At the intersection where sports science meets swim training stands Simon Deguire.
Deguire brings a different background to his role as interim head coach with the High Performance Centre-Quebec, in Montreal. He has spent time as a sports physiologist with the NHL Montreal Canadiens and AHL Laval Rocket, plus previously worked with short track speed skating and Para cycling before becoming involved with Para swimming in 2021.
“As a coach, I want to incorporate sport science as much as possible,” said Deguire, who will be a member of Swimming Canada’s coaching staff at the Paris Paralympics.
“There are a lot of similarities in the way we monitor training load and athletes’ daily readiness.”
Paris will be Deguire’s first Paralympics and he’s excited about the experience.
“It’s an honour to be part of this team and represent our country,” he said. “I’m excited and motivated to witness my athletes reach their full potential on the world’s biggest stage.”
Deguire plans to use the competition to build and expand his coaching knowledge.
“I’m looking forward to interacting and exchanging on best practices with other sport coaches across Canada and from around the world,” he said.
Deguire began his work at the HPC-Quebec as a data science consultant and moved into coaching last season. He believes his background in sports physiology benefits his role as a coach.
“My background gives me tools to clearly understand what is needed in the water to deliver the performance we want to get to,” he said. “I look at efforts and do the breakdown of the physiological requirements it takes to improve performance, whether it’s an effort of 30 seconds, 90 seconds or three minutes.”
He’s also able to incorporate his experience with other sports like short track and cycling into Para swimming.
“Energy systems development is definitely a big component of all those sports, as events duration most commonly range from 30 seconds to five minutes,” said Deguire. “However, the training is different.
“As a swimming coach, I’ve definitely learned a lot more about swim technique and I’ve been curious to find ways to optimize it for our swimmers.”
Deguire doesn’t see a large difference between coaching Para and Olympic stream athletes.
“To be honest, performance times are different, but that’s the only difference in my head,” he said. “This is high-performance sport, so my job is to optimize my athletes’ performance and that comes with strong training individualization, whether it’s the training load, swim technique, or between-session recovery.”
In an interview with the Parc Olympique website, Deguire said one of the ways he contributes to an athlete’s success is by trying to be as innovative as possible.
“My role is to do research, to find ways to improve and optimize their performance,” he said. “I try to provide answers (and) possible solutions to optimize training and ultimately allow them to reach their physiological potential.
“If we try something and it doesn't work, it's important not to have too much ego. The question we have to ask ourselves is, why didn't it work? In the end, it is tiny percentages that will influence the performance of high-level athletes, which is why nothing should be left on the table.”
For example, when travelling to competitions or training camps, Deguire likes to set a precise schedule for sleep, meals, and light exposure time.
“The goal is to manage the athlete’s level of fatigue and ensure a quick adaptation,” he said.
The athletes Deguire will coach in Paris include Arianna Hunsicker and Clemence Pare, who both will be competing in their first Paralympics, and veteran Tess Routliffe.
Routliffe swam at the Rio 2016 Paralympics as a 17-year-old and won a silver medal. A serious back injury sidelined her from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
Deguire was part of the coaching staff the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester, England, where Canadian swimmers won 19 medals, including nine gold. That experience helped prepared him for Paris.
“My responsibilities and involvement increased a lot, and I was able to see my role grow,” he told the Parc Olympique website. “An important step has been taken. I was more at the heart of the decisions instead of being involved only as a performance advisor.
“We worked very hard with the athletes and developed a good team dynamic and a climate of trust.”
One of the joys Deguire finds in his role is helping athletes reach their potential.
“I’m passionate about this job because I have the privilege to witness athletes I’m working with grow and get closer to reaching their full potential,” he said. “Usually, you can see the happiness and satisfaction in their eyes when they deliver those high-level performances.”