CYDC President John Hegwood

John Hegwood brings well over 40 years of experience as a player and coach to the Calgary area. He is considered by his peers today to be one of the most dedicated and hard-working coach's in Canada.

John was born in Gary, Indiana. He played high school basketball at Roosevelt High School where he was selected to the 1978 Indiana All-State team and was named a High School All American. After graduating, John attended junior college at the City College of San Francisco where he received Junior College All American honors and was later inducted into their Hall of Fame. John transferred to the University of San Francisco where he was a First-Team WCAC All-Conference player and College All American. Among his many accomplishments, John appeared in two NCAA tournaments and helped USF to a record of 71-20. Having played both basketball and baseball at USF, John was chosen by the San Diego Clippers (now the Los Angeles Clippers) in the 1982 NBA Draft and by the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. Having chosen a career in basketball, John played for 14 years as a professional player with teams all over the world including the Calgary 88s of the World Basketball League. During his career, John has played with, and against, some of the greatest players to ever play the game. Players like Julius (Dr. J) Erving, Ervin (Magic) Johnson, David Robinson, Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan (MJ), John Starks, Mark Aguirre, Hakeem Olajuwon and a host of other great players.

John Hegwood's professional coaching career began in Argentina and continued with the Calgary 88's and Calgary Outlaws (of the Canadian Basketball League). He spent a year coaching Calgary's Mount Royal Cougars before moving on to developing his own skill development program in Calgary. John is currently the President of the Calgary Youth Development Centre (CYDC). Coach John is truly a legend of the game.

John was the recipient of Citizen of the Year at the 2009 Calgary Awards in recognition of his work with youth as founder and director of CYDC. Coach Hegwood was nominated by a fellow Calgarian and chosen by past award winners and former alderman. John received this honour in June 2010 from the Mayor of Calgary and city council.