Known fondly as "Mr. Volleyball", Vic has been a fixture on the sports scene in B.C. for more than four decades. His vision of creating an environment wherein young players can develop a high skill level has helped make B.C. one of the hotbeds for volleyball in the country. His achievements as a coach are impressive and include guiding B.C.-based teams to seven national championships and he coached the national women's team to Canada's first-ever victory over the USA in the early 1970s. Even more memorable, however, are the contributions he has made to the development of the sport in B.C. The list of organizations he is credited with founding or co-founding over his career includes B.C. Volleyball Association, the B.C. Boys & Girls High School Associations and, along with son Mark, the Victoria Volleyball Association. As well, he originated the Pacific Rim championships and spearheaded the creation of a Japan / B.C. volleyball exchange programme. Along with his coaching and administrative accomplishments, Vic also achieved a National level referee status. His knowledge of the game and effervescent personality earned him a spot doing colour commentary on television broadcasts with CBC, CTV and TSN. He has worked at four Olympic Games and regularly handles the Canadian Inter-university Sports championship telecasts. Vic has been recognized for his efforts as a volleyball builder both provincial and nationally by being made a member of the Volleyball Canada Hall of Fame in 2000 and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

Ken Shields had a taste of coaching glory in his first season as a co-coach of the 1969/70 UBC Canadian Ladies Championship team. He then switched to the men's game and while guiding Laurentian University through six seasons he collected his first CIAU Coach-of-the-Year award. Ken moved to UVic to take on the dual roles of men's Varsity Coach and Coordinator of Athletics for the blue-and-gold. In his first year the Vikings finished second in Canada West. Soon after things turned to gold for the young coach and then came the "Streak." Between 1980 and 1986, the Vikings won an incredible seven straight CIAU titles. In his 13 seasons at the helm, Ken coached his Vikes to nine CIAU national finals and won three more CIAU Coach of the Year awards. During this same time he worked with the national team program and was soon the National Team Coach and Program Director. He went on to guide Canada to seventh place at the 1994 World Basketball Championships. His legacy includes the creation of a National Coaching Institute at UVic and the development of High Performance Training Centres for rowing, soccer and middle-distance running. He also was a key committee member for hosting the Commonwealth Games in Victoria and was founding president of the Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development.