National Coaches Week 2022

National Coaches Week celebrates the positive impact coaches have on athletes, participants, and communities across Canada. This week is an opportunity to recognize coaches for the integral role they play by saying #ThanksCoach.

To celebrate National Coaches Week this year, we caught up with local coaches to hear their stories.

Jude Hooey

Jude Hooey has been a leader in the sport of archery in southern Alberta and across Canada for three decades as an athlete, coach, administrator, and volunteer.

What was your relationship with your coach (or coaches) like as an athlete? What was their biggest influence on you?
When I first learned to shoot a bow, I did not have a coach. My husband gave me some pointers, but just let me shoot. Many of the archers that I met were very helpful. A couple of years into shooting, Red Ferrier became my coach. He was a friend as well as a coach. His attitude of “praise over criticism” influenced me very much. With my archers, we always talk about the positives so that their self-image grows. The helpfulness of other archers has always been part of my coaching as well. Although I usually ask if I can make a suggestion, sometimes I can’t help but offer pointers when not asked.

What made you want to start coaching?
When I began shooting, I was a teacher of junior high students. I fell in love with the sport and wanted to have young people enjoy archery as well. Because I was “just an archer” and not a coach, I felt that taking coaching courses would benefit the students as well as me. I love working with archers who want to excel in the sport.

What is your coaching philosophy like? How has it evolved?
My coaching philosophy is one of positivity and esteem building. The technical facet of archery is about 10% of the sport. The mental facet is, in my opinion, 90% of archery. In 1991, at the Vegas Shoot, I met Lanny Bassham (Olympic Gold Medal rifle shooter). He designed the Mental Management System for shooting sports. After listening to his tapes for months and using his system, I found that my performance improved by leaps and bounds. In 2012, I went to Seguin, Texas, and took a coaching course from Lanny himself. After that, I completed my Level I, Level II, and Level III Instructor courses so that I can officially share the Mental Management System with athletes in Canada. I am the only certified Level III Mental Management Instructor in Canada at the moment. Lanny’s system encourages positivity and
self-image enhancement which is what I use in my coaching.

What is one piece of advice you would give to new coaches?
To new coaches, I would say always make positive statements to the athletes. Even negative outcomes can be seen as a learning experience. For example, if an athlete is experiencing a difficulty, ask “How do you think that we can change _________ to aid in your improvement?” Looking for solutions is self-esteem building, but only discussing the issues is self-esteem shrinking.

What was the biggest difference between your experience as an athlete and your experience as a coach?
I am still a competing archer after 33 years in the sport. As a coach, it disturbs me that the majority of participants discuss errors rather than successes. Now that I use Mental Management as an athlete and a coach, I always ask “What was the best shot you made today? What did you learn?”. This way, I hear positive statements which builds not only the other archer’s self-image but mine as well.

What does it mean to you to be coaching the next generation of athletes?
It means a great deal to me to be coaching the next generation of archers. I have experienced coaching a para-archer, school-aged children (from 7 – 17 years old), as well as adults beginning a new sport. Each one has a unique outlook pertaining to the sport. As a coach, it keeps me finding the necessary tools to assist them to achieve their potential. That is the most rewarding aspect of being a coach. It means that I am also learning new coaching skills as well.

What is your favorite memory from coaching?
My favorite memory of coaching was travelling to Edinburgh, Scotland, to assist my archer at the Archery World Cup Final. Standing on the platform as she performed and supporting her as she won the silver medal, was a fantastic experience. She worked very hard to achieve the standings so that she could shoot in the final. To witness all of her hard work pay off, was an amazing, joyful moment.

Alec Hillman

Alec Hillman is a student-athlete at the University of Lethbridge doing his Bachelor of Management majoring in Marketing.

What was your relationship with your coach (or coaches) like as an athlete?
As an international athlete, I’ve had numerous coaches whom all have vastly different levels of coaching experience. In saying that, they all have had something to offer to me to learn. My current coach, Jermaine Small (Head Coach - University of Lethbridge Men’s Basketball, and I have a positive relationship that has allowed me to develop further as an athlete. Jermaine has experience coaching at the highest level and has shared that experience and knowledge with athletes on my team such as myself.

