With the successful Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in the rear-view mirror, High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson turns his focus to the upcoming Games cycle. Normally a “quadrennial,” the four-year cycle has been shortened by a year and remains complicated by added protocols, restrictions and uncertainty as the world looks to recover from the global COVID-19 pandemic. No matter what the conditions and factors outside Swimming Canada’s control, Atkinson believes that developing and sustaining strong coaches is critical to developing and sustaining strong teams. We sat down with John to discuss his philosophy on the importance of coaching, and some of his ideas for developing the next wave of coaches who will contribute to Canada’s success in the water.

SC: How important is coaching to our swimmers’ success?

JA: Coaching makes the difference and developing coaches is something that Swimming Canada has considered to be very important over the last two Olympic Cycles – Rio 2016 Rio and Tokyo 2020 – and will continue towards Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.

SC: What is the role of club programs and provincial sections in developing coaches and swimmers?

JA: So many people, including coaches, influence a young swimmer along the journey to the ultimate destination of the Olympic or Paralympic Games. Every athlete on the successful Tokyo 2020 teams started in club programs all across Canada. Swimmers first learned to swim, then transitioned into a club swimming program, then progressed through the different training groups in each club, learning how to race. At every step a coach and usually multiple coaches helped the athlete develop.

The provincial sections drive development programs for swimmers and coaches. This ultimately leads to opportunities for some athletes and coaches to represent Canada on the National Development Team Program at international events such as the FINA World Junior Championships or Junior Pan Pacific Championships. Many of these swimmers transition to the senior team while training with coaches in clubs, universities in Canada or the U.S., Swimming Canada High Performance Centres, or NextGen academies.

While many do not go on to represent the nation, their coaches help them become the best they can be, while of course enjoying the sport, forming friendships, having community engagement and learning about teamwork and perseverance.

SC: There were six coaches selected to the Olympic team staff, but how many coaches had a hand in Canada’s outstanding performances there?

JA: In all we recognized 46 coaches who played significant roles on the journey of the 26 swimmers who represented Canada at the Olympic Games. In addition to their current coach, we identified these coaches by giving each swimmer the option to list a previous primary coach, as well as the coach who coached them to their first senior swimming championships or Trials in Canada. We acknowledge more coaches were also involved in steps along the way and this shows it take many coaches to develop our swimmers.

SC: How important is coach recognition and development?

JA: Coach development has been a critical factor for Swimming Canada, and we have invested heavily in resources and time to the development of coaches, and this will continue toward Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.

Since 2014 we have had 155 coaches work across the Olympic swimming program who have worked on teams, camps and development programs.

For next year we have scheduled a virtual carded coaches update in February and an in-person carded coaches conference in September, as well as working with the Canadian Swimming Coaches Association in delivering updates to all.

SC: How do you choose coaches to national teams?

JA: Every team that represents Canada at a Games or Championships is selected or nominated by criteria that the Swimming Canada selection committee confirms prior to publication. Each of these covers not only swimmers but coaches as well.

Selection and nomination criteria clearly outline how a coach is deemed to be eligible. This includes qualifications, training courses, and memberships. They also outline that the High Performance Director has the authority to appoint coaches and this has been very important over the last two Olympic cycles to Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

SC: What kinds of things are you looking for in a national team coach?

JA: Primarily we look at the performance of the athletes they coach who make the team for individual events. We prioritize athletes most likely to win medals, and coaches who are coaching in Canada.

It is critical to have the right coaches and staff to support the performance expectations of the team. Ultimately not every swimmer can have their own personal coach attend a Games or Championships. This comes down in many instances to team size limits, budgets and limits on accreditations offered.

We want coaches who can communicate with swimmers’ coaches who were not selected to the team, and who bring a variety of skill sets. We want a balanced coaching group that can work with sprinters, mid distance and distance swimmers and relay teams. Most importantly, we want people willing to work in a supportive team environment, following all team protocols, behaviours and culture.

SC: Women have been underrepresented in senior coaching roles. What is being done to create more opportunities for female coaches?

JA: With the Swimming Canada Select Coaches Group attaining gender equity in recent years, this has been a significant step forward in the development of all coaches. In 2021 the Select Coach Group was completely through a virtual platform. This provided an opportunity to expand the group and eventually saw 38 coaches (19 women/19 men) participate in a series of presentations and workshops from March to August. The Select Coaches Group will continue be an important opportunity for coaches development through Swimming Canada.

Swimming Canada was delighted to support the Women Coach Internship Program through Commonwealth Games Canada and the Commonwealth Games Federation at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. This program allowed Swimming Canada to appoint Tina Hoeben as a coach to the Swimming Canada 2018 team at the Commonwealth Games. Since the Games, Tina was appointed through Commonwealth Games Canada and Swimming Canada to work as a mentor to up and coming female coaches identified, through an application process, such as Zoe Miles of Sackville, N.S, in Year 1 of the program, and Sierra Moores of Vancouver in Year 2.

This all builds on work with the development of female coaches with Own the Podium and through their coaching enhancement program, as well as other bespoke development opportunities.

SC: What other opportunities are coming up for coach development?

JA: More information will follow regarding the 2022 coach development programs of Swimming Canada.

Swimming Canada are also now looking to develop an ‘Accredited National Team Coach’ certification. This will explain how international swimming works, and the roles of key organizations such as the Canadian Olympic Committee and International Olympic Committee. It will cover qualification processes and, importantly, how the Swimming Canada senior team operates in practice. This aligns with our desire for continual improvement and creating an inclusive environment on all our teams that supports the athletes and staff to achieve their best performance. There will be an expectation that eventually all team coaches would have received the certification. We’ll be doing more consulting, planning and communication on this before implementation.

Finally, we will continue our strong partnership with the CSCA and moving forwards from our apprentice coach opportunities across our teams into delivering an assistant coaching role for the teams. The scope of the opportunity is always dependant on the accreditations allowed and the length of the tour, but more will follow on this in 2022.