Hall of Fame
16 medals in 16 years. The coaching record of Eric Bojesen at York speaks for itself as he led the men’s and women’s tennis teams through the most dominant stretch in program history. Bojesen learned to love the sport of tennis at an early age from his parents while growing up in Vancouver, B.C.
“I was first introduced to the sport at age ten by my tennis-playing parents,” says Bojesen. “I enrolled in a junior tennis program in Stanley Park as a teenager and during my university years I had a summer job as a tennis assistant. That’s where I got my start in coaching and throughout the years I upgraded my coaching credentials and worked as a pro at a summer resort during my early years teaching.”
Bojesen was a teacher in B.C. before he decided to make a career change and get more heavily involved in coaching. He moved across the country and began coaching at York in 1987. His impact on the program was felt right away, as he was instrumental in developing the men’s program and had the team reinstated in the OUAA after several years of absence.
After a few years of building the program, the team found its footing at the start of the 1990’s. Bojesen led the men’s team to capture medals at the OUAA championships for seven straight years from 1991-1997 (3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze) while the women’s team won medals at the OWIAA championships for five straight years from 1992-1996 (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze). Bojesen points to this time period as the highlight of his coaching career at York.
“Winning our first few OUAA championships are definitely some of my fondest memories at York,” says Bojesen. “There were other great coaches and administrators at York at the time and working under Patricia Murray and the other staff at the time was really a great time in my career.”
Bojesen also ended his coaching career at York on a high note as the women’s team won the bronze medal in 2000, followed by back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002. The men’s program also picked up the silver medal in 2002. During his years as head coach 12 of his players were named OUAA/OWIAA all-stars.
Following his York tenure, Bojesen and his wife Lydia moved back to B.C. in 2005 to be closer to their son and daughter and now reside in Kamloops, B.C., where he stays active by swimming, hiking and running in half-marathons.
In recent years, Bojesen has also made a name for himself as a player on the Senior tennis circuit, winning multiple senior national championships as a singles and doubles player, and becoming ranked as high as 44th in the world in the senior men’s rankings.
