Thursday, January 5, 2017
BURNABY, B.C. – Former Simon Fraser men’s golf captain Matthew Steinbach has been appointed interim head coach of the men’s and women’s golf programs while long-time coach John Buchanan is on medical leave from the university.
Buchanan, the legendary SFU Athletics Hall of Fame coach who started the Clan men’s soccer and golf programs, has worked at the University for almost 50 years until recently.
“John has played such a pivotal role in the stewardship of our golf programs and has had a profound impact on so many student-athletes, but at this time in his life he needs to be surrounded by family and close friends,” said SFU director of athletic Theresa Hanson. “Mathew has spent a lot of time with John and he understands the values John has instilled in our programs. Mathew will be an excellent mentor for the young men and women he will lead because he is an exceptional coach and he understands the ideals of what a student-athlete should be.”
Steinbach has been an assistant coach at SFU and, for the past year, Buchanan has been mentoring him for this role. While obtaining his bachelor's degree in communications (2006), Steinbach was a member of the men's golf team at Simon Fraser, during which time he won the 2005 Canadian Universities Championship.
“It is a distinct honor to have the opportunity to lead Canada’s NCAA men’s and women’s golf programs and I have the utmost confidence that I will validate the trust that John (Buchanan) and Theresa (Hanson) have placed in me,” said Steinbach. “We will carry on with the ideals John started and deliver a product that makes our students, alumni and university proud."
The golf programs concluded their fall schedules in October and will not return to the golf courses until the start of the spring season in February (men) and March (women).
Steinbach joins SFU from British Columbia Golf where he was manager of golf participation. In that role, he was responsible for managing 'grow the game' initiatives such as Future Links, Playground 2 Fairway (P2F), SOAR and Golf In Schools.
Steinbach has a strong background in the golf industry as a coach, instructor and manager and over eight years of sales and customer development experience in the consumer packaged goods industry. Prior to joining BC Golf in February 2015, Steinbach held the position of customer development manager with the General Mills Canada Corporation.
Along with his prior experience in business and the golf industry, Steinbach also has a very impressive resume as a volunteer with such highly respected organizations as the United Way and the Canadian Elections Office.