The Okanagan Sun鈥檚 loss appears to be the Westshore Rebels鈥� gain.
Shane Beatty, who led the Sun to an undefeated 10-0 record in 2015 and a runner-up finish at the Canadian Bowl, left the Kelowna franchise in early January and was announced late Wednesday as the Rebels鈥� new assistant head coach, strength coach and director of player development.
A former Rebel in 1988, Beatty rang up a 30-6 record over his three full seasons as Suns鈥� head coach before the two sides mutually agreed to part ways. Beatty was the sa国际传媒 Football Conference and Canadian Junior Football League coach of the year the last two years running.
鈥淚鈥檓 extremely excited to have coach Beatty joining our program. This is huge for our community, our program and huge for our athletes. His actions and track record speak for themselves,鈥� said Rebels head coach and now general manager J.C. Boice.
The Rebels finished 2-8 in Boice鈥檚 first year.
鈥淭he city speaks for itself. Coming here and coaching with the best guy in sa国际传媒, in my mind, makes me extremely excited,鈥� Beatty said in a statement on the team鈥檚 website. 鈥淲hen I left Kelowna after being 30-6 in three years I wasn鈥檛 sure what I was going to do when I got a call from J.C. Boice to come here to the Westshore Rebels.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 been this excited since I left the United Sates,鈥� added Beatty, who has more than 20 years experience in coaching, including stints at Iowa State and West Virginia Tech. His coaching career began in 1995 as the recruiting co-ordinator, special teams and linebackers coach at Reedley College in California.
Three seasons later he moved to Central Missouri State where he earned his master鈥檚 of science degree in 2000.
鈥淗aving the opportunity to train these kids with the facilities we have here 鈥� I truly believe we鈥檙e going to be the best program in the country,鈥� stressed Beatty, who is known to be a fiery competitor. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to it 鈥� sending these kids to the CFL and to the CIS. It鈥檚 going to be the No. 1 program in the country, I promise you that.鈥�
Boice, who added the GM title in off-season moves that also included the addition of Doug Kobayashi as executive director/president and Jim ten Hove as executive member at large, is thrilled about the addition.
He and Beatty have had similar paths, working with young prospects in sa国际传媒 and the U.S.
鈥淗e is a lightning rod wherever he has coached and he will be a catalyst to further accelerate the Rebels鈥� rise to the top of the BCFC,鈥� added Boice, who also announced that the two will be using their new coaching partnership to start a football-specific athlete development program in Victoria and West Shore, beginning March 1.
This past season, the Sun lost the Canadian Bowl 38-24 to the Saskatoon Hilltops. During the regular season the Sun recorded 488 points for and just 108 against over the 10 games, including 78-7 and 51-10 triumphs over the Rebels.
But now, Beatty is on their side.
