(Vermillion, AB - December 1, 2010) If you call out the surname ‘Dyer’ at a Lakeland College Rustlers women’s volleyball practice, don’t be surprised if you see three heads turn in unison. Brin Dyer plays libero while her brothers Austin and Taylor are on the sidelines in their respective roles of head and assistant coach.

“Both my parents played volleyball growing up as kids but it was just a sport we were decent at so we played it a lot,” said Austin of their introduction to the sport in their hometown of Viscount, Saskatchewan.

It was Austin who introduced his brother Taylor to the world of being a head coach in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. In 2009-2010 Austin took a one-year sabbatical from his head coach position at Lakeland to serve as interim head coach for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s volleyball team. His replacement at Lakeland was his brother Taylor. “It was an easy choice for me as we had coached together previously for about 10 years,” stated Austin of his recommendation that Taylor take over the reins. “We talked a bit about the program but I left everything to him to be able to coach and do things the way he wanted to.”

Taylor, 29, admits that there was “a little pressure” filling his brother’s shoes for the season. “Austin had led the Rustlers to the best finish in the team’s history the year prior (2008-2009) and was named ACAC North Coach of the Year [in his first year]. Pretty big shoes to fill. I just wanted to continue to show that the program was going in a positive direction, and to produce a very competitive product on the floor.”

Taylor is pleased that his brother is back joining him behind the Rustlers bench for 2010-2011: “We’ve done it for years, we get along very well and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I have always enjoyed working with Austin and having both of us here I feel will only help make this program stronger.” Austin agrees: “It works well. We complement each other very well as we have a lot of experience coaching together. We both have a different perspective and each offer something a little different.”

In regards to separating the roles of big brother and coach in regards to their sister Brin, Taylor states: “Brin has been a great asset to our program. She is a mature student and someone who possesses great drive and leadership. Our family is very close and I think her having had both of us as a coach has worked great. We might be a little more hard on her than other players, but we try not to treat her any different.”

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Author: Curtis J. Phillips