EDMONTON - Long-time Golden Bears & Pandas tennis head coach, and UofA tennis manager
Russ Sluchinski is a recipient of the Tennis Canada Distinguished Service Award.
Sluchinski was given the award during the grand opening of the new Saville Community Sports Centre outdoor tennis facility on Thursday. The
Tennis Canada Distinguished Service Award is presented to members of the tennis family who have made a positive impact on the game and have had a minimum of five years involvement at the national, provincial or community level.
Sluchinski is most often associated with his success coaching the Golden Bears & Pandas tennis program, guiding the team to eight national titles since 2014, including a record four-straight title wins for the Pandas.Â
Sluchinski took over as coach of the men's team in 1995 and coached the team for four years as a club team. In 1999, he was appointed as the Golden Bear Tennis team's first head coach, after the team joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as University of Alberta's 20th Varsity Sport.
He graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Physical Education Degree in 1986. After graduating, he began coaching at the University of Alberta Tennis Centre where he developed a number of provincial and nationally ranked tennis players. During this period, he represented Alberta ten times at the Canadian Junior Nationals as provincial coach, coached at the Canada Summer Games, and represented Alberta as the under twelve Regional Scout.
He has also coached twice at the World University Games (2001 - China / 2009 - Serbia).Â
Â
