Bio

The face of Humber soccer for over two decades, Germain Sanchez was the undisputed leader in helping the Hawks become a national power. Sanchez led his squads to three CCAA national championships and eight OCAA provincial titles while being recognized as the top coach in the nation, twice.

After decades of difficulty establishing a varsity soccer program at Humber College, Sanchez was brought in to lead the program once the sport was reintroduced to the varsity lineup in 1993 after an 11-year hiatus.

It only took one season for Sanchez to build a provincial champion, as the Hawks would capture the program’s first provincial title in 1994 with a 3-2 victory over Mohawk.

He followed that season up with a more impressive 1995 campaign, leading Humber to its first national title – the fifth in Humber Athletics history – while finishing with an unbeaten record of 11-0-1.

Sanchez built a program based on consistency, and in 20 seasons at the helm, he only lost 16 conference matches and never finished with a winning percentage below 0.563. He took the Hawks to eight CCAA tournament appearances, finishing on the podium seven times. His squads qualified for the conference postseason in every season and only failed to make the final four on two occasions. 

He coached 16 CCAA All-Canadians, including national player of the year recipients Luigi Della Rovere (1997) and Andrew DaSilva (2009).

On the indoor front, his teams had quite a streak as well. Humber won eight OCAA championships over a nine-year span between 1998 and 2006 and a dozen overall. Sanchez's indoor teams earned 17 OCAA indoor medals, including four silver and one bronze.

Beyond the wins and losses, Sanchez positively touched the lives of hundreds of student-athletes, leaving an ever-lasting impact on the OCAA. Two of his assistants would go on to capture national titles as head coaches: fellow OCAA Hall of Famer Vito Colangelo and his successor, Michael Aquino.

In 2017, Sanchez was inducted into the OCAA Hall of Fame. 

Head Coaching Tenure

20 seasons: 197-38-18 (.792)

Medals

• 3x CCAA National Champion ('95, '01, '12)
• 1994 CCAA Silver Medal
• 3x CCAA Bronze Medal ('98, '00, '10)
• 8x OCAA Provincial Champion ('94, '95, '98, '00, '01, '10, '11, '12)
• 4x OCAA Silver Medal ('97, '99, '04, '06)
• 2x OCAA Bronze Medal ('02, '05)
• 12x OCAA Indoor Soccer Champion ('94, '97, '98, '00-05, '08, '10, '11)
• 4x OCAA Indoor Soccer Silver Medal ('93, '06, '07, '12)
• 1999 OCAA Indoor Soccer Bronze Medal

Coaching Accolades

• 2x CCAA Coach of the Year ('95, '01)
• 2x OCAA Coach of the Year ('95, '01)
• 4x OCAA Divisional Coach of the Year ('95, '01, '06, '09)
• 2017 OCAA Hall of Fame Inductee
• 2006 Humber Hall of Fame Inductee
• Humber Athletics Honoured Jersey
• Humber Athletics Top-50 Influential

CCAA Postseason

• National Titles: 3 ('95, '01, '12)
• Record: 18-6 (.750)
• Tournament Appearances: 8 ('94, '95, '98, '00, '01, '10, '11, '12)
• Final Four Appearances: 7 ('94, '95, '98, '00, '01, '10, '12)

OCAA Postseason

• Provincial Titles: 8 ('94, '95, '98, '00, '01, '10, '11, '12)
• Record: 41-16 (.719)
• Tournament Appearances: 20 (1993 to 2012)
• Final Four Appearances: 18 ('93-'06, '09-'12)

OCAA Regular Season

• Division Titles: 16
• Record: 138-16-18 (.855)

Player Accolades

CCAA Recognition

• Hall of Fame: 2
• All-Canadians: 16
• Academic All-Canadians: 2
• Player of the Year: 2

OCAA Recognition

• Hall of Fame: 6
• Male Athlete of the Year: 2
• Player of the Year: 4
• Scoring Champion: 6
• Div. Scoring Champion: 12
• League All-Stars: 39