Presenters and Speakers Biographies

Coaches Week Presenters

John Crichton, ChCP, CSCF Level 3 / CSIA 3 

John has spent the last five years as the Head Coach of the Canadian Men’s World Cup Ski Team and has coached at the last two Olympic Winter Games. Beyond the Olympics he has been a member of the coaching staff at World Championships, European Championships, NorAm Championships, and Canadian National Championships. In his 21 years of experience he has coached at all levels including Nancy Greene Ski League to Provincial and National teams. 

Coaches Week Presentation: Lessons Learned: from and Olympic coaches perspective.
Community Coaching Forum - Kamloops, Wednesday, Sept. 22

Gail Donohue, NCCP Competition Development Master Learning Facilitator

Throughout her many years of involvement in sport, Gail Donohue has made a difference at every level — local, provincial, national, and international.  Committed to supporting coaches in sport and ensuring their impact at all levels of the provincial and national sport systems, Gail has shared her considerable skills in many areas.  Gail has been a National Team athlete, 1984 Olympic Coach, sport administrator, and learning facilitator.  Professionally, Gail’s career spans a number of important initiatives.  Her expertise covers administration, financial management, partnership development and maintenance, communications and coaching education.  Gail has worked with all ages from children to adults, at recreational to Olympic levels.  At the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific, Gail directed the National Coaching Institute-British Columbia and managed the athlete and coach services programs.  In 2008, she left Sport BC as Director of Strategic Membership Systems to become a full time consultant.  Gail’s real passion lies in facilitating individuals and organizations in achieving excellence.   Gail is an advanced learning facilitator with the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) and trainer with OneSmartWorld.  Gail, a Charter Professional Coach, is Vice President of Coaches of Canada and sits on the board of the Coaches Association of British Columbia and Coaching Association of Canada.   

 NCCP Education Session: Competition Development Module: Managing Conflict
Coaches Conference - Prince George, Saturday, Sept. 25 2010

Dr. Laura Farres, Ph.D., Ch.P.C.

Laura has a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Ottawa, an M.A. in Physical and Health Education from Queen's University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of British Columbia. Her formal training is in the area of psychopedagogy and the psychology of performance and she is also a chartered professional coach (ChPC) with Coaches of Canada. She applies her knowledge and skills of mental training to sport and exercise, health, and business contexts through her private consulting practice, Mind in Motion Consulting. She has worked with a number of national, provincial and regional organizations in this capacity. She has supported Team BC sports as a mental performance consultant through 2 Western Canada Games and 4 Canada Games cycles. She has also provided mental performance consulting to Special Olympics athletes and coaches at 5 National Games and 2 World Games. Recently, she was a member of a team of consultants providing mental performance support through VANOC medical services at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She is an instructor at Douglas College in New Westminster, British Columbia in the Department of Sport Science and an adjunct professor in the Theatre Department at the University of British Columbia teaching a course on Performance Psychology. She is also a professional member the Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CSPA) 

 Coaches Week Presentation: Sport Psychology: Psychology of Quality Training
Coaches Conference - SFU Harbour Centre - Vancouver, Saturday, Sept. 18
Coaches Forum - Vancouver Island University - Nanaimo, Sunday, Sept. 20  
Coaches Conference - Charles Jago Sport Centre - Prince George, Saturday, Sept. 25  

Dr. John Hogg, Ph.D.

John Hogg has worked both as a professional coach and as an applied sport psychologist. For over 30 years he was a successful swim coach at the club, university, and international levels and guided many athletes to world class competition. He pursued an interest in the field of performance psychology earning a masters degree (1978) and a doctoral degree (1982) from the University of Alberta. He taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and earned a full professorship at the University of Alberta in 1990. He has presented at major conferences, seminars, and congresses the world over, published extensively, and authored 7 books in the mental skills area. John retired from the University of Alberta in 2003 but still presents, writes, and works with aspiring teams and athletes.

 Coaches Week Presentation: Sport Psychology
Coaches Conference - SFU Harbour Centre - Vancouver, Saturday, Sept. 18

Dr. Karen MacNeill, Ph.D., Reg. Psych

Dr. Karen MacNeill is committed to helping elite performers reach their full potential by providing mental performance consultation, workshops, and presentations pertaining to personal and interpersonal effectiveness.  As a registered psychologist who has a specialty in performance psychology, she has helped individuals work through issues of career, transition, depression and anxiety, in addition to having consulted and provided mental training to numerous national team (snowboarding, speed-skating, freestyle skiing, para-Alpine team, women’s wheelchair basketball team, women’s hockey etc.) and development level athletes and coaches.  Dr. MacNeill has first hand knowledge of the attributes required to achieve and sustain peak performance. She competed at the international level on the Canadian Field Hockey team for 10 years. In addition, she has worked with high performance athletes and Olympians since 1998, and attended the Winter Olympics in 2002 in capacity of sport psychology consultant.  Most recently, she applied her knowledge and expertise in her capacity as manager of sport psychology services for Vancouver Olympic Committee’s medical team at the 2010 Olympic Games.   Her two masters degrees in both Sport and Counselling Psychology, and Ph.D in Counseling Psychology blends well with her applied experience. Together they combine and give Dr. MacNeill a strong foundation for training others to achieve high levels of personal and performance excellence. She is also a professional member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CSPA)

