Fanshawe athletics manager named OCAA president

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: FANSHAWE ATHLETICS
Nathan McFadden, manager of Athletics at Fanshawe College, was named the new president of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) on May 15.

The recognition is well deserved.

Whether it be the success of his transformation of the Fanshawe Athletics department or his innovative initiatives to help student athletes, Nathan McFadden has garnered the attention of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA), and been crowned its new president.

Nathan McFadden has just entered the sixth year of his reign as the manager of the Fanshawe Athletics department, and has done so with his sights set on propelling the program beyond its already impressive rise. His drive to exceed even his own standards and expectations is certainly one of the many shining jewels that had the OCAA on notice when it came time for them to name a new president.

McFadden was elected to the role at the association’s annual general meeting held in Toronto on May 15.

“Having the respect of the people whom you respect so much in our association is a really big deal to me, and I certainly appreciate the faith they’ve put in me to be the president of the association for the next two years,” McFadden said.

The respect that McFadden has earned is very much apparent, but make no mistake about how much work he has put into it. With the Fanshawe Falcons athletic department enjoying its most heavily awarded year to date, it seemed an obvious choice to appoint Mc- Fadden, the general behind the College’s success on athletic battlefields, as the new head of the OCAA.

With a new position comes new responsibilities, and one would question whether McFadden foresees any challenges heading the second largest collegiate athletic association in the country as well as continuing to lead the charge at Fanshawe College.

“Time management is always an issue. I was on the executive for the OCAA last year, and I was the 1st vice president, so I know what to expect. The presidential role is a little bit different in it is actually more oversight than it is directly hands on with some of the particular committees,” he said. “Different things, but all certainly manageable and in line certainly with some of the things you’re doing as an athletic director, just now you’re more responsible for various aspects of the business and strategic planning.”

When asked about his plans to help further enhance the athletic program at Fanshawe, McFadden said, “We’re working on a few different initiatives right now, and projects. We’ve done a lot in the last five to six years since I’ve been here, with our facilities, and that’s always something that’s at the top of our mind”.

Evidence of this can be seen from the construction of the Wellness Centre from two years ago. The facility boasts a brand new gym, rock climbing wall and a three-storey fitness centre, just to name a few things. The athletic department has also neared completion of its construction of Fanshawe’s new softball field, with hopes of putting it to use this summer.

Outside of the work being put into the athletic infrastructure, Mc- Fadden also talks about the benefit of competing across the border with American teams that help to condition and prepare Fanshawe teams for deeper playoff runs.

“It provides us with generally a higher level of competition for us to play in and against, which is certainly beneficial when we get to the national Championship in Canada. We’ve had a higher level of play than what we see in our normal league throughout the year, so those are very good benchmarks for us to gain experience with at a high level,” said McFadden.

That preparation has lent itself to assisting the athletic program towards completing its most successful season to date, with 28 provincial and national medals and 13 Championships in the 2018/2019 season.

When asked how this monumental accomplishment might effect the program McFadden said, “For our college, our name is a national brand now. We have recruits contact us from right across the country. The Fanshawe Falcons brand is known right across this country, and the exposure we generate for our college is second to none.”

The ingredients of McFadden’s successful recipe consist of many parts, some explicitly obvious, while other components seem a little less so. He has influenced change on a grand scale for the institution of Fanshawe, as he has in the past in his roles within other post secondary institutions and the AHL (American Hockey League). McFadden now has the opportunity to take his passion, dedication and vision onto another level, caretaking the OCAA and leading them into direction that will hopefully prove to be as successful as his previous endeavours.