UW’s women’s golf head coach, Carla Munch, was officially named the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Coach of the Year for the 2025-2026 season on May 13. The award follows Munch’s leadership of the golf team as they became first-place champions in the OUA Women’s Golf Championship last October, allowing the team to qualify for the Canadian University/College Championship this June.
Munch has served as head coach of UW’s women’s golf team since 2004, contributing over 20 years of expertise and development to the program and its players. Before being named Coach of the Year, she led various UW women’s golf teams to several victories between 2005 and 2026, earning multiple medals in OUA competitions. Outside of the Warriors, she is a professional golfer in the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of Canada who was chosen to be the top golf coach in 2019.
Munch’s involvement with Waterloo Warriors Athletics dates back to her time as an undergraduate student at UW, when she won gold playing on the Women’s field hockey team in 1995. As a former student athlete, she understands the pressure and anxieties that incoming first-year students on varsity teams face. That’s why she prioritizes fostering a close and positive team environment as head coach.
The women’s golf team currently has seven players on its roster. The season lasts from September to October, giving them a short time window to work hard in practice and perform well in competition. However, the team continues strength and conditioning training three times a week at UW and golf simulator practice into the winter and spring academic terms.
Being named Coach of the Year and placing first in the OUA Women’s Golf Championship for the 2025-2026 season was not an individual effort, Munch emphasizes. The team earned their championship title through intense training, staying hydrated, and analyzing the competition’s location, Watson’s Glen Golf Club in Pickering, Ont. Munch credits the players, coaches, and support staff for the time and effort they put into their work from the start of the season. “That’s really what this award represents to me and is special for. It’s for all of us,” Munch said.
Munch shared that the 2025-2026 women’s golf team bonded during the long hours of golf practice and intense competitions, in addition to coffee study chats and dinners throughout the academic year. “We, as the coaching staff, love seeing how they’ve come together and become such great friends. It’s fun to watch them make lifelong friends and to be part of that… to me, it was such a special season because of how close they all are and what a family they are,” she expressed.
A key part of Munch’s coaching strategy is emphasizing that the team is an active support group both on and off the golf course. Coaches and staff connecting with athletes on a personal level allows each of them to be seen and understood, says Munch. She believes these connections are important for athletes competing at high-commitment varsity levels in university, a place where student experiences can sometimes be overwhelming and isolating. The women’s golf team also receives support from UW’s athletic department programs, which provide student athletes with assistance in academic and personal matters.
According to Munch, the most difficult aspect of her job is recruitment and outreach about OUA’s strong involvement with golf. The biggest change from when she first began coaching, Munch says, is the increased popularity of golf, as more universities and colleges have formed women’s golf teams that go on to compete in OUA championships. She has seen some student athletes choose to play golf at an American post-secondary institution over a Canadian one, in the belief that doing so is mandatory for high-level training and recognition. To combat this misconception, Munch and other OUA golf coaches spread the word about golf programs through networking. “Our OUA golf and Canadian golf is very, very good and . . . with the education and everything that comes along with it, it creates such great opportunities,” she explained.
With the 2025-2026 OUA Coach of the Year title and a close-knit team, Munch looks ahead to June with determination and excitement as she and her team prepare for the Canadian University/College Championship in Quebec City. The players will travel to the competition’s golf course a few days early to play an extra practice round and review the course’s layout with Munch, her fellow coaches, and their support staff.
