The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Wednesday that Fabienne Perrin-Blizzard has been named assistant coach of the Club. A tough defensive-minded coach, Perrin-Blizzard will join the BlackJacks bench alongside head coach Charles Dubé-Brais and lead assistant coach Patrick Ewing Jr. She is the only woman to currently coach professional sports in the nation’s capital.

A University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Hall of Famer, Perrin-Blizzard serves as the assistant coach for the Cadette Women’s National team and spent several years coaching Ontario’s provincial teams.

She co-founded Capital Courts Academy, a one-stop training environment giving athletes the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive high-level program that support both academic and basketball goals. She is responsible for the management and direction of the academy and coaches the girls’ program.

In 2018, she joined the staff of the Cadette Women’s National U15-16 team as an assistant, winning silver at the FIBA Americas tournament. As a head coach for Ontario U15 and U17 provincial teams, she brought her teams to three national titles, in 2015, 2017 and 2018.  

With a desire of making an impact in the growth and development of young athletes, Perrin-Blizzard has been an active member of the basketball community, from coaching at the club level to promoting technical and soft skills at various speaking events, including the Women Symposiums, the Women’s Forum Network and the SEED Hoop Forum Senegal. In May 2019, she flew to Senegal, where she served as guest coach for the Girls’ NBA Academy Africa kick-off.

Perrin-Blizzard graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Computer Science in 1995 and a Bachelor of Social Science in 1992. She served as assistant coach of the Gee-Gees from 1994-1998, and moved to the head coaching role for the 1998-99 campaign. In 2004, she furthered her education and earned a Project Management Masters Certificate from Carleton University.

Born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, Perrin-Blizzard started playing basketball at the age of 13 for her high school team, les Polypus de Fernand-Lefebvre. After very lucrative years on the court at Champlain College in Lennoxville, Quebec, she pursued her career at the University of Ottawa with the Gee-Gees, where she was named Most Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year two years in a row.

Perrin-Blizzard and her husband, Carlos, have two children. Tyra, 23, who played university basketball for the Windsor Lancers and the Ottawa Gee-Gees and is now transitioning to her first professional season overseas. Dante, 21, played football throughout high school and is currently enrolled at the University of Guelph.

The CEBL is preparing for its third season in 2021 following the success of this past year's CEBL Summer Series in St. Catharines, Ontario, which saw millions of viewers across Canada and around the world tune in to watch 26 games played over 15 days in a single-site league competition. The CEBL became the first professional sports league in Canada to return to play after the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in mid-March shut down sports across the country.

‍Quotes:

“Not only has Fabienne proved to be an amazing basketball coach, leading women’s national and provincial teams to gold medals, but she also understands the impact we want to have in the community. Her values and vision align with ours and it was evident that she would be a great addition to our coaching staff.” - Jevohn Shepherd, General Manager, Ottawa BlackJacks Basketball Club

“It is an honour to join our local professional basketball team. I am thankful to take my career to the next level and be a part of a club that will inspire the next generation. I am looking forward to being reunited with the rest of the coaching staff on the sidelines at TD Place.” - Fabienne Perrin-Blizzard, Assistant Coach, Ottawa BlackJacks Basketball Club

“I am very excited to start working with Fabienne. She understands what it takes to build a winning team, having won many titles and awards as a player and as a coach. She will bring something unique and a different perspective to the BlackJacks organization and will have a crucial role in the success of our team on and off the court.” - Charles Dubé-Brais, Head Coach, Ottawa BlackJacks Basketball Club