Hosfeld earns Volleyball Manitoba award

As Ashley Hosfeld put her Brandon Volleyball Club girls through their final practice before 18-and-under nationals, she received a big email.

It was Volleyball Manitoba letting her know she was receiving the Mary Jean England elite coach of the year award.

“It was very unexpected, so I was quite surprised, and it’s still quite a shock,” Hosfeld said of the award announced this week.

“At the time, I didn’t really think much of it because it was never a goal for me to achieve any of the stuff.

“My goal was to give the graduating athletes a final fun year.”

Hosfeld’s starting setter, Kaitlyn Couckuyt, said it’s well-deserved.

“She put in a lot of work with us and wasn’t doing it for the award, but the award showcased what she did with us, her passion for the sport and how well she gave back,” Couckuyt said. “She focused a lot on our individual skills, but how those work together to form such a good team.

“We were always working together, and that was a big part of our practices and our season, being that team that even if we’re not individually the best athletes, it’s how we can be the best team. That’s what led us to so much success this year.”

The former Brandon University Bobcats women’s volleyball player has been honing her craft for years now. She joined the Bobcats staff as an assistant coach in 2019, first working with Lee Carter, then spending the past three years with Kailan Robinson.

She completed a master’s degree in coaching and exercise science and works as a personal trainer, so she knows a lot about high-performance sports on the technical side, but has learned a ton from the sideline.

“University sport is the highest level you can play before you go Team Canada, so just the different mentality of how you approach your training, your practices, taking care of even the mental side of the approach to the game, learning that from both Grant (Wilson) and Lee and even Kailan, getting into it has been so rewarding,” Hosfeld said. “

“Being in that environment has helped shape my coaching style and coaching philosophies.”

Hosfeld had one of her busiest years yet in 2025-26.

She assistant coached under Eku Malcolm with Team Manitoba at the Canada Cup during the summer, then headed back to BU for the fall before ramping up as head coach for the club season.

She said her assistant coaches, Brooklyn Pratt and Jason Claeys, were instrumental.

“Brooklyn, being a phenomenal back-row athlete, was such a great resource for all of our passers,” she said of BU’s starting libero.

“They were really able to learn some mental toughness from her based on how she has grown as an athlete. As much as they appreciated that, I appreciated it even more knowing I had full trust in her to give guidance to the athletes.

“Jason is just great … He knows exactly how to word things so it doesn’t come across as stern or mean, but really in an understanding, ‘I want what’s best for you,’ kind of way.

“He really levels out what’s going through my head because I am thinking about so many different things all at once when I’m watching a match.”

Hosfeld’s BVC team was trending in the right direction, winning their last tournament before provincials to enter the tournament as a high seed.

They got to play at home, but unfortunately lost a narrow quarterfinal to Malcolm’s Dynamo Volleyball Club team and settled for fifth place.

At nationals in Calgary, they entered as the 35th seed and swept their first pool.

BVC beat the sixth- and seventh-ranked squads from British Columbia 2-1, then fell 2-1 to Saskatchewan’s silver medallist Summit.

“It’s difficult to play three three-set matches in one day,” Hosfeld said.

“It was just awesome to see them battling it out.”

That pushed BVC to Tier 4 — playing for 25th in the country — but it fell in straight sets to Leaside Surge, the 10th-ranked team in Ontario.

Hosfeld will be back with BU and will head coach the BVC 17U girls with Claeys next year.

As for her main goal, to provide a fun season, Couckuyt certainly feels she did that.

“She brought such an energetic and happy coaching style that whether you were on the bench or on the court, everyone was having so much fun,” Couckuyt said.

“It really fit with us. We were never scared to make mistakes because it was all about improvement. A lot of us are going to play college or university next year, so looking forward to what’s next and setting us up for that.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com