One of the lessons Jy Lawrence has learned in her five years of coaching one of Canada’s top Paralympic swimmers is don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
“On the Para side, so much of what we do has to be thinking outside of the box,” said Lawrence, head coach of the Pacific Sea Wolves in Surrey, B.C.
“Sometimes, we don’t even know where the box is until we see someone that’s so far outside of it, we’re like ‘Oh my God, why didn’t I think of that?”
Lawrence will be one of the coaches for Swimming Canada’s team competing at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. She has played a large role in developing Sebastian Massabie into a world and Canadian record holder.
Lawrence was part of the coaching staff at last year’s Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, but Paris will be her first Paralympics.
“I’m really just looking forward to it,” she said. “I’m excited about it.”
Lawrence began working with Massabie, a 19-year-old who has cerebral palsy that affects his left side, prior to the pandemic. It was her first experience of being the lead coach for a Para swimmer.
“For me, it’s been a ton of experimentation,” she said. “Figuring out what works, what doesn’t work. Trying to not reinvent the wheel but maybe reinvent something that could act like the wheel.
“It’s been different. I don’t know if that’s consistent for other coaches of Paralympic athletes.”
Her experience with Massabie has reshaped Lawrence’s approach to both Para and Olympic swimmers.
“We protect our athletes too much,” she said. “What he’s able to do with what he has is so far beyond what my brain can comprehend.
“We need to stop protecting our athletes and we need to see what they are capable of and challenge them to get there, instead of holding them back and maybe being too timid with them.”
Lawrence was born in Ottawa and raised in Northern Ontario. She was 13 when her family moved to White Rock, B.C. She began swimming with the Sea Wolves and has been part of the club since 2002.
Lawrence attended the University of Calgary where she was part of the swim team. She started work as an assistant coach to help pay for her education.
The move to coaching was a natural progression. Even as a young swimmer, one of the first things Lawrence would do at a meet was walk the deck talking to the different coaches.
She would also scrutinize the heat sheets, analyzing the different swimmers.
“I was almost too analytical as a swimmer,” said Lawrence. “I would have decided who is going to be stronger on their back end or the front end. That does not equate to a strong performance as an athlete because I’ve decided someone else was better.”
After university Lawrence returned to White Rock. She did some coaching with the Sea Wolves as she trained for the 2012 Olympic Trials. After the trials she joined the Seas Wolves staff full time.
“It was cool because I was still someone that was in the club and people were talking about,” she said. “Sometimes with younger coaches, there’s some parents that think coaches don’t have the experience. I never met with that.”
Massabie was 14 and training with swimmers half his age when Lawrence began training him. She decided to move him into a group of senior swimmers.
Looking back, that was a mistake and one of her early lessons.
“We should have done it slower,” said Lawrence. “In 20-20 hindsight, I would have taken more time and had a smoother transition.”
Lawrence expects her Paralympic athletes to follow the same rules and standards as Olympic swimmers.
“If you show up late, I send you home,” she said. “If you don’t understand part of the set and you get it wrong, you have to restart.
“The same of morals and standards are there.”
Over time she also has learned the skills that set Massabie apart from other athletes. For example, he excels at breath control.
“His strategy for a race is going to be vastly different from someone else,” she said. “I coached all my athletes as individuals, and he just has a different skill set as an individual.”
Having an athlete set records and win medals is an achievement. But it’s still the small things brings Lawrence the most pleasure on the deck.
“What I love is when I’ve written a workout that I’m very excited to coach,” she said. “I get to practise, and the athletes are excited about the workout.
“My favourite is when my expectation was lower than what they’re capable of doing and they excel through the workout. That’s my favourite.”