The University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues community was saddened to learn of the death of coach Andy Higgins in early April. Higgins graduated from the School of Physical and Health Education (as the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education was then known) in 1959. He wrote and delivered the first formal coaching education/certification program in Canada in 1970 and established the University of Toronto Track Club in 1971, creating its first women’s program in 1974.
Under his leadership, the Blues won 21 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) track titles, six Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (recently renamed to University Sports) titles and 21 national cross country medals.
Carl Georgevski, U of T’s track and field head coach, first met Higgins in 1969 as a grade nine student in the Monarch Park Collegiate Institute where Higgins taught physical education.
“Andy was an incredible man. Gracious, compassionate and gentle, he touched the lives of so many young people. He literally changed our lives around for the better by showing us what’s possible,” says Georgevski. “Like all great coaches, he had more confidence in our abilities than we did ourselves.”
In a coaching career that spanned over 40 years, Higgins guided a number of Varsity Blues athletes to compete at international games and championships, including Louise Walker, Jill Ross and Catherine Bond-Mills, who all competed at the Olympic Games. In 1988, he coached Dave Steen to Canada’s first Olympic medal, a bronze, in the decathlon. He also coached decathlete Michael Smith to world championship silver and bronze medals.
“Andy was the type of coach who always let the athletes take the credit for their incredible achievements,” says Georgevski. “You would never find Andy with his arms around an athlete who had just won a meet, however you could always find him close to an athlete who just had a horrendous performance. He always made it perfectly clear that we were not our performance.”
Higgins was founder of the Canadian Professional Coaches Association (now Coaches of Canada) and the Coaches Association of Ontario. He was also the first director of the National Coaching Institute-Ontario, a position he held until 1999. In 2001, he was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame as a coach and in 2007 he received the Geoff Gowan Award, presented by the Coaching Association of Canada, in recognition of his lifetime contribution to coaching. His book, “Best Coaches, Best Practices,” is considered essential reading for sports mentors.
“Andy guided his athletes without ever yelling, pushing or making them feel guilty about anything,” says Georgevski. “It was never about earning coaching points for him. He always coached the person.”
Higgins was inducted into U of T’s Sports Hall of Fame as a builder in 2007 and in Athletics Ontario in 2011. He was inducted to the Athletics Canada Hall of Fame in 2015.