Garth Pischke

Biography

Volleyball player Garth Pischke was just a grade 12 high school student when he played for Canada at Montréal 1976, finishing ninth. Eight years later at Los Angeles 1984, Pischke and his team lost in the bronze medal match to Italy, finishing off the podium in fourth. 

Pischke played for Canada on the youth, junior and senior national teams. He was a member of the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba teams winning the CIS championship three times. After university, Pischke played professional volleyball in the International Volleyball Association (IVA) in the United States (El Paso and Denver) where he was named League Rookie (1978) and League MVP (1979). 

Amongst Pischke’s many titles are three Canadian Under-20 Championships, three U SPORTS Championships, five Volleyball Canada Open Championships, three USVBA Open Championships, and 30 national championships including the 1991 Canadian Beach Doubles title. Individually, he has been named to 12 All-Star Teams at Canadian Championships (with six MVP awards) and named All-American at eight USVBA Championships (one MVP award), 

A graduate of Silver Heights Collegiate, Pischke graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Manitoba and then went on to the University of North Dakota to pursue a master’s degree. When his playing days were over, Pischke became one of the most successful and respected volleyball coaches in Canada. He started coaching with the University of Manitoba Bisons in 1979, staying there for his entire career. Pischke was also the head coach of the national team from 1996-2000 improving their world ranking from 21st to 10th. 

Pischke stayed in Winnipeg, married volleyball player Cindy Shepherd and had two children, both volleyball players. He was honoured with the Royal Canadian Legion Sports Foundation C.A.P. Award, and in 2000, was named Manitoba’s Amateur Athlete of the 20th Century and by True North Volleyball Magazine as “Canada’s Best Male Volleyball Player” of all time.

Pischke was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1999, Canadian Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2000, and Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2009.