Behind The Scene

Hi, my name is Chantel McDougall. I’m one of the many faces who have been behind the scenes creating Channel Performance. This group of professionals have felt the pressures that each coach, cross and mental trainer, family member and athlete have felt wanting to be the best that they can be as a team member. As a previous athlete and a coach for the past 19 years I have seen first hand the different pressures on a day to day bases that a child would meet.

 

Completing the Advanced Coaching Diploma changed the way I viewed sports development. I thought I understood what talent meant, I thought I understood practice, practice, practice all year-round in one sport will make you a better athlete. When I was an athlete, this was the way we were taught and the circle repeats itself decades later.

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Now working in a sport where there is early specialization, I ask myself how do I manage this in a healthy way and rebuild a culture? More questions and no answers until I took my Advanced Coaching Diploma. I thought to myself “I now have the answers, I now need to educate families and teach the importance of sport science”.

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Figure skating is my background. I know how to teach the technical skill but I needed a team behind the scene to develop my athletes in areas I’m not trained in. During the past 5 years I created a cross training program for my athletes and have seen huge progress in their development as a skater.

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From that day on I have viewed the word talent as a misused word. Talent isn’t a fluke and doesn't come by chance when an athlete can naturally perform. Athletes are taught a developing skill(s) in a park, copying a sibling or simply actively playing multiple sports. The word talent is misused. Every athlete is born with a blank canvas. It simply comes down to what skills each athlete is taught over time.

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Athletes are now being challenged by the electronic world. A world where you can’t go to the park by yourself. Our athletes are now faced with posture issues and not developing fundamental skills from playing, facing sleep deprivation from the blue light in our devices, struggling with nutrition with fast food being close by or store boxed food for supper that comes from the grocery freezer. Yes! I have to admit I am a victim of this as well. The world around us has changed. In order for us to succeed we too need to change. Throughout my journey I have found others who share the same passion - the love of our youth, sports and wanting to help our young athletes succeed.

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Channel Performance offers a support circle to athletes learning how to train and training to train skills to help the athlete develop quicker positive results in sport. Channel Performance has a support circle for those competing in their specific sport.

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I realize a child only has so much time in a day. A child needs to succeed in academics, train in their sport and yet take in cross training programs. How does a family financially make this happen? And further, how does an athlete give the 100% needed plus grow and be a kid??

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That’s where Channel Performance comes in. Channel Performance brings all the services to one place, at a consistent time and at an affordable price. Athletes will receive cross training sessions to help them succeed in their sport(s) and the support to succeed in school!