WATERLOO, Ont. -- Laurier women's soccer head coach Barry MacLean reached a milestone in his Golden Hawks career with 300 wins.  

"It's not a milestone that I was ever worried about. It's more about winning games and championships," he said. "Winning championships is really what the kids want to do, and that's what we're here to do." 

Over his career, Maclean has led his teams to 11 championships, including seven provincial and four national, with seven women's championships and four men's titles. MacLean is also a three-time OUA coach of the year recipient. 

"There's pride in winning, of course. But if you look at where those people have ended up in their lives, a lot of them have done incredibly well. It's not a secret as to why they were successful here, because it's part and parcel of why they're successful in the real world." 

MacLean has been the head coach of the women's program since 1993, and was with the men's team from 1995 to 2007.  

"I've been happy that I've been involved in it, and I'm really glad to see the growth of women's sport, not just soccer, but all sport. It's fantastic that more and more women are playing and competing, and the standard has gotten so much better over time." 

The 2010-11 women's team is one that stands out to MacLean. "That team has a special group of people. I would have said most people in the country would think that was the best team in the country during that time." 

"I look at those same players now and where they are in their lives, and you think they might have overachieved from a soccer perspective, but they were people that were committed to winning, and they were ambitious and driven. It's transitioned very well to their lives." 

MacLean is a Golden Hawks alum, playing for the men's soccer team from 1982 to 1986 where he was a U SPORTS, formerly CIS, All-Canadian and an OUA All-Star. He was inducted into the Golden Hawks Hall of Fame in September 1999. 

"This has been a great place to work. The quality of people I've been with, the coaching staffs and players that I've coached, and the people that I've worked with have been outstanding," he said. 

"This is the only place that I would coach in Canada. The fact that I'm alumni, we have a real affinity for the school, the people around the school, and friends that I've got from when I played here all the way through to people that I've dealt with recently; it's been a great experience." 

"I've been in and around the school for over 40 years, so I never envisioned that I'd do anything else as far as being in Canadian university sports." 

With 300 career wins, the 64-year-old MacLean becomes the winningest coach in Laurier athletics history.  

He commented on his future, saying, "As long as I'm healthy, I would like to be involved, but I also want to be productive. Productive in my viewpoint is that people still think that I've got the ability to do what I need to do, and that I'm making an impact, and that I feel like I'm not past it as far as the level that we're coaching." 

"I love coaching. I love being on the field. I love competing." 

With one more win under his and the Golden Hawks belts, he is excited for the 2025 squad. "We're very athletic, we're going to be fun to watch. Based on what I've seen over the past few years, I think team will be a handful." 

A special ceremony takes place on Sunday, August 31 before the team's 4 pm home opener at Ansley Alumni Field.