Coaches Week Presentation: Sport Psychology
Coaches Conference - SFU Harbour Centre - Vancouver, Saturday, Sept. 18 (Opening Keynote)
Coaches Conference - SFU Harbour Centre - Vancouver, Saturday, Sept. 18

Dave Newson

Dave Newson is the new Executive Director of BC Athlete Voice, an athlete driven organization dedicated to supporting BC high performance athletes with education, leadership and advocacy. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of BC Athlete Voice, Dave was most recently the Venue Sport Manager for Ice Hockey at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In this position he spent close to two years organizing the Ice Hockey and Sledge Hockey competitions held at UBC Thunderbird Arena during the games. Before VANOC, he spent 10 seasons as the Head Coach of The UBC Women’s Ice Hockey Program. During this time he also worked closely with the provincial hockey programs and with Hockey Canada’s coaching programs. Also while at UBC, Dave was the director of the Community Sport Services Department which operated extensive community programs using the University facilities. He continues to work closely with the International Paralympic Committee’s Sledge Hockey Technical Committee. He is also excited about coaching his son’s in their minor sports this season.

Coaches Week Presentation: Learning to Lead (Presented by BC Athlete Voice)
Community Coaching Forum - Nanaimo, Monday, Sept. 20

Chris Johnson (aka Dr. Laugh)

Chris Johnson, a speaker on humour in the workplace, believes that laughter is guaranteed to shorten the distance between two people, cultivate more effective communication and reduce stress. Effective use of humour allows people to laugh together, play together and stay together in healthy, productive and cohesive units. Through his interactive and dynamic presentation he shares the secrets of how humour and laughter can help create caring environments, reduce animosity among co-workers and assist in building healthier and more productive workplace cultures.

Johnson has won numerous awards of recognition for his teaching having taught at all levels of education in Physical Education, including: the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, the Douglas College Faculty Excellence Award, the B.C Teachers Federation's 'Innovation in Teaching Award', and the Daryl Thompson award for outstanding contribution to amateur Sport in BC. He was formerly Community Programmer with the Sports Institute at Douglas College, BC and has been awarded the Faculty Emeritus Award for his contribution to post secondary teaching. Douglas College also named its half million-dollar fitness facility "The Chris Johnson Fitness Centre". He is the author of Every Coach's Planner and Idea Book.

  Coaches Week Presentation:  Being the Best Coach You Can Be

Coaches Forum - Tournament Capital Centre - Kamloops, Wednesday, Sept. 22

Dr. Saul Miller, Ph.D.

Dr. Saul L. Miller is a performance specialist consulting in sport, business, health care and the arts. With a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, Dr. Miller is one of North America’s leading mental coaches. His work in the areas of enhancing performance and team building has helped organizations, individuals and teams be successful while dealing effectively with pressure, stress, and change. Over the past twenty-five years, Dr. Miller’s clients have included sport teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, CFL, Major League Baseball plus PGA Tour golfers, NCAA athletes, and Olympians in over a dozen different sports. His business clients have included Cisco, Cominco, Envision, Honda, Investors Group, Motorola, Nike, Roche, Sony TD, Telus, Toyota, Visa, and 24 Hour Fitness. He is the author of 8 books on performance and well-being including his latest book, Why Teams Win: 9 Keys to Success in Business, Sport, and Beyond, Hockey Tough: A Winning Mental Game, A Little Relaxation, and Performing Under Pressure: Gaining the Mental Edge in Business and Sport (to be published by Wiley in January, 2010). Dr. Miller is also a professional member with the Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CSPA).

  Coaches Week Presentation: Sports Psychology: Emotional Management for Performance
Coaches Conference - SFU Harbour Centre - Vancouver, Sunday, Sept. 18

Dr. Anne Muscat, Ph.D., RCC

Anne Muscat holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of British Columbia (U.B.C.). She holds two Masters degrees - in sport and counseling psychology from the U.B.C. Anne is the founder of Mynd Matters Consulting – a high performance psychology consulting firm that she established in the early 90s. She works with a number of national, provincial and regional organizations in this capacity. Anne has supported Team BC sports as a sport psychology consultant through 4 Canada Games cycles. Dr. Muscat provides performance psychology consulting support to all ages of athletes, Olympians and Paralympians. Anne was a successful international and national athlete. She has been able to combine her experiences as an athlete, competitive coach (e.g., 14 years) and researcher while consulting and conducting workshops in the area of performance and sport psychology. She teaches part-time at Langara College and in the past the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C. Anne is also a professional member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CSPA).

