Head to Head Olympian Mentorship Program: Athletes Experiences

July 2, 2021

April 2021

From January 21 - April 2nd 2021 9 DSSC athletes participated in the Head to Head Virtual Olympian Mentorship Program. These athletes were selected based on the 2019-20 Rankings Report from the Swimming Canada RTR system whereby athletes with the top FINA points aged 2003 and younger were chosen. 

Over the course of the 10 week program, our athletes learned about the following topics: 
Team Culture (x2) 
Resilience 
Managing Nerves 
Goal Setting 
Time Management 
Accountability 
Healthy Habits 
Active Recovery 
International Experience 

Our athletes also had 2 interactive virtual meetings with Canadian Olympians where they could ask the Olympians any swimming and or non swimming related questions.  

When asked what the athletes would take away from the program, the athletes said: 
1. Not giving up when faced with a difficult challenge 
2. The importance technique has for the development of their swimming 
3. To have a balanced diet of both healthy and unhealthy foods 
4. How different professional athletes manage their nerves and emotions before and after their races. As said by Noemie Thomas, “One of the most important things when learning to preform, is learning to manage your nerves.” 
5. The crucial role warming up before a race and warming down after a race has on their overall performance for competitions. 

When asked how the athletes would sum up their experience of this 10 week program in one word, the words chosen were: 
1. Helpful 
2. Informative 
3. Rewarding 
4. Thrilling 
5. Special 

Another huge congratulations to our athletes who participated in this amazing program!