Ewan Beaton is back at the Olympics as a judo coach

Even though Ewan Beaton has been to the Summer Games twice, he will live a totally different experience when he’ll get to the Olympic gymnasium in the next few days. For the first time in his life, the Winnipeg native will step on the mat as a coach of the national team.

A former athlete who was at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, Beaton will work with Hiroshi Nakamura, the other coach of the Canadian national team.

Since judokas can only have one coach near the combat zone, both men have to share the work load, since there might be several Canadian judokas fighting at the same time. If this situation happens, Ewan Beaton already knows he has to adjust to the athlete that will be in front of him.

« That always depends on the athlete involved. A few require more coaching techniques than others. Some of them don’t see all the little details happening during fights, while others need to have coaching tips. Others are on the automatic pilot and just need the right words said at the right moment. Take Nicolas Gill for example. He’s so focused during his matches that we could have anybody sitting on the coach’s chair and it wouldn’t change a thing technically or tactically. However, the fact that he has Mr. Nakamura in his corner since he’s a little kid can only help him. He’s a person in whom he has his complete trust, » said Beaton, who now lives in Hawkesbury, Ontario.

What are the major differences between his days as an athlete and the present ones as a coach?
« I’m certainly have less stress for certain aspects but more for other ones. Before, I had the pressure of succeeding on a personal level. Now, I’ll have the pressure to ensure the success of a team filled with former team mates and friends. I hope that my experience as a former athlete can benefit to the current members of the team. A coach can be the difference between the success or the failure of an athlete. But it doesn’t make any difference if the athlete didn’t push enough in training sessions.»

« Let us not forget that the Olympic Games are all about the athletes. If they’re well focused and well prepared, everything should be fine. It’s obvious that we could bring some suggestions up, but it’s up to them to carry most of the workload. The preparation we provide as coaches in nothing compared to what the athletes experience on the mat. Judo is such a physical sport that you have to expect suffering and injuries, even during training camps,» said Beaton, who has previously coached in Saskatchewan, after an 8-year career on the national team.

« When I became a coach, my philosophy was to show the Canadian judokas everything that was taking place on the international scene. I was in charge of the Saskatchewan program and I handled things differently than what took place here. I said to myself if Canada had to progress in judo, it had to follow the example of other countries at the forefront of the international scene», affirmed Beaton, who then was the coach of current national team member Frazer Will (Tilsdale, Saskatchewan).

With four days to go until the Olympic tournament starts, we will see if Ewan Beaton’s philosophy will be followed by his athletes and if they will follow through on the mat against the opposition.

Here is the complete schedule of the Canadian judokas participating at the 2004 Olympic Summer Games:
August 14th - Carolyne Lepage (48 kg)
August 17th - Marie-Hélène Chisholm (63 kg)
August 18th - Catherine Roberge (70 kg) and Keith Morgan (90 kg)
August 19th- Amy Cotton (78 kg) and Nicolas Gill (100 kg)