  Coaches Week Presentation:  Sports Psychology: Using Imagery to Enhance Performance
Coaches Conference - SFU Harbour Centre - Vancouver, Sunday, Sept. 18

Steve Ramsbottom, BHK, CSCS

Steve is the owner of Performance Institute, a Strength and Conditioning facility located in Burnaby, BC.  He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in Human Kinetics.  He is certified by the (NSCA) National Strength and Conditioning Association.  Steve is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, their Residency Program, and is trainer for several of BC’s top amateur and collegiate athletes.  Steve is also the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the National Wheelchair Rugby Team, and the National Wheelchair Tennis Team.  Some other notable clients include the Slovak National Hockey Team, 3-time national figure skating champion Emanuel Sandhu, as well as actors Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and Jessica Alba.  Steve delivers a science based conditioning program that pushes athletes to reach their potential.  

 Coaches Week Presentation:  Speed Development (Strength & Conditioning)
Coaches Forum- Vancouver Island University - Nanaimo, Sunday, Sept. 20  
Coaches Forum - Penticton Library - Penticton, Thursday, Sept. 23  

Dr. Blair Whitmarsh

Whitmarsh is the Dean of the School of Human Kinetics at Trinity Western University in British Columbia. Since entering the field of sport psychology 20 years ago, Blair has consulted with numerous provincial, national, and international athletes from the sports of ringette, hockey, baseball, volleyball, swimming, gymnastics, track and field, and dance.  He is the sport psychology consultant for the Trinity Western University Sports Program (volleyball, basketball, and soccer), and provides mental training for a number of elite and professional individual athletes. We are happy to have him join us in Penticton this year!

 Coaches Week Presentation:  Sport Psychology
Coaches Forum - Penticton Library - Penticton, Thursday, Sept. 23  

Olympic Panelists

Justin Kripps

Justin has been a member of the Senior Bobsleigh for three seasons. He has medaled at the World Cup multiple times and finished 5th place in February in the Winter Olympics in the 4 Man Bobsleigh, pushing for CAN 2. Before bobsleigh Justin ran Track & Field for Team BC and Simon Fraser University before turning to Bobsleigh. We look to Justin's input on our Olympic Panel!

  Coaches Week:  Olympic Panel: Athlete - Bobsleigh
Coaches Conference - SFU Harbour Centre - Vancouver, Sunday, Sept. 18

Marcel Lacroix

Marcel Lacroix never dreamt that he would become one of Canada's best speed skaters. Nor did he aspire to a coaching career; teaching was his plan. Invited by friends to try speed skating, he turned them down flatly: “No way you're going to catch me wearing those tights!” When he eventually did venture out to a practice, the coach assured him he could skate in his jeans and Marcel never looked back, going on to excel at both long and short track.

He got his start coaching in 1988 when, as the oldest skater in his club, he was asked to fill in for an absent coach. Told he would be paid, he accepted. The offer was repeated the following year and before long he began to take coaching seriously. He had good success and ended up as provincial coach at national championships and gradually moved up the ranks. For Marcel, who earned his NCI Diploma in High Performance Coaching in both speed skating and hockey, 1998 was a banner year. ”I was named to the coaching staff for the Nagano Olympics, where the men's relay program won the gold medal for the first time, we had another gold, a silver, and a bronze, and we won the world championships.” The success convinced him it was time for change. “I had achieved everything I could with the short track program. I like to challenge myself and if I kept doing the same thing, I would plateau and not become a better coach. Being able to switch is a lovely part of the Oval. There are always opportunities for a coach to challenge himself.”

Marcel, who was Speed Skating Canada's Male Coach of the Year for 2003-04 and is a three-time recipient of the Wittnauer Coaching Excellence Award, spent the next two years coaching the all-around long track program and another two years coaching power skating with the women's hockey program before returning to long track. Marcel recently announced his retirement from professional coaching... we look forward to his insight at Coaches Week!

  Coaches Week:  Olympic Panel: Coach - Long Track Speed Skating
Coaches Conference - SFU Harbour Centre - Vancouver, Sunday, Sept. 18

Tim Milne

Tim Milne is the Technical Coach with the Canadian Snowboard Cross team. He is a graduate of the National Coaching Institute-BC in canoe-kayak and has a journalism degree. He has coached snowboarding for two seasons on the World Cup circuit including the 2009 World Championships. He brings the Canadian sport science perspective to the team and has a relentless passion for both snowboarding and his athletes.

  Coaches Week:  Olympic Panel: Coach - Snowboard Cross
Coaches Conference - SFU Harbour Centre - Vancouver, Sunday, Sept. 18