July Coach Profile

Rob Forbes from RA McMath Secondary in Victoria

This month the spotlight is on two terrific coaches from British Columbia: Rob Forbes from RA McMath Secondary in Victoria and Mer Marghetti from Vancouver College.

Rob Forbes’ illustrious coaching career has spanned the past 32 years and has seen him thrive in a wide variety of roles. Forbes got his start as the senior boys’ volleyball coach at Rutland Secondary in Kelowna in 1979. Since then, Forbes has worked as athletic director at CE London in Richmond and has coached a range of other sports, including basketball, golf, badminton and track and field. Forbes received a lot of support from a number of positive role models as he grew up and views coaching as a great way to give back for all of those great influences. During the 2011-12 AAAA Girls Provincial Volleyball Championships, his squad from RA McMath Secondary made him a proud coach when they were named the Most Sportsmanlike Team. As Forbes says, “Winning is great, and that is always one of the goals but the way you go about that is just as important.” While the McMath Wildcats were certainly thrilled with the Sportsmanship award last year, they will be hungry to claim the Provincial Championship that has eluded them thus far. With most of the team graduating after this year, Forbes plans on retiring at the end of the 2012-13 season, setting it up to be an exciting conclusion to an impressive coaching career.

Mer Marghetti from Vancouver College

Mer Marghetti is the science department head at Vancouver College and also takes on the role of Head Coach of the Junior Varsity boys’ basketball team. Though she might not have known what she was doing when she first started coaching a grade 8 girls’ basketball team when she was only in grade 12, Marghetti has always known that coaching would be a large part of her teaching career. Marghetti played basketball in high school as well as during post-secondary studies, so it only made sense that after she began teaching she also coached basketball. On top of basketball, Marghetti has coached other sports, including volleyball and track and field. The 2011-12 season was an exciting one for her JV boys’ basketball team, as they boasted a stellar 28-2 record leading in to the Telus Junior Boys Basketball Provincial Championships. Under the guidance of Marghetti, the Vancouver College Fighting Irish continued their dominance, as they went a perfect 4-0 to claim the Championship title. It was obviously a great moment for Marghetti and her team, but for her, seeing her players mature as they reach grade 12 and knowing that many of them will continue to play basketball in post-secondary is what Marghetti says is her proudest moment.

A big thank you goes out to Rob, Mer and the countless coaches across Canada that help high school students have fun, stay active and develop their skills both on and off the playing field.