By Via Dulay
For the 2019/2020 varsity sport season at Centennial College, the Colts are proud to announce that they have hired Adriana Bento, current Head Coach of the women’s volleyball team, to also be the Head Coach of the men’s volleyball team.
Bento’s extensive knowledge of the sport shows through her coaching when last year, the women’s team faced a short and young roster but were successful in the regular season, thanks to the mentorship and leadership of her and her coaching staff. With the shortcomings of last year’s men’s team, Darcy Brioux, Athletics Manager, hopes to turn things around with Bento’s experience.
“Adriana is a tremendously experienced volleyball coach and brings her extensive knowledge of the game as a former player, university and club coach to Centennial. This was exemplified with her amazing work with the women’s team last year, which will benefit our male student athletes and help develop excellence with both the Colts men’s and women’s volleyball programs for future success," said Brioux.
Adriana has competed with the best, playing with a variety of Brazil’s best club teams, having travelled around the world as a professional beach volleyball player and becoming extremely decorated with:
- Federation of International Beach Volleyball (FIVB) – 20 top 10 finishes, winning Gold once, 6 top-5 finishes and ranked as high as 13th in the world
- Consistently ranked in top 6 players in Brazil with 8 podium finishes
- 24-Top 4 finished (1992-2003)
- Three-time South American Champion
Her coaching education includes:
- NCCP Certified
- Level 1, 2 & 3 certifications in Beach Volleyball
- Level 3 Beach Volleyball – In Training
- Brazil Coaching Certification – Level 1
Currently, Bento works with Team Canada as an assistant coach with Volleyball Canada’s National Beach Team and is the Head Coach for NextGen. She has coached two Pan Am Games, one in 2019 and the most recent one in Lima, Peru.
The department hopes to see incredible results for both the men’s and women’s volleyball team, and congratulations to Adriana for committing to another year with the Colts!