Pierre Lamy to coach Carabins swim team

MONTREAL – The Université de Montréal Sports Excellence Program is proud to announce that Pierre Lamy has been hired as head coach of the Carabins Swim Team. Lamy, whose coaching career spans more than 25 years, will complete his present contract with the Centre national de Montréal in time to assume his UdeM position at the start of the next season.

As a Level 4 instructor in Canada’s National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP, known in Quebec by its French abbreviation PNCE) and a graduate of the National Coaching Institute, Pierre Lamy has been a central figure for many years in developing the next generation of top-ranking swimmers. He has also headed the Quebec Junior Swimming Team for the past three years and been in charge of national training for the Canada Games in 2001 and 2005.

“Pierre is an extremely capable coach with a highly diversified range of experience, and he shares our values. He’ll fit perfectly into what we’re trying to with our swim team and we’re very glad to add him to our staff,” says UdeM sports program director Manon Simard, who is herself a former member of the national swim team.

“This is a new step in my career and I think it’ll be very rewarding,” says Pierre Lamy. “Excellence is what a university is all about, and it will be exciting to help the Carabins athletes combine their studies with top performance on a sports circuit where team dynamics play a major role.”

At the Centre national de Montréal, Lamy has worked closely since 2009 with several star members of the national team currently appearing on the international swimming circuit.

“Pierre’s expertise in technical analysis, which is a rare item in our market, will help us go much farther in training our swimmers and also broaden our links with all the leading figures in the swimming sector,” says Manon Simard.

 “The UdeM already has a host of services and an unrivalled environment to offer advanced athletes. My role will be to give them the benefit of my own past experience and help them reach new heights,” says the Bleus’ new coach.

A major track record

Before joining the Centre national, Pierre Lamy worked for 10 years in the CAMO club, chiefly as head coach responsible for age groups. Before that, from 1989 to 1998, he was heavily involved in developing swim programs in the Quebec City region with Club Cap Rouge/Saint-Augustin/Québec (CSQ). In addition to various international competitions, including the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games, he took part in the Beijing Paralympics in 2008, where he made a major contribution to the multi-medal success of Paralympic swimmers Benoit Huot and Valérie Grand’Maison. Lamy will rejoin the team for their adventure in London in 2012.

“Pierre has developed an expertise with new and upcoming athletes that’s practically unique in Canada. He’s one of the coaches most in touch with the entire swimming scene here in Quebec, and he’s also one of the most respected,” says Alain Lefebvre, UdeM coordinator for sports excellence and high performance. Lefebvre has worked regularly with Lamy while he was technical director of the Fédération de natation du Québec from 1999 to 2011.

Lamy will succeed Régis Fortino, who is coaching the Bleus on an interim basis in 2011–2012. A former team member and assistant coach since 2009, Fortino was called in at the beginning of the season last August, after the departure of the previous head coach, Claude-Yves Bertrand.

“Régis is doing an excellent job with us, even though the circumstances aren’t ideal, especially considering the short amount of time he had to prepare. Our swimmers are making very good progress under him and our prospects for the Canadian championships are looking good,” says Lefevbre.

Only a little more than a month until the Canadian championships at CEPSUM

The UdeM will host the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) swimming championships February 23 to February 25 at the CEPSUM pool. This competition will bring together the finest university swimmers from across the country.

Source:

Mathieu Dauphinais, Sports Information Officer