(Toronto, Ont.) – Canada Basketball is pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Baur to the newly created position of Performance Analyst of the women’s high performance (WHP) and SWNT Assistant Coach. The role has been made possible through funding provided by Own The Podium (OTP) and Canada Basketball.

Baur will be primarily responsible to lead the WHP’s database design, administration and maintenance, and performance analysis and tracking system. The second role is to serve as one of the assistant coaches to the Senior Women’s National Team during the national team season and be responsible for the performane/data analysis, as well as the technical support.

Denise Dignard, Director WHP, sees this as a very positive addition to the organization.

“We are thrilled to have Steve join our women’s high performance program as we continue to build on projects focused on developing our women’s Performance Pathway and the quality and depth of world-class athletes in our system that can achieve podium results,” said Dignard. “His skill set, expertise and extensive knowledge will be a tremendous asset to our overall team.”

Canada Basketball’s Executive Director, Michele O’Keefe, echoed Dignard’s sentiments. “We are very excited to have Steve join our team at Canada Basketball. There is no doubt his mix of basketball knowledge and performance analysis will be integral in our quest to the podium.”

Lisa Thomaidis, head coach of the Senior Women’s National Team, expressed her excitement to have Baur joining her staff.

“I’m excited that Canada Basketball was able to attract someone of Steve’s quality. He will be an excellent addition to our coaching staff and we look forward to him joining our women’s program.  He’s one of the great coaching minds we have in this country,” said Thomaidis.

Baur, a native of Sackville, Nova Scotia, has 12 years of coaching experience at the CIS level, six of which have been in a head coach role with Acadia University.  In his six years at the helm, his teams had three consecutive Canadian Interuniversity Sport Final 8 appearances and this year was awarded AUS Coach of the year and finished the regular season in first place of the AUS.  Steve is a Level 3 NCCP certified coach.

“I am excited to be joining Canada Basketball and their staff.  This is a great opportunity to contribute to the continual evolution and success of our program.  The timing and people involved make this an attractive situation for my development and growth.”

Baur joins Canada Basketball at a time where the women’s high performance program has seen some of its strongest successes in recent years. His addition to the organization demonstrates Canada Basketball’s commitment to excellence as it prepares for the 2016 Olympic Games and beyond.

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