What made you want to start coaching?
Honestly, at first, it was the financial compensation, but it quickly grew bigger than just money. It was the opportunity to teach younger players what I had learned so far in my basketball journey. The common expression of ‘giving back to the game’ became more and more evident to me the more I coached, and because of that, I really enjoyed seeing the players I was coaching get better. It made me feel like what I was doing mattered.

What is your coaching philosophy like? How has it evolved?
When I first began coaching, my lack of maturity inhibited any open-mindedness toward certain aspects of coaching. Whereas now, I’d say my coaching philosophy has developed into something that is consistent and simple. For any team, group or individual that I coach I always encourage these two things: “Firstly - it’s okay to make mistakes as that’s how we encourage the process of getting better, and secondly – try to get 1% better every time you get in the gym”. Looking back I’d say my approach to coaching changed from being goal orientated to being process orientated.

What is one piece of advice you would give to new coaches?
Help create an environment where coming to work on your craft is the best part of someone’s day.

What was the biggest difference between your experience as an athlete and your experience as a coach?
Probably that there is so many more moving pieces when it comes to coaching than compared to being an athlete. Being an athlete is very individual based whereas coaching your decisions cater around numerous individuals that form a collective goal.

What does it mean to you to be coaching the next generation of athletes?
It feels special to know you played a role in someone’s individual development.

What is your favorite memory from coaching?
My favourite memory from coaching is whenever a player tells me that they really enjoyed the session and/or practice or they felt they got better because then I feel like I’ve done my job.

Sean Cassidy

Sean is a graduate of the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor of Science, Kinesiology and Exercise Science. He coaches Olympic Weightlifting.

What was your relationship with your coach (or coaches) like as an athlete? What was their biggest influence on you?
My relationships with my coaches growing up were unfortunately not very positive. I held no talent for any sport inherently and the coaches in my life at the time wrote off my abilities as lacklustre. But I had a hunger to learn and absorb as much information from as many sources as possible. The biggest influence I was left with was “how not to coach” and “just because you're a great athlete, does not make you a great coach”

What made you want to start coaching?
When I realized I could see talent in others they didn’t/don't see in themselves. And to see that development in athletics transcend beyond the gym/platform/weight room just warms the heart.

What is your coaching philosophy like? How has it evolved?
Like most, at first “this is what this book (or this coach) says, we must follow it to a T!”. Now, it’s much more like building a monument or wall. Each block placed has a reason, it has a story, it has a place to build that person to the best position so that they can achieve whatever goal they have their sights on. But that still means there are gigabytes of training programs on my hard drives, videos of competition lifts, training lifts, mobility/flexibility training - basically a full library to pull from to keep our team strong and progressing forward.

What is one piece of advice you would give to new coaches?
Once you have some basic education/certification, you will learn more from training your clients/athletes than you ever will from taking a seminar or course. Never stop learning.

What was the biggest difference between your experience as an athlete and your experience as a coach?
Patience. As a coach, I have learned the long game is much more important than today.

What is your favorite memory from coaching?

There are so many, it's hard to list a favourite. 2 super impactful days:

1. I was competing and looked to the stands and saw my teens cheering in my coach's shirt/apparel they stole from my bag. At this moment I realized being a coach meant more than being an athlete.
2. Arriving at the Master's World Championships and working among them as a peer.

Thanks Coach Sean!

Madi Vanden Elzen

Madi has amassed a lot of coaching experience in a short amount of time. She began coaching three years ago as assistant coaching for Panthers Volleyball Club in Lethbridge, then moved to Fernie where she coached more at the high school and club level. After moving back to Lethbridge, she accepted a head coaching role for Ace Volleyball Club where she oversaw the u15 girls team and a u17 travel team this summer.

