his 31st season as head coach of the Wesmen and winner of national crowns in 1998 and 2007, said facing Pischke’s teams was inspirational.

“(Former athletic director) Aubrey Ferris said this after we won our first championship in ’98: ‘One of the big reasons that team won was because of U of M. Because they’re so good, we have to fight, kick and scratch just to try to get to their level.’ When Garth leaves, he’s largely responsible or part of any success Manitoba volleyball has had…

“I don’t think I’ve ever competed with Garth,” added McKay. “I think I’ve always tried to measure up to him because he is the gold standard for me.”

U of W athletic director Dave Crook said honouring Pischke was a no-brainer.

“He’s had a long, storied career, one of the great coaches in U Sports, but to go with that, I think he’s the greatest volleyball player in Canadian history, never mind university sport,” said Crook.

“He started his career at U of W, helped us win a couple of national championships… I thought it was a great opportunity for us to honour him in what will probably be his last time ever in the Duckworth Centre (as a coach).”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14