Legend of the Loewen DiCurzio Stepping Back into Mentorship Role
DiCurzio gets recognized for completing his 10th season in January 2023.
After an incredible ten seasons at the helm of the Blazers Women's Basketball program, head coach Joe DiCurzio has made the difficult decision to take a step back from head coaching into a coaching mentorship position with the team for the 2023/24 season.
DiCurzio came to the Blazers in 2013 and re-built the program into the massive success story it is today. Prior to his arrival, the program's only conference title wins were back-to-back in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons in what was the Central Plains Athletic Conference, which later became the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference where the team competes today. With their 2022/23 MCAC Championship win at home this past February, Blazers Women's Basketball completed five consecutive title wins, taking home the banner in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023 with the 2021 season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team also won the Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship in 2020, and featured in the NIAC Championship final this past spring in their first year back after the lifted travel restrictions allowed them to once again challenge their cross-border rivals from the Northern states.
Prior to becoming a Blazer in 2013, DiCurzio found success at many levels in the Manitoba basketball scene, including at the high school level with Tec Voc, the club level with the Winnipeg Internationals, the college level with Red River College, and at the university level with the University of Winnipeg. He was also involved with Canada Basketball during his career, and utilized his experience there building a top-class program at CMU. He received a NIAC Coach of the Year award in 2020 following their Championship win, and also earned recognition from Basketball Manitoba as the Coach of the Year in the open division that same year.
While his role may be changing, "Coach Joe" as he's known to many of his student-athletes will still be involved this upcoming season in mentoring the next generation of Blazers Women's Basketball athletes and coaches. Blazers Athletics reached out to some of his former players to learn what kind of impact DiCurzio had on their time at CMU. "Coach Joe made me feel truly cared for," notes Jessica Marx-Houndle, who played under DiCurzio from 2016-2021. "His belief and support in me on and off the court is what really makes him special. I am honoured to have had him coach me for all of my five years as a Blazer." Recent graduate and member of all five of DiCurzio's championship squads, Shirliz Apiyo adds "Joe sees the potential of players that are sometimes overlooked and not given the opportunity to shine, and draws out their full potential to make them the best versions of themselves. His strong emphasis on team work and community building creates a positive environment that will be taken beyond CMU. Playing for Joe for the past five years has been amazing and I wouldn't trade the experience for training under any other coach."
Blazers Director of Athletics, Cara Isaak also weighed in on the big change, stating "we are so lucky that Joe has dedicated 10 years to our university and our student-athletes. Obviously, his championship record is impressive, but the day-to-day impact he has is so important. Joe's gifts for fostering team chemistry, fair play, skill development, commitment to academics, and excellence on the court have impacted so many of our athletes and assistant coaches, our MCAC league, and me personally. We are blessed that Joe will continue to be involved as a mentor coach this year."
The Blazers have continued to practice all summer under DiCurzio, who has already recruited another top class of high school student-athletes looking to start their post-secondary careers at CMU. He will still be involved in training throughout the season, which will start for the team on Thanksgiving weekend when the squad will be in the greater Vancouver area for CCAA exhibitions with Langara College, Douglas College, and Northwestern Polytech. The team officially opens its season November 17 when they travel to Niverville for a rematch of last year's MCAC final with the Pilots.
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