Daniel Lewis (source: Volleyball Canada)

Daniel Lewis (source: Volleyball Canada)

Volleyball Canada announced Daniel Lewis as the new head coach of their men’s volleyball national team. Most recently, Lewis was Canada’s junior national team coach. He is also at the helm of France’s Alterna Stade Poitevin Poitiers. The 48-year-old coach takes over his new position from Finnish specialist Tuomas Sammelvuo, who guided the team to a Paris 2024 Olympic berth and the quarterfinals of Volleyball Nations League 2024, but stepped down a couple of months ago, citing personal reasons.

Lewis played professionally in Switzerland, France, Poland and Slovenia for many years and was a libero in the Canadian national team until 2016. He was an assistant coach of the Canadian men’s national team, including at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In 2023, he led Canada to a gold medal at the NORCECA Pan Am Cup, among other achievements.

“I am grateful and excited for the opportunity to collaborate with the athletes and staff involved with Team Canada,” said Lewis. “The international men’s game requires us to continue to grow and pursue execution at its highest level. I look forward to working with everyone towards this common goal.”

In his first season, Lewis is set to guide Canada in their Volleyball Nations League 2025 campaign, which starts at home, at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, in June, as well as the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship to take place in the Philippines in September. Canada are currently number 11 in the FIVB World Ranking.

“Dan has worked closely with many top coaches and has gained valuable international experience over the past several years since he retired as player,” said Volleyball Canada men’s indoor high-performance director Julien Boucher. “He will be a great fit to assume this role and build on what Tuomas and former coach Glenn Hoag accomplished as the team prepares for the World Championship this year and works towards an LA 2028 berth.”

Lewis and his family live close to where the team is based in Quebec. He splits his time between France and Canada.