London, ON - The Tokyo Olympic Games come to an end this week. The Western Mustangs have enjoyed every minute with Canada, and our very own Mustangs, well represented, including by our exceptional Mustang coaches. Our coaches have spent countless time training some of the most elite level athletes. Team Canada Rowing coaches Michelle Darvill and Phil Marshall, who are both proud Western alumni and former Mustangs Rowing coaches, and current Mustangs Track & Field Head Coach Vickie Croley, who coaches Decathlon athlete Damian Warner, who won gold in the Men's Decathlon at the Tokyo Olympics earlier today! Congratulations Damian and Vickie, and everyone who works so hard to support these amazing Olympic athletes.
We had a chance to speak with both Croley and Darvill, and like many of our Mustangs Olympic athletes, the coaching experience they gained at Western has helped them greatly; And they have used that experience when also coaching Olympic athletes and hopefuls.
Vickie Croley, Head Coach for the Mustangs Track & Field team, has 35 years of coaching experience, 28 of which have been at Western. Despite last season's cancellation, Croley made the necessary adjustments for her team, in order to make the best out of the extended training time. Leading a team of over 100 athletes is no easy task, however coach Croley has led the team to success in the past, with the most recent being the 2nd place finish for both the Men's and Women's teams at the 2020 OUA championships. Since her coaching style remains the same, the transition from training OUA to Olympic athletes is seamless for Croley. Although she didn't travel to Tokyo with Damian Warner, she directly coached him once a week in the hurdles and was often at most of his training sessions, as others she coaches trains with him or other high-performance athletes.
When watching the Tokyo Games, fans and aspiring Olympians may wonder just how much preparation the olympic athletes put in. Coach Croley gave us a snapshot of a training day for Damian Warner, who does much of his training in the Western Mustangs facilities. "Damian usually trains 2 or 3 events per day while at the track, depending on the time of year. His session will begin with a 45-minute warm up - activation exercises, jog, mobility progressing towards drills that are specific to the event he is training first that day. Then he takes a few minutes to transition to the next event and change his shoes. After hurdles he usually trains for discus, since it follows that event in the decathlon. This part of the training session takes about 30-45 minutes (depending on the time of year). He will complete drills progressing to full throws. 12-15 throws total."
Coach Darvill spoke about her time as a member of the Canadian National Team and training under Al Morrow, former Head Women's National Team and Western Mustangs Women's Coach. When London was the hub of the Women's National training center in the 1990s, Darvill says "exposure to this environment, which held extremely high standards, influenced me as a coach." While competing for the Canadian National Team, Darvill trained and coached the Novice Women's Rowing Team at Western during the fall and spring of 1992-1993, and in 2002-2003. Today, Darvill has almost 30 years of coaching experience and she specifically worked with the women's 8+ team, who took home the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics July 29 finals race.
Coach Darvill was in Tokyo for the Olympics, and when discussing how she was assigned to be a coach and the excitement surrounding the event, she said "I was part of the coaching staff before the Olympics and was excited to actually be nominated to the team with the group of athletes I was coaching." When asked what she was most looking forward to, she said it was the last weeks of training before the games to determine the actual speed of the boat the women were capable of.
Insight into what a day at the Olympics entails for a coach can highlight all the work the goes on outside of the actual competition. For Darvill, race days were typically spent cleaning the boat, checking the equipment, and analyzing racing. However, other days involved "Reviewing athlete monitoring, checking the weather, grabbing a bus to arrive at the racing venue early to go over the equipment, meeting with the athletes to review sessions, cycling beside the boat during training (my favourite part of the day!), debriefing and repeat training if planned. Late afternoons we had crew meetings to discuss strategy and bring in good vibes" Darvill said.
When asked what her favourite aspect of coaching is, Darville said she really enjoys team building and helping athletes unify to work through challenges towards a common goal. She also shared that she believes her greatest strength as a coach is keeping it simple by "encouraging belief and creative problem solving among the athletes as well as celebrating individuality. Making it fun."
For Croley, the most important lesson she has learned from her time as a coach is the importance of the mental side of sport. In addition to this, it's that all athletes learn differently; and as a coach, she needs to figure out what style works best for each athlete. When it comes time for them to perform, Croley stated that "They need to be calm, relaxed, confident, believe that they are ready and just compete. When an athlete has stress, they go back to old habits that they are likely just comfortable doing. Doing this will not result in their best performance."
In terms of helping athletes discover their full potential, Croley said it's important to "provide them with a proper training program and technical advice while coaching them. As well providing them the tools necessary outside of actual training such as nutrition, medical support and mental performance coaching are 100% necessary. A decathlete specifically requires the ability to move from one event to the next without being upset from a performance they weren't that happy with or else it will negatively affect the next event in most cases. They can initially be upset or very excited (if a great results) but not for a long period of time as they need to get to a level where they can compete at their best in the next event."
Although a few more events remain in this year's Olympic games, Darvill and her team's #Tokyo2020 experience has come to conclusion. Although her team winning a gold medal will be something she will never forget, Darvill stated that her favourite memories are special because of the athletes involved. She also shared the best piece of advice she had for young athletes hoping to one day compete at the Olympics, stating that "success is not about winning or losing, it is about being the best version of yourself, performing the best you are capable of and being proud of your accomplishments."
Dedication, along with being the best version of oneself is a major part of being a top caliber athlete. For those who may be inspired by Damian Warner's gold medal win, coach Vickie Croley shared that he has been training for these events for 11 years and over time has almost perfected some of them. "He is a perfectionist and continues to try and perfect the rest of them. This is one of Damian's attributes that makes him the success he is. He also does all the right things away from the track regarding his nutrition, strength, physio and mental performance" Croley said.
Although the Decathlon is now complete, all aspiring Olympians can apply Croley's final piece of advice for Damian to their own journey. Croley had advised Damian to "enjoy the atmosphere and be himself, similar to how he has competed during his best decathlons. He competes at his best when he is most comfortable and relaxed, yet focused. I have already mentioned to him that if he is stressed at all during the decathlon, to think of his 4-month-old son Theo to lighten the mood and bring him back where he needs to be ready to compete at his best. He also needs to focus on him. Every Olympics Damian has competed in, we have seen someone have the meet of their life and if this is happening for one of his competitors, he needs to not be thrown off by this as he can only control what he does."
No matter the sport, young Olymipcs athlete hopefuls, striving to follow in the footsteps of Damian Warner and the Women's Rowing 8+ team, and one day become Olympic gold medalists themselves, can take the insight provided by these coaches to help them along their path to being a high-performance athlete.
Congratulations Coaches, and congratulations to Damian Warner and the Canadian Women's Rowing 8+. You have made us so #purpleandproud.
