The OVA is happy to announce the selection of the 2025 Canada Games Indoor Head Coaches.

Congratulations, Jen Neilson and Ian Eibbitt. Jen (Girl’s) and Ian (Boy’s) will lead the indoor programs for the next cycle which concludes with the 2025 Summer Canada Games in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Jen Neilson has coached at all levels of the Canadian high-performance pathway. Since 2018, Jen has been the Head Coach of the York University Women’s Volleyball program. Prior to this role, Jen began her journey with the OVA as the High-Performance Apprentice Coach while also coaching at the club level with the Halton Hurricanes during the 2017/18 season. She then moved on to become a Head Coach of Team Ontario Red in 2018 where she led the team to the Canada Cup competition. Jen then transitioned to the National team as a Guest Coach with the Youth National Team in 2019. Jen’s experience with coordinating the 2017 Canada Games program will be an asset to the team along with her drive and passion. Jen’s leadership will have a big impact on the Team Ontario 2025 Canada Games program. Welcome Jen!

Ian Eibbitt is no stranger to high performance volleyball in Canada. Ian has been involved with many stages of the Volleyball Canada pathway. Ian began his National Team journey in 2019 as the Assistant Coach for the U19 Youth National Team. He then moved onto the National Excellence Program in September 2020 and most recently was the Assistant Coach on the Junior National Team from 2020-2021 where he experienced a major competition at the U21 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. In addition to his National Team experience, Ian has a long history with Team Ontario including being an Assistant Coach on the gold medal winning team at the 2017 Canada Games. Currently, Ian is the Full-Time Lead Assistant Coach for the McMaster Marauders Men’s Varsity volleyball program, and we look forward to having him join the 2025 Team Ontario Canada Games program!

The Canada Games are the largest multi-sport event in Canada. There are over 5,000 athletes competing in over 20 sports. They are held every two years, alternating between summer and winter games. The last summer games were held this past summer in Niagara Falls, Ontario.