Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to pay tribute today to St. Francis Xavier University basketball coach Steve Konchalski.
Already the “winningest” coach in Canadian university sport history, he reached a new milestone on January 7 with his 800th victory.
As a player, he led Acadia University to a national title in 1965 and was chosen tournament MVP.
Coach K has led the St. FX X-Men to three national championship victories so far, and he has taken Canada's national team to three Olympic games. He has served as assistant coach of the Canadian team for 16 years, and as head coach for four.
He has been inducted into the Acadia Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame and the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.
He is known as a class act, a man of intelligence and humility, but perhaps the greatest tribute to Steve Konchalski comes from his players who say that he always demanded a lot from them, both in the classroom and on the court.
I invite all members to join me in recognizing Coach Steve Konchalski on his 800 victories.