Launch of the 2023-24 LAB Coaches cohort

By Emmanuelle Champagne 

On November 14, the first LAB Entraîneur-e-s workshop was held, organized by André Gendron , Coachand Environment Development Advisor,Nicolas Masbourian, Coach and Environment Development Agent, and Frédérik Laberge, Montréal Sports Excellence Manager.

The first part of the workshop was aimed at bringing together the trainers.-e-to get to know each other better. Round-table discussions, enriching discussions and quick questions were launched with the aim of discovering more about each other.

Thinking things through 

In the second activity, the coaches-e-had to define the characteristics of a good learner and a good teammate. Listening skills, motivation, sincerity, perseverance, commitment and openness were among the answers put forward.

Still working in teams, they had to think and unpack what notions like identity and reflection meant to them. 

"Identity is a feeling that is defined individually or collectively and is separated into three categories: social, cultural and personal, which are defined by values, experiences and knowledge. Identity is always in flux.

A new member on the Conseil du sport 

The coach development advisor-e-André Gendron has recently joined the Conseil du sport de Montréal team.

A native of Quebec City, André Gendron is entering his 25th year as a coach. Although volleyball has always been his greatest passion, he has also juggled soccer, basketball, athletics and even figure skating as an educator. 

He got hooked on volleyball in fourth grade, starting out playing mini-volley. After high school, he decided to give up his sport to devote himself to coaching.

"I dabbled in a lot of sports, but volleyball was the one I focused on the most," says André Gendron, assistant coach at McGill University. 

In 2010, he became a full-time coach. Considering that he lacked the knowledge to be a better coach, he returned to school at the age of 30. He completed three certificates at the Université de Sherbrooke: a sports intervention certificate, a psychology certificate and, finally, a multidisciplinary certificate. "All of this was to take bits and pieces of a lot of things to help me coach better," reveals André Gendron, coach at the Université de Sherbrooke. reveals André Gendron, coach of the Division 1 women's volleyball program at Cégep André-Laurendeau.

When he received the invitation to run the LAB Entraîneur-e-s and all the programs offered to coaches, André Gendron was immediately delighted to join the team.