National Coaches Week : coaches find joy and challenges in Para sport

National Coaches Week which runs this week until Sunday is a time to celebrate the positive impact coaches have on athletes and communities across Canada. This annual campaign is an opportunity to recognize coaches for the integral role they play.

In Para sport, most coaches either coached able bodied athletes first or coach both Para and able-bodied athletes in their programs and clubs.

One of Jy Lawrence’s early decisions when she became head coach of the Pacific Sea Wolves Swim Club in Surrey, B.C., was to integrate Sebastian Massabie into her top group. Five years later, Massabie won the gold medal and broke the world record in the men’s S4 50-metre freestyle at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

‘’It’s been very fun for me, because it’s a puzzle,’’ said Lawrence, part of Swimming Canada’s coaching staff at the Games. ‘’I love that because you are thinking outside of the box and getting to work with the athletes abilities versus focusing on their inabilities.

‘’The biggest part of this challenge is thinking outside the box.’’

Andrzej Sadej was head coach of Canada’s national judo team in the 1990s which featured Nicolas Gill, who won two Olympic medals. In 2014, he hesitantly took over the Paralympic program. The decision changed his life.

“When I was asked to step into the coaching realm of the Para sport, I thought that I was too old,” said Sadej, 65, who led Priscilla Gagne to the last three Paralympics, which included a silver medal in 2020. “But I had the Olympic level experience and when I started it just sucked me in. This is a completely different world, great people who appreciate what they get. They really deserve as much attention as anybody else.”

Sadej couldn’t have asked for a better final chapter to his career.

“For me it was an eye opener and real life-changing experience honestly. I immensely enjoy it and I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity to do it near the end of my sporting career.”

Para athletics coach Brett Lumley of London, Ont., was part of Canada’a coaching staff in Paris. He worked with the throwers and long jumper Noah Vucsics. Greg Stewart won the gold in men’s F46 shotput and Jesse Zesseu took silver in men’s F37 discus.

‘’It’s a great group of athletes who are so motivated, they’re ready to perform,’’ said Lumley, ‘’It’s a well-run unit. They gel really well and it’s just a great vibe all around actually.’’

Boccia is a strategical game and mental preparation is essential for success in the sport says Canadian national team coach César Nicolai.

‘’In my early years, when I asked them what they were thinking about on the pitch, some of my players would say to me: ‘I’m thinking about what the coach will say if I miss, I have to be good because he trusts me. He chose me.’ That’s why I’ve had meetings with them about what’s going on in their heads.’’

The players must be in constant communication with the coach.

‘’My athletes need to understand that I’m not here to judge them, but simply to help them grow,’’ Nicolai said. ‘’To create a relationship of trust, I want to show them vulnerability so that they show it back to me.

‘’That’s very important.’’

For more information on National Coaches Week click HERE