OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT Ridgebacks are proud to announce
Christa Eniojukan as the program's first women's basketball head coach.
Eniojukan steps into the role following UOIT's monumental Ontario University Athletics (OUA) basketball expansion announcement this past May. The team's inaugural OUA season will be 2019-20.
"I'm very excited and humbled by this opportunity," said Eniojukan. "UOIT has become such a part of the Durham community and to have the chance to help build, develop, and execute a successful basketball program with the Ridgebacks is an absolute honour."
The Ajax, Ontario resident brings with her a strong provincial pedigree having served as Ontario Basketball's U17 Team Ontario head coach from 2014 to 2017. Coordinating training camps, exhibition schedules and fundraisers, she handled all aspects of the programs development and success beyond just the game day preparations. Under her guidance the Team Ontario program captured national gold in 2015 and 2016, and silver in 2014 and 2017. She also served as an assistant coach with the programs national championship winning teams in 2012 and 2013.
An NCCP Level 3 certified coach, Eniojukan most recently served as head coach with the ASAD Durham Elite of the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association. Overseeing daily training as part of the newly established prep team, she instituted Ontario Basketball and Basketball Canada Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) models to the program.
In just two full seasons with Eniojukan behind the helm the Durham Elite graduated six players to NCAA Division 1 and two players to U SPORTS programs. Alongside her work with Durham Elite this year she also founded Active Scholars this past January, which operates summer camps and other programming utilizing a unique combination of sports development and STEM education. STEM highlights four specific disciplines – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – in interdisciplinary studies.
In addition to her work at the provincial level, Eniojukan has also been a figure within Canada Basketball since 2010, assisting as a target athlete coach. In this role she works with individual athletes from across the country in developing strength and conditioning programs, mental training exercises, and tactical and technical skill development.
"Christa brings with her a passion and enthusiasm for both athlete development and student-success," said UOIT Ridgebacks athletic director
Scott Barker. "We believe her background working with athletes as both a coach and a teacher will be hugely beneficial to our student-athletes, along with her incredibly successful experience as a coach at various levels."
Eniojukan holds both a Bachelor of Education from York University and Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University. In addition to her coaching she has been a middle-school teacher with the Toronto District School Board since 2005, teaching physical education and core subjects such as english and mathematics at Rockcliffe Middle School and Bliss Carman Senior Public School.
