Coaching Staff
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TONY HOUSE| TONY HOUSE was a two-time Ottawa All Star, game MVP and Ontario High School All Star, winning a Junior and Senior Championship with St. Pius X High School. He was highly recruited out of high school and went on to start and play for the nationally ranked University of Manitoba Bisons. Tony attended two Canadian National Team tryouts as well as an Olympic Team camp. Tony has been coaching for over 35 years and has coached a number of successful basketball teams including the senior boy’s programs at Nepean High School and Sacred Heart High School. In 2010-11 House’s Sacred Heart Huskies would win a AAAA City Championship and earn a top 4 ranking in Ontario. Tony has also coached the U19 Ottawa Guardsmen and was a driving force and coach with the Ottawa Elite program since its inception. His U16 OE team would win the first Ontario Cup Division 1 title for the organization and Final 4 program in CYBL when he coached. He has been instrumental in the development of numerous players going on and playing at the university/college and pro level. Tony partnered with Leo Rautins to form the Rautins-House Basketball Camp that has been a fixture in the community for 34 years and has coordinated the annual Ottawa High School Boys All-Star game for over 20 years. House is the Founder of Canada Topflight Academy (CTA), the first Prep program in Ottawa which currently includes (2) Senior Men’s teams (Gold and Red), a Junior Boys team at St. Pius X and (2) affiliate programs with CTA West (Calgary) and Junior Girls CTA Durham. House also launched (3) National platforms with his National Junior Circuit (NJC), National Senior Circuit (NSC) and The Platinum Circuit (TPC) which showcases some of the top talent in the country. Tony's CTA program won back to back NPA National Championships in the first two years of operation and the CTA program has established itself as one of the top Prep programs in Canada, House was selected Coach of the Year for the 2019-20 season and was honored last year with being awarded the prestigious Martin Luther King DreamKEEPERS award for his efforts in helping youth in the Ottawa community over the last 20 years. |
DWIGHT JAMES| DWIGHT JAMES returns to CTA with over 20 years of basketball experience beginning with being a Ridgemont High School All Star, an Algonquin College OCAA League and Tournament All Star and playing club basketball with the Ottawa Guardsmen. James went back to his high school to start his coaching career as Assistant Coach of the Ridgemont boys’ basketball team before becoming Head Coach in 2014. During that time he also was an Assistant Coach with the Ottawa Phoenix basketball club. Dwight continues to be the Convenor of the Ottawa Capital Classic Basketball Tournament which he has been helping to organize for the past 14 years. Most recently, Dwight has been Head Coach of the Ottawa Elite U16 teams, winning the 2017-2018 CYBL Championships. |
FAQRUDIN ALI| FAQRUDIN ALI, better known as "Turtle" is entering his 12th year as a basketball coach in the Ottawa area. He has coaching experience with a variety of age groups and competition levels. Currently, he is a Player Development Coach at Bellevue Basketball Club in the Carlington Community which he co-founded back in 2008. He has also coached with the Nepean Blue Devils Basketball Club. Most of Turtle's coaching experience has been at the Senior Boys High School level. Turtle coached The Merivale Marauders to two City Championships and two Bronze Medals at OFSAA "AA" back in 2014 & 2015. Most Recently Turtle coached the Notre Dame Senior Boys team to a City Championship and a Silver Medal at OFSAA "A" in 2019. Turtle will also be returning to coach for the 3rd time at the Ottawa High School All Star Classic. When not coaching Turtle enjoys giving back to the community, he grew up in. He is a Community Developer and Youth Worker in the Caldwell and Carlington community. Turtle is looking forward to joining the Canada Topflight Coaching Team. |
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TREVOR STEYNOR| TREVOR STEYNOR was born and raised in Cornwall, ON and brings over 25 years of coaching experience at all levels. He has worked and made appearances at some of the best basketball camps across Canada, U.S. and Europe including Five Star, Hoop Group, Syracuse University, UConn, Louisville, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Baylor, Bob Hurley and Olympia. In 2003 Steynor was asked to join the coaching staff of the U18 Ireland National team. He would then work with multiple University and College programs starting with the University of Ottawa from 2007-10. The following season he would assist the Royal Military College and from 2011-2014 he would win 3 consecutive CIS National Championships while on the bench with the Carleton University Ravens. Most recently he served as an Assistant Coach at LaCite College from 2014-16. Trevor took on the role as Director of Operations with Canada Topflight Academy from its inception and will also now take on a coaching role with CTA. |
VIKAS GILL| Coach Vik was born and raised in Ottawa and played for Sacred Heart under CTA Founder Tony House. The Huskies won multiple high school tournaments in those two years including the high school City Championship and represented Ottawa in the AAAA OFSAA as a top 5 seed. He also played for Ottawa Guardsmen for 4 years and had much success there as well. After high school Vik went on to play at the University of Ottawa where he studied Finance. During his time with the Gee Gees he went to Nationals 4 straight years, has 2 silver and 1 bronze at the national level, has 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze at the OUA level, is tied for the most winning player in uOttawa history and is ranked 4th in all time made 3 pointers (was third when he graduated). After playing, Vik went into coaching the Gloucester Wolverines where he took over as Head Coach mid year and led the Wolverines to 19-3 record and an 18th placed finished in Ontario. |
ALIBASHA MAIDAL| Coach Av will join the Senior Gold/Red coaching staff and will no doubt make an immediate impact with our young student-athletes on and off the court. Ali played and graduated from Omer Deslaurier High School and participated in two OFSAA Championships. The La Cite College alum is now establishing himself as one of the best up and coming coaches in the Ottawa community. He has coached the Deslaurier High School Senior Boys, the U15/U17 Bellevue boys program and most recently was an Assistant Coach with the U17/U19 Team Believe this past season. |
MOHAMMED SALEH| Coach Moe is from Ottawa, he played and graduated from Notre Dame high school. He helped Notre Dame win a City championship and a bronze medal at OFSAA “A” back in March of 2020. Currently, he is the Player Development Director/Coach at Bellevue Basketball Club in the Carlington community. Coach Moe has been instrumental in helping Bellevue to multiple championships in the Boys and Girls Club Summer Leagues in 2022 and 2023. |
AIDAN LOCHBIHLER| Coach Aidan joins our leadership group focusing on player development. He brings a unique analytical approach to the game following his graduation from a Masters of Computer Engineering at Carleton University. Lochbihler has personally trained University, Prep and Elite HS talent. This past year he was an assistant coach with the SR boys at Glebe Collegiate and helped guide the Gryphons to a top 8 OFSAA AAA finish. |
STEVE HUIBERS| Coach Steve will champion our CTA SR BLACK team at St. Pius X. He came to Ottawa from Montreal and has been a staple in the basketball community over his time in the capital region. Coach Steve brings extensive high-level coaching experience to CTA most recently running both boys U16 and U18 teams at RWI 613. The U16 boys team were crowned 2024 Ottawa Super League champions. He also coached Team Believe where he led the U19 Boys squad to a perfect 12-0 record in the prestigious North Pole Hoops league. Coach Steve was also the Head Coach of the 2022 Ontario Summer Games representing Ottawa and captured the gold medal. He also was the Head Coach for the Ontario Summer Development Program from 2018 to 2022 for Ontario Basketball. In the summertime, you can find Coach Steve at Duke University working their camps with Blue Devils Head Coach Jon Scheyer. |