By Rita Mingo

A swimming coach for nearly 40 years, Marc Tremblay has always wanted to help his pupils achieve their goals, but he knows better than anyone that it is a two-way street.

“The training is there and you help them with practice and to reach the next level,” he explains. “But you also want them to take ownership of their swimming. I am here to guide them. That’s what we’re trying to do. It’s about swimming, but it’s also about making them better people by teaching them to work towards the goals they set for themselves. You help them navigate toward those goals and set priorities that align with the goals you want to achieve.”

Tremblay, head coach of the Kelowna Aquajets, is Swimming Canada’s 2023 Junior Coach of the Year.

“It’s nice to see that the work we do with young people is recognized by the national office,” he said.

Tremblay’s coaching resume includes stints with the Vernon Kokanees, the Edmonton Keyanos and the University of Alberta team. From 2011 to 2021, he was responsible for the age group program at the Cascade Swim Club of Calgary and is now in his third season with the Aquajets.

One of his star swimmers was Alexanne Lepage, now a member of the University of Calgary swim team, who took his lessons to heart. Lepage stunned the world by winning two gold medals last September at the World Aquatics Junior World Championships in Israel in the women’s 100m and 200m breaststroke events.

“Alexanne is a very motivated person,” Tremblay said. “When she joined us in May or June last year (after leaving the Vernon swimming club), she wanted to continue to progress. We had a relationship with the Vernon club where the young people came once a month or every six weeks to train with ours on Saturday mornings. Over the past two years we have collaborated in this way and I have seen it grow. She always came to training sessions prepared, pushing herself and her teammates. »

“When she was here, she pushed everyone, she was a great mentor and leader to the younger guys and girls on the team. She always gives 100%. She is a great young girl to coach and have on the team because she elevates the people around her. »

Lepage set a national age group record (2:24.70) in the 200m and another personal best in the 100m (1:06.58). She added a silver medal in the 4x100m medley relay to her tally at the junior world championships.

“She did better than I expected, actually,” Tremblay said. “We’re not talking about winning medals, we’re talking about time, what we think you can achieve. Before she left for the national team, I spoke with the coaches who were going to take care of her and I told them that I thought she could achieve times like 1:07 in the 100m. breaststroke; she did 1:06, which is, wow, better than I thought. And in the 200 breaststroke, I told the coaches I think she could do 2:27, 2:28 and she ended up going a lot faster. It was excellent. I can see it because I saw her in training… but she went way beyond that. She really raised her level of play in this competition, that’s for sure.”

Tremblay also has international coaching experience, having served on staff at the 1997 and 2002 Pan Pacific Championships.

“As a coach, of course I like to coach at international level, but that cannot be done without the club system, without having success at club level,” he stressed. “I’m happy to be coaching in the club system. Seeing a young girl like (Lepage) reach the international level and win is great. I want to continue doing this. »

“What pleases me is to see young people moving forward and realizing that they have control of the situation.”