Coaching Staff

John MacInnis
johnmacinnis@rogers.com

The Algonquin Thunder will be led by 2nd year Head Coach John MacInnis. Prior to being Head Coach, John was an assistant coach with the Thunder for three years.  John is entering his 11th year of coaching and has coached a wide range of age groups and teams. He started coaching out of high school in 1996 in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and coached the boy basketball team at Dr. T.L. Sullivan Junior High. He then moved to the Senior Boys team at Memorial High School for two years and won the Cape Breton Division 2 Championship in 1997. He was also involved in the Cape Breton Showcase program and coached both the midget boys and juvenile girls teams. After taking some time off coaching to focus on school, he moved to Ottawa and was given an opportunity to coach the St. Joseph High School Jaguars Junior Boys team in 2002 and led them to the Tier II Ottawa final. He then joined the highly successful Gloucester Wolverine organization and coached the competitive midget boys team for two years before joining the Thunder in 2005.

John is a certified NCCP Level 2 coach and has recently completed the Level 3 Theory and Technical programs and is currently working toward his Practical certification. John completed his BA at Cape Breton University and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Dalhousie University in Halifax and currently works for the federal government. John brings many years of coaching, playing and officiating experience to the Thunder.

Natalie Johnston - Assistant Coach

Natalie will be re-joining the Thunder coaching staff after taking last season off.  She was an assistant coach with the Thunder between 2006 and 2008.  Natalie played university basketball for five years with both the Bishops Gaiters and Ottawa Gee Gees.  She was also part of the Gee Gees team that went to Nationals in 2004.  In addition to her time with the Thunder, Nat has coached the Osgoode Bedrock juvenile girls team   and numerous boys and girls basketball teams at South Carleton High School.  Natalie is currently working on her NCCP coaching certifications and is a teacher in the Ottawa area.

Cara Weiss - Assistant Coach

Coach Weiss returns for her fourth year as assistant coach with the Thunder.  She had a successful playing career with the University of Ottawa Gee Gee's from 2000 to 2004 and helped lead the team to their CIS Nationals appearance in 2003.  This Ottawa native is a certified NCCP Level 2 coach and is currently working on her Level 3 certification.  She obtained her Bachelor of Education Degree from Ottawa and is currently a teacher in the Ottawa area.  Cara brings a wealth of knowledge from her experience with Algonquin and her playing career at Ottawa.