With over 30 years of experience in the sport of volleyball, Rick Kaufmann joined the Spartans women’s volleyball program in 2012 as an assistant coach and mentor for the team. Kaufmann initially got involved with Spartans volleyball with the TWU men’s program as an assistant coach in 1996. He stayed as an assistant with the Spartans men’s team for eight years.
Over the years, he has coached at various levels, from high school to provincial, as well helping coach Canada’s U23 team, which was comprised of TWU’s women’s side, at the 2012 U23 Pan American Cup..
As a player, Kaufmann has played in the BC Winter Games, Western Canada Summer Games and Canada Summer Games. In his university days, he was a setter for UBC, graduating in 1988. In 1998, Kaufmann was the setter for Team Alberta, which represented Canada at the World Masters Games, where the team captured the gold medal. Kaufmann went on to set for Canada’s Masters program for two more years thereafter.
Professionally, Kaufmann has established himself as a successful business executive working in the capacity of Director and General Manager while also being a voice of the value added forest products industry in British Columbia. He is one of just a handful of people in the world who are masters in the procurement of high grade architectural veneer and plywood. He sits on several Boards and committees such as BC Wood, Forestry Investment and Innovation and the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association.
