Sean Turriff
Sean Turriff

Bio

Head Coaching Tenure

Three seasons - 2019-23

CCAA National Titles (1)
  • Men - 2023
CCAA Medals (3)
  • Gold - 2023 (M)
  • Silver - 2019 (M), 2019 (W)
OCAA Provincial Titles (5)
  • Women - 2019, 2022, 2023
  • Men - 2019
  • Mixed - 2023
OCAA Medals (10)
  • Gold (5) - 2019 (M, W), 2022 (W), 2023 (W, MD)
  • Silver (3) - 2019 (MD), 2022 (M), 2023 (M)
  • Bronze (2) - 2019 (MD), 2022 (MD)
Coaching Accolades

3x OCAA Women's Coach of the Year ('22, '23, '24)

Coaching certificates and credentials
  • Certified Competition Development Coach
  • Certified Learning Facilitator – Curling
  • Certified Coach Evaluator – Curling
  • Master Coach Developer – In training
About

Sean Turriff was named the Humber curling head coach by athletic director Ray Chateau in May 2019, taking over for Cindy Bishop after she played an influential role in bringing curling back to the Humber lineup in 2011.

Turriff joined the Humber coaching staff as an assistant in 2014 and was directly responsible for overseeing the men’s program. Since joining the staff, the men’s squads have captured two CCAA national titles and two OCAA provincial gold medals.

In his first official season leading the program in 2019-20, Humber curling had one of its most successful seasons in program history. In Peterborough, the Hawks captured four medals at the OCAA championships, securing two gold, a silver, and a bronze medal. At nationals in Manitoba, Humber saw both teams finish on the podium for the first time in program history, as the men’s and women’s teams finished second in the country.  The curling program’s success garnered the Hawks numerous league awards, including three CCAA Academic All-Canadians. Men’s team skip Zack Shurtleff made varsity history, becoming the first curling student-athlete to be named Humber’s Male Athlete of the Year.

After missing the next season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Turriff and the Hawks captured three more provincial medals at their only tournament of the season, hosted by Sault College. Rookie Meaghan Mallett was named the OCAA MVP as the women's squad successfully defended their provincial title. 

The Hawks had another dominant campaign under Coach Turriff in 2023, with three OCAA podium finishes once again. The women's and mixed teams captured provincial titles, while the men's team won the silver medal. Returning to nationals for the first time since 2020, the men's team captured the CCAA gold medal, defeating the SAIT Trojans in impressive fashion, 10-3. 

Turriff began coaching in 2003 and has built the most impressive resume of all CCAA coaches. He has been coaching at the Trillium Junior Curling Camp since 2011 and at the Amethyst Junior Curling Camp since 2015. That same year he was the director of the 2015 Chinese National Curling Camp held in Shanghai China on behalf of the World Curling Federation.

In 2016, he was featured in the Toronto Star for leading the Nunavut men’s team at the Canadian junior curling championship. The team made history by winning its first and only (to date) game at the national level. A year later, he received the Ontario Junior Coaches Award at the 2017 Ontario Junior Championships. As an assistant coach with Humber that season, Turriff led the men’s team to the program’s first national title, defeating the Sault Cougars, 8-4, in London.

2018 was an incredible year for Turriff, who coached Team Scotland to a 9-1 record at the World Mixed Curling Championship. He later coached the Scott McDonald team to an Ontario men’s title with a perfect record, qualifying the team for the Tim Hortons Brier (Canadian Men’s Curling Championship) as the Ontario Representative.

In 2021, Turriff coached Team Horgan to a winning spot at the Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials in Liverpool, Novia Scotia. Later that year, Team Horgan competed at the Olympic Trials in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

A published author, Turriff wrote Curling: Steps to Success in 2016, providing players and coaches with a practical, step-by-step format that develops and improves curlers’ fundamental skill level and decision-making.  

Turriff is a 1992 graduate of McMaster University with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and is currently the Manager of High-Performance Development for the Ontario Curling Council – the PSO for curling in Ontario.