Football Canada Promotes Katie Miyazaki to Director of High Performance 

Ottawa, ON – Football Canada is proud to announce the promotion of Katie Miyazaki to Director of High Performance. 

No stranger to success in athletics, Katie’s path to this role is distinguished by her extensive experience as both an athlete and a coach across multiple sports. A standout basketball player during her university years, Katie earned accolades such as CIS Defensive Player of the Year (2009–10, 2010–11), CIS Second Team All-Canadian (2011–12), and was part of multiple championship-winning teams at Simon Fraser University and the University of Saskatchewan. In football, she competed as a member of the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries in 2011 and 2012 and represented Canada as part of the 2020 Flag Football National Team. 

Katie’s coaching résumé is equally impressive, highlighted by her tenure as Assistant Coach for the Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and Head Coach at two Canada Games (2015, 2019) while serving as Saskatchewan’s High-Performance Wheelchair Basketball Coach from 2013 to 2019. 

Katie joined Football Canada in 2021, initially focusing on events before shifting to Athlete and Coaching Development. Over the past year, her efforts have been instrumental in the development of Football Canada’s High Performance plan, culminating with her leadership in Football Canada’s Own the Podium presentation. 
 
“It’s an exciting time for football with the addition of flag in the Olympics for 2028 and I’m honoured to get to play a key role in shaping what high performance flag looks like in Canada”, said Katie. “We have so many talented athletes and coaches across the country and it’s my responsibility to ensure they receive the best support possible so we can be at our best in 2028. My goal is to help create the strongest team to represent Canada on the global stage and continue to develop the sport at every level.”  

As Director of High Performance, Katie will oversee the development and implementation of programs designed to support athletes and coaches across Canada in achieving their full potential. 

“It’s always exciting to be able to promote someone from within your organization and Katie has earned this opportunity through the quality of her work and her dedicated leadership and commitment to our High-Performance programs,” said Football Canada Executive Director Kevin McDonald. “Her past playing and coaching experiences provide a foundational understanding of our amateur landscape and will serve us well as she steers our high-performance pathway from playground to podium.   This is an exciting time for our sport and I am thrilled to have Katie leading the way.” 

To maintain the high standard of coaching and athlete development that Katie established, Football Canada has appointed Warren Craney as the new Director of Coaching & Athlete Development. Craney, a seasoned leader with decades of experience in Canadian football, complements Katie’s vision and reinforces Football Canada’s commitment to advancing the sport at all levels. 

For more information, please contact: 
Braydon Stachel 
Marketing and Communications Manager 
Football Canada 
BStachel@FootballCanada.com