Volleyball coach Tim Louks reflects on legacy after stepping down
Head coach of McMaster Marauders women's volleyball team Tim Louks has recently stepped down from his role after an illustrious 37-year career
Tim Louks has been a prominent figure in the McMaster volleyball community, with a distinguished coaching career spanning nearly four decades. In July 2024, Coach Louks’ tenure came to an end, leaving a profound and lasting impact on the women's volleyball program at McMaster.
Coach Louks started off as a student athlete for the Men’s volleyball team at McMaster, earning Most Valuable Player honours twice. After, he sought a career in education. “McMaster’s focus on teaching at the time inspired me to pursue a career in education,” shared Louks. However, that didn’t last for long as he quickly transitioned to becoming a volleyball coach for the Marauders.
However, when Louks returned to McMaster in 1988 he was hired for multiple other significant positions along with coaching the women's volleyball team. He was responsible for managing the athletics and recreation department and the intramural program. It wasn't until 2007 when Louks' only responsibility was to coach volleyball.
At this point, Louks could dedicate all of his focus on coaching. “I felt I was only able to invest twenty-five percent in volleyball initially. But after 2007, when my job was to solely coach volleyball, I could make a greater impact by focusing on details like recruitment.” said Louks.
Following this change, the women's volleyball team won their first OUA championship in 2008. Louks transformed the program and he attributes much of the team's success to the three words he lives by as a coach.
“Engage, Enable, Empower. Being a mentor to them by imparting invaluable advice while also empowering students to pursue careers outside of volleyball gives me joy.” said Louks.
Additionally, Louks has always been a personable coach. He credits this trait as a key factor to the team's success.
“It’s important to be student-athlete centered and empathize with the athletes. They aren’t professional volleyball players and it is vital to keep in mind the other commitments they have and understand how they may be feeling.”
Tim Louks, Former Head Coach
Marauders Women's Volleyball
Although winning may seem like the most difficult aspect of competition, great athletes often talk about the difficulty of sustaining that success to continue winning. This however, was not a problem for Louks and his team as they won multiple titles after their first in 2008.
“There are personnel changes every year and new personnel are always motivated to succeed, so I don't think it was very difficult for us to maintain a high level of performance.” said Louks when asked about how his team sustains such success throughout the years.
Nathan Janzen recently took over the reigns as women's volleyball head coach in Aug. 2024.
“It’s about time. A part of being a good leader is knowing when to hand the reins over to others and Nathan is in a good place to take charge. He’s been part of the program for more than 10 years,” said Louks when reflecting on his retirement.
Under Coach Janzen, the team is seeing great success as the Marauders have started their season off unbeaten, having won games and losing none at the time of writing.
Although Louks stepped down, he plans on serving as assistant coach until 2027. Louks has been quite the influential figure in the volleyball program at McMaster, as well as in the athletics program overall. Now that he is stepping back, he hopes to enjoy more spare time with his family.
