If you needed an extra reason to cheer on Canada's Olympic team, there were 12 University of Alberta alumni and students in Pyeongchang.
One of them, sport psychologist professor John Dunn, '92 MA, '98 PhD, helped Kevin Koe's Canadian men's curling team hone its laser focus for the competition of a lifetime. The team also included Marc Kennedy, '05 BCom, and Scott Pfeifer, '00 BSc(Spec), '04 MBA.
It was Dunn's third trip to the Winter Games: he travelled to Torino (2006) and Vancouver (2010) as part of the men's and women's biathlon and men's alpine skiing teams, so he knew the pressure involved and the tremendous importance of mental preparation. In Pyeongchang, as in Torino and Vancouver, his focus was on the team dynamic and organization rather than the mechanics of the sport. Dunn was also tasked with looking after the team's schedule for their 18 days in Korea: planning and finding locations for pre-game meetings, preparing videos and readings for meetings, determining what other Olympic events the team would take in and when they'd spend time on game preparation.
"We prepared for every eventuality," he said. "What happens if someone gets sick? What happens if our alternate has to go in? A big part of my job is to think of those what-ifs and make sure we have a contingency plan in place."
The long road to Pyeongchang
Dunn has spent the last decade working alongside Team Kevin Koe in the role of mental performance coach - a role with which he's very familiar, having spent the majority of his 20-year career providing mental training support for elite performers. Dunn has helped Koe and the various incarnations of his rink to three Brier wins and two world championships.
The road to Pyeongchang began in earnest last December. Dunn was part of the coaching staff for Koe's Alberta rink at Canada's Olympic curling qualifier. Called the Roar of the Rings, it's billed as the most trying tournament in Canadian curling.
"Imagine every single game you play, there is no easy game, there is no margin for error," said Dunn, a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation. "And every game you play, you know that the potential of going or not going to the Olympics is on the line. It's not fun - until you win, and then it's fantastic."
By managing and monitoring the team dynamic, Dunn became the person at which the team could direct their frustrations, rather than at one another. Playing the bad guy was a big part of his role, and a task that Dunn embraced.
"They don't pay me to be their friend."
Learn how a curling rock curls.
Green and gold in Pyeongchang
Among other alumni and students at the Olympic Games:
Neville Wright, '07 BPE, bobsleigh athlete
Alysia Rissling, '11 BSc(Kinesiology), bobsleigh athlete
Joanne Courtney, '11 BScN, curling athlete
Tyson Plesuk, '08 MSc, bobsleigh and skeleton team physiotherapist
Lauren Vickery, '06 BSc(Kinesiology), '10 MSc, luge team physiotherapist
Marcel Rocque, '96 BEd, Chinese men's curling team coach
Several student athletes participated in the Games in bobsleigh, including Melissa Lotholz, Christine De Bruin, David Bissett and Bryan Barnett. Rachel Homan served as the skip of the women's curling team.
Have we missed anyone? Let us know at newtrail@ualberta.ca.
The original version of this article appeared in folio.
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