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Midweek Mugging: Danny diversifies his development of local athletes

When you need a coach with a keen eye for detail, Danny Gosselin fits the bill.

Mid-Week Mugging is a series of features by BayToday. Each Wednesday, we will run a profile on a local business or organization that will be "mugged" with BayToday coffee cups. The subjects will then "mug" for our camera and we will tell a little bit about their story.

When you need a coach with a keen eye for detail, Danny Gosselin fits the bill. 

Gosselin, who leads multiple competitive volleyball teams, continues to develop athletes in the community through a new project: Vision Weightlifting Club.

As an experienced volleyball coach who provides intense, targeted and consistent feedback to his athletes, Gosselin is well-versed in the art of high-performance coaching and focuses on total body fitness.

Gosselin is also a competitive weightlifter. With an athletic physique and a vigorous personality, he continues to model the ideal of Canada's coaching bible, the Long Term Athlete Development Framework. He embodies the "Competitive and Fit for Life" ideal by continuing to compete while balancing his coaching and family responsibilities. 

The tenacious Gosselin recently came back from a taxing shoulder injury that required surgery and time off from the sport. Gosselin was previously lifting over 100 kilograms in the snatch lift, a highly technical and difficult overhead motion, when he experienced a subluxation of the shoulder.

Injury would not to get in Gosselin's way of future success. A qualified Medical Exercise Specialist, Gosselin is no stranger to helping others through injuries. He recently re-entered the competition sphere after opening his facility and has been successful, earning the Mens' Masters title at the 2018 Blue Mountain Open. He aspires to qualify for the World Championships in 2022 after competing in the Masters category at the 2022 Pan-Am Games.

"My background is in weightlifting," Gosselin divulged, who was in between clients at his private training facility within Gateway Physiotherapy. "I learned most of my training from Larry Sheppard, who basically raised me."

"I went away from lifting when I started volleyball," Gosselin said."Now it's at a point where I am busy doing a lot of training here."

To share his gift, Gosselin already has multiple athletes aged 9 and up dedicated to weightlifting training alone. He also provides specialized cross-training for athletes from basketball, hockey, alpine ski racing and volleyball teams who wish to increase power, strength, speed and proprioception.

"It was just a pilot project but the lifts from early athletes improved," Gosselin reflected. "A couple of other people found out, and Larry along with the overall weightlifting community have been very supportive of my endeavour."

Gosselin, who has coached powerlifting for multiple athletes including Special Olympians, prefers to coach the Olympic lifts.

"Weightlifting is dynamic and fun to coach," he expressed, while emphasizing the importance of working on all muscle groups and developing power. "It is the mechanism in which other sports can be driven - you can't beat it. All of my volleyball players know how to do the lifts."

Kailey Gosselin, Danny's daughter, is a competitive volleyball player and is entering grade 8 this year. The bright-eyed and athletic teen was just about to start a workout. "I like to deadlift," she coyly admitted, despite knowing her dad's preference.

"The athletes are looking for someone to watch them closely," Gosselin explained. "I'm also giving kids another opportunity to improve their physical abilities and providing a mechanism for training outside of the confines and rigours of a commercial gym."

In order to accommodate a growing number of athletes, Gosselin will be expanding his facility in the fall. Once the club grows enough, he plans on hosting meets. For now, the club will be competing at other venues. They will be lifting in the local Ray Hamilton meet in October. 

"I don't hold back; I definitely want the club to grow," Gosselin beamed. "We're just getting off the ground; I am trying to carve a path for the club."

To get in touch with Danny, contact him at Gateway Physiotherapy.