What was your relationship with your coach (or coaches) like as an athlete? What was their biggest influence on you?
I always had a very positive relationship with my coaches but I don’t think I realized the impact that they really had on me until I started coaching myself. My coaches inspired me to be both a better player and a better person. The life skills they taught me and the passion they have for the game have really impacted the person and coach that I am today. I still turn to them for advice, and I value my relationship with them. The biggest influence they had on me was showing me that volleyball can be more than a game.

What is your coaching philosophy like? How has it evolved?
My coaching philosophy is focused on developing people and relationships as well as volleyball players. Skills like confidence, teamwork, communication and self-respect are important aspects of life that can be learned and developed through volleyball and I strive to provide all my athletes with an environment that is conducive to creating great volleyball players, and even better people.

What is one piece of advice you would give to new coaches?
Don’t be scared to ask other coaches for advice! The coaching community is large, and there are so many people around that are willing to help or talk through ideas you may have. There is no one better to learn from than someone whose already coaching.

What was the biggest difference between your experience as an athlete and your experience as a coach?
As an athlete I cared a lot about the game, getting stronger and better at volleyball skills so that I could help my team play the best volleyball possible. I saw value in the work, not as much the fun. As a coach I still care about skill development, however I have learned there is more to it than just skills. Taking a practice off for team building, and making sure that all players are having fun and building relationships is an essential part of building a positive culture within the team.

Thanks Coach Madi!

Josh Dumoulin

Josh is an experienced Taekwon-Do instructor. Josh opened Champion Taekwon-Do in 2015 while still competing at an elite level. Since his retirement as an athlete, Josh has made it his personal mission to master his craft of teaching the sport he loves.

What was your relationship like with your coach during your athletic career? What was their biggest influence on you?
I was pretty young when I had my first instructor, so I never got to know him too well. But when I was a teenager my dad opened up a school, so he was my instructor. I got a lot of influence from him for sure. After that, I had a lot of different influences. I would seek advice from anyone who was where I wanted to be, and just tried to learn how to be a really good instructor.

You mentioned that your dad was a coach and had a school. Was he what made you want to start coaching?
God no! I hated teaching! I started at 15 years old because my dad opened up a school, but teaching just was not my thing. But when my dad was stepping away from the school and I stepped into his role, there was one situation that made me want to start teaching. I was teaching a class one day and there was a young boy, about 7 years old, asked me a simple question. I was teaching the “L-stance” and the boy asked why it's called the L-stance. So I said “Look at the shape your feet are in.” He replied “it looks like an L… oh I get it!” And it was that lightbulb going off, the fact that I just impacted this boy, that really made me want to get into teaching more. Getting to impart the knowledge I have on others, and share what I know, that was really special for me, and all the sudden teaching was something I really wanted to do.

What is your coaching philosophy like? How has it evolved throughout your coaching career?
We really believe in personal excellence here; whatever you are doing, do it the best that you can. If you are cleaning dishes, clean them well, and when you are practicing, practice hard. When I was a younger coach I spent a lot of time finding my voice and finding my message so that we can get to a place now where we have core values that we train by.

If you could give one piece of advice to new coaches in your sport, what would it be?
Get a coach. In martial arts we get a coach to teach us these skills, and all the sudden we get to be a coach and we stop getting coaching. I think it's a huge mistake coaches make, it's how they get stale and stop learning their craft. How are you going to become better at what you do if you aren’t learning anymore? I love to watch other instructors, and see how they teach and learn from them. I would tell any coach to get a mentor. Why take 15 years to learn something when you could learn it in 3? Invest in yourself, get a coach, get a mentor. Even if it's not in your field, you can learn the skill of coaching from anyone who instructs.

What has the difference been between your experience as an athlete and your experience as a coach?
Very different. Athletes are inherently selfish, you have to be, especially to perform at a high level. But as a coach, you have to be able to think about everyone on the floor, not just yourself. I was competing until 2019, and I was able to wear both hats for a while, but at some point those paths cross. The ability to be a good athlete does not mean the ability to be a good coach. The ability to think about “we” instead of “me” is important, and it takes the right person. You have to be an open book, and be ready to give, give, give. Anything to help the progress of those around you.

