For Beth Ali, you don’t have to be athletic to share in the Varsity Blues experience. The University of Toronto’s director of intercollegiate and high performance sport brings 20 years of athletic, administrative, and other experience to the University of Toronto Athletics program.
Ali has established a prominent presence on campus, working to create strong relationships with athletes and coaches as well as develop a legacy through the development of the university’s new athletic facilities.
Ali’s current goals include engaging U of T’s student population with the Varsity Blues through reviving traditions and spirit that has been lost over the years.
Ali began her career playing field hockey under the coaching and guidance of Marina van der Merwe at York University. At the time, Van der Merwe was also the coach for the Canadian national team. Ali cites this experience, as well as a general passion for sport and athletics, as factors which catalyzed her interest in coaching.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE VARSITY BLUES
Over the years, Ali has become quite appreciative of what she feels is a rather unique opportunity to give back to the sports community and young athletes through her position.
“I always say that what we do here in athletics is human development through sport,” said Ali. Coaching provides Ali with the opportunity to bring out the best in others. As director, Ali occasionally thinks of herself as the head coach of the coaches.
Indeed, it could be argued that everyone with an interest in helping the development of individuals is a coach, from teachers to residence advisors. The effectiveness of these coaches at U of T is evident in the school’s stellar academic reputation.
However, while Ali is proud of the school’s academic muscle, she would love for the Varsity Blues program to define our institution in equal measure.
“I think now the need is to really find ways to engage the student body around Varsity athletics, to give the student body something to belong to so that everybody is a Blue,” she said.
Ali hopes to attain this goal by drawing incoming freshmen into the Blues community. The goal is to build a following within which Ali hopes to rekindle traditions that U of T seems to have lost in its athletics, such as dances and cheers.
Ali first focused on competitiveness when coming into her role as director. “People want to support winning programs. You don’t have to win a championship every year, you don’t have to be at the pinnacle year after year, but you need success, you have to be good,” she said.
This past year, the success of various teams, such as both men’s and women’s Ontario University Athletics (OUA) titles and outstanding Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) performances, and the football team’s first 4-4 record in the past 20 years, seems to indicate that the Blues have made it.
The Blues, however, are not competing just with our academic reputation, but also with the grandness of the university and city. As any school club or game of broken telephone will tell you, it is difficult to reach out to an entire student body; the Blues compete with all of the city’s major sports events.
Nonetheless, Ali is proud of the relationships she has built with her staff and athletes. She works hard to show her support for every team, the rule of thumb being to see every team compete at least twice a year and to aim to accompany teams to nationals when they qualify.
“I think they know that my primary motivation is for them to be successful, from an academic perspective and an athletic perspective,” said Ali.
As one can imagine, the life and responsibilities of a director don’t leave Ali with much down time; due to her passion for her job, and its many requirements, she admits that she does not really have the opportunity to follow many sports outside of the Varsity Blues organization. Nevertheless, she expresses diehard devotion to the Maple Leafs as well as excitement for the Blue Jays’ current streak.
