Longtime coach and mainstay of UFV women’s basketball Al Tuchscherer was honoured by UFV, receiving the Staff Excellence Award for 2020. Tuchscherer, who has been at the helm for 18 straight seasons, was chosen from over 700 staff, signalling that his contributions have resonated with the school. While acknowledging that the athletic department at UFV is more of a team naturally, he was honoured to receive the award and be nominated.
“It was a great honour, and to have the people nominate me who did; I was truly honored by that,” said Tuchscherer.
Tuchscherer is best known these days for consistently bringing the UFV program to playoff appearances and building the team. His assembly of the 2019-20 roster was impressive to say the least, as he had Taylor Claggett, the department’s female athlete of the year and Deanna Tuchscherer, the co-rookie of the year. Deanna Tuchscherer, coach Tuchscherer’s daughter, joined the team as a rookie from Chilliwack, playing her highschool career at G.W. Graham Secondary School. UFV athletic awards are one thing, but that’s not where the story ends. Claggett earned a U Sports second team all-Canadian selection, and Deanna Tuchscherer was selected to the all-rookie team. These came along with various conference-level awards for multiple players. The national recognition signifies a program built to win — something that coach Tuchscherer has done for a long time for the Cascades.
The takeaway from the season was positive, but also valuable for the team. As Tuchscherer explained, the playoff team has some lessons to learn following their defeat by the Alberta Pandas.
“There’s a lot of really positive things about the season. Our compete level, finishing 16-4 was fantastic. How we ended wasn’t great. I think it was one of those tough lessons against a veteran Alberta team that ended up eliminating us. Unfortunately, I think those are the lessons that you need to learn.”
U Sports and Canada West have started the process of revising their schedules due to COVID-19. This means that among other things, travel will be restricted and less games will be played. According to Tuchscherer, this is the correct move for the teams.
“Well, I think it’s the obvious thing to do. We are in a pretty difficult time, an unprecedented time. Things are changing so fast, and you don’t really know from week to week and month to month how the COVID [situation] is going to [play out].”
Needless to say, the 2020-21 season will be completely different from the seasons prior. That also isn’t just due to COVID-19. The Cascades co-rookie of the year, Deanna Tuchscherer, is set up for another staggering season. Starting off her rookie year as the 10th top scorer in the Canada West conference with 308 points and setting the program record for points since the team joined Canada West, there is no telling where the ceiling is for this nationally recognized player.
Her father, coach Tuchscherer, continues his reign as the program’s shot-caller, and his recent award is only a small part of his incredible run as the program’s leader on the court.
Image: UFV Athletics
Photo: Al Tuchscherer