Thanks Coach Josh!

Aaron Hernandez

Aaron is a former UofL Pronghorn track and field athlete, who, among other honours, was recognized as the LSCAA Senior Male Athlete in 2017. He now works for Canadian Western Bank, and is helping coach the Pronghorn Track and Field team.

What was your relationship with your coach (or coaches) like as an athlete? What was their biggest influence on you?
As a track athlete, I had a fantastic relationship with my coaches, especially Jaime Thomas. It was more than athlete/coach, he was a role model and friend and he shaped a big part of my life outside of sport. His biggest influence on the track was being able to understand me and what works and what doesn’t. I wouldn’t be where I am today without great coaches, so it’s only fair that I try to provide that same opportunity to athletes that want to learn. It’s exciting seeing sport from a different angle and trying to help athletes get to their highest level.

What is your coaching philosophy like? How has it evolved?
My coaching style is still in its infancy, but what works for me at the moment is breaking down complex and technical skills into manageable pieces, building them up and putting them together, and making sure the athlete understands the why of any activity we do. If they can understand the why, they learn the how quicker.

What is one piece of advice you would give to new coaches?
My one piece of advice to new coaches would be that yes, you learn a lot from other coaches, but you also learn a lot from your own athletes about what works and what doesn’t, so be open to communicating with them. Former athletes should also draw on their experiences and knowledge from their time in the sport. You knew how to produce results for yourself, so take inspiration from that.

What was the biggest difference between your experience as an athlete and your experience as a coach?
I think the biggest difference between my time as an athlete and my time as a coach is that I used to be a leader among my peers, but now that leadership has transitioned and my goals have shifted too. It used to be to win, but now it’s about developing athletes to do the same.

What was the most difficult aspect of your transition from athlete to coach?
I initially found it difficult in the transition from athlete to coach not being the one going out on the track and competing myself. I loved competing, loved to win (still do). Not being the one going out there and getting the recognition hurt my pride.

What excites you about coaching for the pronghorn track and field team now?
I loved my time as a Pronghorn so I’m excited to come back, full circle, and try to give back to a school and a program that gave so much to me. I’m excited about the group that we have and to see them give it all they’ve got this season. There’s some great talent in this team and I fully expect some big things this year.

Thanks Coach Aaron!

Martin Lawrence

Martin is a UKCC Level 3 badminton coach who recently moved to Lethbridge from the UK. Martin has years of international coaching experience and is the head coach for the Lethbridge Badminton Club.

What was your relationship with your coach (or coaches) like as an athlete? What was their biggest influence on you?
I began playing badminton at school when I was 10 years old and the teacher, Bill Darrell, who ran the after school badminton club encouraged all the players to have fun and enjoy themselves when they played. He helped players to join the local club that he ran and he was someone who all the players looked up to and enjoyed being around. He is still a family friend and someone who I enjoy being in the company of. He supported me when I wanted to start training with the regional coach, Sheila Tyrell, and they were both in the sports hall when I had my greatest result, winning the English Junior National mixed doubles title. I spent a lot of time with Sheila each week, training with the best players in the area. She encouraged me to work hard and aim high and to learn from everybody that I came into contact with.

What made you want to start coaching?
In her role as Regional coach, Sheila would run coaching clinics for players of all standards and ages throughout the South East of England. She encouraged me to assist her at these clinics and I really enjoyed passing on the badminton information that I had to other aspiring players. The desire to pass on information and help players to improve both as players and individuals that existed then is still burning today.

What is your coaching philosophy like? How has it evolved?
I am a big believer in getting beginners to grasp the technicals of the sport and not be concerned by match results as they improve. I try to get players to think for themselves and not just play like robots. Setting challenges and letting players explore the possibilities, I believe, allows them to develop as athletes and people. I have always felt that every athlete has individual attributes and as a coach I am tasked with encouraging them to find what they are good at and to enjoy the process.

