Greater Sudbury's Denis Vachon, 23, has piled up a long list of accomplishments as a top power tumbler in the world of gymnastics. He's a seven-time national champion and is a top performer on the international stage. Vachon took fourth place at the 2007 World Cup in April. He's also a highly regarded mini trampoline athlete, earning silver recently at the 2007 World Championships in Quebec City. Now, Vachon is lending his expertise and giving back to the sport by coaching at a club in Burlington called the Burlington BG's. Recently, Vachon took a time out to talk with Northern Life reporter Scott Haddow about gymnastics, competing and coaching.
SH: What's your current situation? What are you doing
right now? What are your next big events and what future events
you will be in?
DV: Right now, I am taking some well-deserved and needed time
off from training. I am healing up all my injuries and taking
my time to decide if I want to make a push at competing one
more two-year cycle in the sport. I am focusing a lot more on
my coaching to ensure that my athletes can have another
fantastic season. My next events are the provincial qualifiers
with my athletes and maybe a few national or international
events depending on how they place in their meets. I am very
excited to say that I will be competing in Sudbury in March,
regardless of my future competitive plans, so I can say I got a
chance to compete at home and show the community where all of
their support helped get me.
SH: How and why did you originally get into
gymnastics?
DV: I got into gymnastics because of an accidental handstand
when I was three. I then started attending one-hour
recreational classes on Saturdays in the old Chelmsford High
School gymnasium with my sisters. At six, I had outgrown the
facility and the coaches recommended I go to the Sudbury
Laurels Gymnastics Club (Gymzone Gymnastics) to get a higher
level of training. It was perfect timing because I loved
flipping. I even broke the sofa trying to do front flips. I can
recall my parents not being so fond of me that day (laughs).
 
SH: You're coaching and competing, how do you balance
both?
DV: I think a lot of how you balance your life is how you look
at it and approach it mentally. When I took my head coach
position two-and-a-half years ago, I said to myself that it
would be easy and have never let myself think otherwise. I
focus 100 percent of my attention and brain on them from 2 to
8:30 pm. And then I let go of whatever happened that day and
shift my focus onto myself and my training plan.
 
SH: What's the toughest part of doing both?
DV: I think the hardest part is just making sure I keep what
happens while I am coaching separate from my training.
Sometimes if they have a bad day and I am frustrated I lose all
motivation to train myself. I have to remember to leave what
happens with the kids out on the floor. You can't go back and
change it so it's best to move on...easier said than done
unfortunately.
 
SH: Why do you coach and compete?
DV: It started out accidentally. I was doing only about 10
hours a week of coaching until the two head coaches left my gym
for other opportunities. Since I was the assistant coach and
had a good reputation with the parents, the gym offered me the
head coach position. It's been my career goal since age 13 to
be in that position and therefore I chose not to pass up the
opportunity. I wasn't ready to give up on my remaining
competitive goals so I chose to keep going and did some
schedule shuffling and learned to deal with the change. Now,
coaching is my top priority and passion but I stay in the
competitive format because I love the excitement of competition
and feel I still have a little more to give to trampoline and
tumbling in Canada.
 
SH: Does coaching help you in any way?
DV: Absolutely. It has forced me to become very organized and
improve my time management skills! It also has taught me the
power of proper planning and the success that comes from it.
These lessons can be applied to every aspect of life.
 
SH: What's the best part about coaching young
athletes?
DV: The best part of coaching anyone is seeing them improve and
watch them grow as athletes as well as people.
Knowing that your hard work has helped them gain self-esteem
and positive self-image is very rewarding. I also love seeing
the look on an athlete's face when he or she learn a new skill
or reach a new milestone. That sense of satisfaction and pure
enjoyment for the moment, there's not much else like it.
Everyday is a new day. And everyday something incredible
happens.
 
SH: How did Sudbury help you get you where you are
today?
DV: Sudbury gave me a lot of support when I was growing up.
Whether that was by celebrating my accomplishments by putting
it in the paper or small companies offering out sponsorship
money, Sudbury has always been there for me. It also gave me a
place to harness my talent grow into the athlete I am today. If
it wasn't for Sudbury Laurels I am sure my life would be quite
different.
 
SH: Who has been the greatest influence in your life
and why?
DV: There have been so many. My family definitely played a huge
role. They were always supportive and sacrificed a lot to make
sure I could take part in the opportunities that were presented
to me. My first competitive coach Charmaine Bertrand, she
taught me discipline, a strong work ethic and gave me my
gymnastics base. These skills I use on a daily basis in both
coaching and training. She also made sure I pushed my limits
and never accepted less than my best effort. That helped make
me the successful athlete I am today. Lisa Kivinen, she only
became my full time coach my last two years in Sudbury, but she
was always there in my growing years, in the background,
pulling me aside every now and then to refocus me on what I
could accomplish and my potential. She is like my life coach. I
call her whenever I have technical questions about coaching or
whenever I am nervous for a competition. At Worlds three weeks
ago, I called Lisa the morning of finals because I was freaking
out a little mentally. She got me calm and focused for the days
events. I consider myself very lucky to have someone like this
in my life. 
SH: What's your motivation and drive to do what you
do?
DV: I just love seeing what people can accomplish when they are
driven, focused and well trained. Being in a positive
atmosphere like my gym, where every day someone is learning
something new or improving an old trick gets me pumped. I want
to work hard to reach new heights and help others reach their
peak.
 
SH: How has gymnastics enriched your life
overall?
DV: Gymnastics has taught me to appreciate all the ups and
downs in life. It has given me the opportunity to travel all
over the world, make friends on every continent and learn about
other cultures, which has in turn made me appreciate everything
I have even more. It's made me who I am today, and taught me
everything about myself!
 
SH: Do you ever get back to Sudbury? What do you do?
What do you miss most about Sudbury?
DV: I try to come back as often as possible, but because of my
hectic work and training schedule I only make it down every
three months or so. I always spend holidays here with my family
and friends. I try to make a point to stop into the gym and see
my former coaches and just see how all the kids are doing
there. I miss my childhood...like living with my family, all
five of us under one roof. All my friends I grew up with that I
don't get to talk to nearly enough, and just my old routine of
going to school, then gym for four hours (which I always loved)
and then home to video games, board games and card games with
my sisters. I always had so much fun.
