Coaching the Olympian Way | An Olympian's approach to coaching an athlete

“I look for the fire that someone has inside them. When someone has the fire, they're the ones who love to work. They love to go train. Most skills are teachable, but if they lack the fire, they lack that desire of what motivates them to want to succeed. That's the one thing you can't teach.” 

Two-time Olympian, Don Kwasnycia, talks with Bob Palmer about how his experience as an Olympic competitor shaped him for his current role as the head skeet coach for the Canadian Shooting Federation (SFC-FTC), a member of the ISSF. As a coach for the next generation of Canadian Olympians, Don gets his best results when he builds trust with his athletes, where they create a bond to stay in the Zone, both in practice and in competition.

As their coach, he encourages and supports them by being their rock, fanning the flames of the “fire within”, and by taking a “team approach” to supporting all aspects of their game (technical, fitness, nutrition, mental training) in order to help them achieve what they want in their lives. Now that’s coaching!