What is one piece of advice you would give to new coaches?
New coaches should understand that they are helping someone on their journey and that the player comes first. Seeking advice from other coaches, even those from other sports, will help you on your own pathway and increase your coaching knowledge.

What was the biggest difference between your experience as an athlete and your experience as a coach?
Away from matches where coaches are allowed to give players advice during play, the biggest difference between playing and coaching is that as a coach when a player enters the court for a game, the player is now in control of what they are doing on court and the coach has to believe that the advice already given to the player will help them in the match.

What is your favorite memory from coaching?
Too many to narrow down to a single memory. From beginners achieving something for the first time to players winning tournaments, the joy of seeing smiling faces and players accomplishing things that they thought were out of reach make memories from coaching.

What excites you about coaching in a new area like Lethbridge?
I am excited about starting to coach in Lethbridge as more badminton is played in schools in Lethbridge than the schools where I was in the UK so I know there are a lot of children already playing and I want to be able to help them improve and become the best that they can be at badminton. The recently reestablished Lethbridge Badminton Club starts in October and I am working with others to build both junior and adult badminton participation in Lethbridge.

Thanks Coach Martin!

Marcus Meneghetti

Marcus is an assistant golf professional at Evergreen Golf Centre and the newly appointed coach of both the men's and women's golf teams at the University of Lethbridge. After playing for the team while completing his degree, and then filling the assistant-coach role for the past few seasons, Marcus is excited to step into the head coach role and bring new energy to the team.

What was your relationship with your coach (or coaches) like as an athlete? What was their biggest influence on you?
I grew up playing competitive soccer in Calgary and during the years I had a few different coaches all with varying personalities & coaching styles. The coach who had the biggest impact on me as a player was my Dad. He always had the perfect balance of supporting me when I made mistakes and challenging me to continue to improve. He taught me that there are many different ways to contribute to a team beyond scoring goals and helped cultivate my individual strengths of leadership, responsible decision-making, and facilitating other players. This was an important lesson in my life as I grew older because it allowed me to be comfortable and confident being myself and embracing my differences as an athlete and a person.

What made you want to start coaching?
Growing up my favourite players were always the team leaders, the grinders and the facilitators got me more excited than the stars. I loved the idea that someone who was not scoring the goals could be such a big influence on the team's success. As I grew older this translated naturally into a fascination with the coaches. I always loved the idea that the right coach could facilitate the growth of an athlete or a team towards their full potential. They could unlock the hidden abilities in a player and through building a strong culture uniting a group of individuals as a whole.

What is your coaching philosophy like? How has it evolved?
I am here to facilitate the growth of athletes through support, embracing uniqueness and encouraging individual and team accountability"

• Support: I always try to respond to texts and calls. I try to both listen to players when they reach out, and actively reach out to them when I can sense something is off. I am here to make our players feel stronger when I am with them, not to scare them into performing.
• Embracing Uniqueness: My primary goal as a coach is to help athletes achieve their full potential as players and as individuals. Every person has things that make them unique and the more that I can help them identify and cultivate these traits the more it will allow them to grow in both their athletic and personal life.
• Accountability: The ability to recognize when you have made mistakes and turning it into an opportunity to learn.

What is one piece of advice you would give to new coaches?
Every player communicates and learns differently, listen, don't lecture.

What was the biggest difference between your experience as an athlete and your experience as a coach?
As an athlete, there is always the driving force of individual success no matter how much of a team player you are. As a coach, the aspect of self-importance for me disappears. My success is based on the impact I can make on my players, not personal accolades.

What is your favourite memory from coaching?
U of C Invitational, Priddis Greens in 2020. We were 4 strokes back going into the second day of the tournament and I knew the boys were playing well. I walked with our top player down the 18th fairway talking about each shot decision and helping him along the way. He hit 3 beautiful shots coming into the last green to give us a birdie putt to complete the comeback and push the tournament into a playoff. We read the putt together, he made it and it was a great moment. He ended up losing in the playoff but a great moment nonetheless.

