Haley Bennett-Osborne coaches one of the best Para swimmers in the world, who also happens to be her brother.
The coach-swimmer dynamic can sometimes be complicated, but Bennett-Osborne said coaching Nicholas Bennett has strengthen their relationship.
“We get along really well,” said Bennett-Osborne, head coach of the Catalina Swim Club in Red Deer, Alta. “I don’t think you can actually separate the relationship you have with your athlete. The relationship you have is what allows you to know them and get the best out of them.
“I think that’s why Nick and I work really well together. We know each other so well and we trust each other. I think I know his limits pretty well. I know when I need to be patient and when I can push him.”
Coaching her brother has taught Bennett-Osborne lessons about dealing with other athletes.
“Learning how to be patient,” she said. “To try to get to know the person before you try to get the performance out of them.”
Bennett-Osborne will be part of Swimming Canada’s coaching staff at the Paris Paralympics. She coached at the last two Para Swimming World Championships but appreciates the enhanced scope of the Paralympics.
“It’s the biggest stage in sport,” said the Parksville, B.C., native. “I recognize how exciting that is, but there’s a lot of pressure there.
“It’s exciting. I hope that I can be present enough to take a deep breath, look around and realize how amazing it is to even be there.”
Her brother Nicholas was three years old when he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. At the time, doctors were not sure if he would talk or even walk.
At the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester, England, Nicholas won his first career world titles in the S14 200-metre freestyle and 200-m individual medley. At this year’s Swimming Canada Olympic & Paralympic Swimming Trials the 20-year-old set a world record in the 200-m I.M.
Growing up with Nicholas, and playing a role in his accomplishments, has aided Bennett-Osborne’s understanding of Para athletes.
“I’ve known him for his whole life,” she said. “I see everything that our family has done and worked through to get him to where he is now. I’ve seen how much work it’s taken.
“I think I have a better idea of how incredible where he is and where some people are in terms of other Para athletes.”
When she as young, Bennett-Osborne spent a year involved in artistic swimming, known then as synchronized swimming.
She didn’t find her true passion until her club held a swim-a-thon to raise money. For the next 10 years Bennett-Osborne swam freestyle events like the 1,500, 800 and 400-metre plus the 400-m I.M.
Even before her retirement from swimming Bennett-Osborne did some coaching.
“I really liked it,” she said. “I loved how exciting it was. I liked the people I worked with, and I felt like it came pretty naturally to me.
“I knew swimming pretty well, I’m generally good with people. It was a good fit right off the bat.”
Bennett-Osborne began coaching at the Ravensong Aquatic Club in Qualicum Beach, B.C., in 2016 and worked her way up to becoming the club’s head coach. She moved to the Catalina club last September.
While at Ravensong, Nicholas would sometimes train with Bennett-Osborne’s group. She also coached him at the Lima 2019 Parapan Games where he won three gold and a siler medal.
Nicholas spent time training at Swimming Canada’s High Performance Centre – Quebec in Montreal. Bennett-Osborne would coach him during trips him and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She has been coaching him full time the last two years.
While in Paris, Bennett-Osborne will also coach Reid Maxwell of the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club and Sabrina Duchesne of the Club de natation Rouge et Or at the University of Laval.
Preparing swimmers you don’t know during a major international event can be challenging.
“You don’t have a whole lot of time to get to know this this new person,” said Bennett-Osborne. “As soon as you get to know them, it’s like coaching other athletes you have in your program.”
Jy Lawrence, head coach of the Pacific Sea Wolves in Surrey, B.C., is the other woman on Swimming Canada’s Para team coaching staff.
“I want to say no, it doesn’t matter and it’s not important but maybe it is,” Bennett-Osborne said about having female coaches on staff. “Some people, especially some of the female athletes, I think would feel more comfortable with certain things, opening up.
“In an ideal world I don’t think it would matter but I think it still does.”
Bennett-Osborne believes to train an athlete, a coach must know them as a person first.
“It’s really important because you know what drives them and how to get the best out of them,” she said.
To her, success is making athletes feel good about themselves.
“I really like getting the opportunity to help people reach their own goals and feel really excited about what they can do,” said Bennett-Osborne. “If I can help someone be proud of themselves, I feel like I’ve done a good job.”