What excites you about becoming head coach for the Pronghorns Golf Team?
I am excited to build our team culture and help the program continue to grow in a positive direction. We have big goals for Pronghorns Golf and I am looking forward to the opportunity to watch our players grind, compete and grow as individuals.

What do you think it takes to build a successful team?
Culture, trust, and shared accountability. The easiest way to drive commitment is when the players feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves. My primary role as a Coach is to help cultivate that environment.

Thanks Coach Marcus!

Wendy Nelson

Wendy is a swimming coach with Special Olympics. Over the years Wendy has attended many competitions with her athletes, most recently the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Niagara where swimmer Naomi Leam won a silver medal.

What was your relationship with your coach (or coaches) like as an athlete? What was their biggest influence on you?
I was in the Jasper Place Swim Club in Edmonton back in the 1970s. Coaching back then had a very different approach to what it is today. I am glad that we have evolved so much from those coaching days. When I looked back at the coaching I received I decided that the negative wording all the time was a drain on both the coach and the swimmer. I decided early in in my coaching career not to use the negative to get a positive response.

What made you want to start coaching?
My oldest son is autistic and we found that group sports were a nightmare for him. He was a natural when it came to water so we ensured he had all the swimming lessons needed. When I found out that there was a Special Olympics chapter in Lethbridge I thought it would be great to have him involved in the swim program. When I inquired, I was told there may not be a program as they needed someone for the head coach, and did I know swimming, and had I been a lifeguard? It was a yes to that and 18 years later I am still coaching the Special Olympic swim team.

What is one piece of advice you would give to new coaches?
My advice to my coaches is to earn the swimmer's trust; they need to know you are there for them. Know the swimmer inside and out, their ups and downs, and what they expect from swimming. Help them achieve their goals and dreams.

What do you enjoy about coaching Special Olympics athletes?
Everything. What isn’t there to enjoy about them?

What was the biggest difference between your experience as an athlete and your experience as a coach?
As there was a huge time gap from when I was an athlete to when I became a coach, one thing I needed to do was reteach myself the strokes. I attended nearly 6 months of stroke improvement courses and camps. I realized you are not just a coach but you must take courses to become a certified coach. After 18 years of coaching, I am still taking courses and improving my coaching skills all the time.

What does it mean to you to coach the next generation of athletes?
One of the things I realized a long time ago is that there are so many opportunities for Special Olympic athletes to compete. Provincially, nationally, and on the international stage. Whatever the swimmers and parents or caregivers decide, that is where we come in as the coaching team, to work together to get them there.

How do you adapt to coaching in the Special Olympics categories?
Some things like nutrition planning, mental training and workouts are the same as coaching other athletes. Underneath these athletes is a heart of gold. Winning isn’t everything to them. Friendship, acceptance, pride, and inclusion are more important to most of them. We celebrate personal bests in the pool versus medals. Bling is nice but knowing how much they improved, what their friends are doing, and seeing fellow athletes after a few years away is, well, lots of hugs to be had. I have dealt with seizures, panic attacks, etc, and me being calm and collected helps them know I have their backs and will make sure nothing happens. Mental training for me has been a life saver coaching Special Olympics athletes.

What is your favorite memory from coaching?
I have so many wonderful memories of the athletes over the years but the one that sticks out the most was in my first year of coaching. We were at provincials and in finals. One swimmer in the final heat had not won a medal yet. The race started as I expected but then the three front swimmers slowed down to let the swimmer who had not medaled catch up to and pass them. He came in first and won a gold medal, where he most likely would have finished last. After the race I asked the swimmers what was going on, and their reply was, "Well, he hadn’t won a medal so we all agreed to let him win so he had a medal." That's the reason I coach these great bunch of athletes.

Thanks Coach Wendy!