CORNWALL, Ontario – Patrick Paradis has been involved in the sport of swimming from a young age, and it is a passion that has followed him throughout his life.
Growing up in the Riverdale area of Cornwall, he remembers swimming with his older siblings at a nearby pool. When he was old enough, he became a member of the Cornwall Sea Lions Swim Club, of which his mom Linda was a longtime coach.
At the age of 15, an injury prevented Patrick from continuing to swim competitively, but it did lead him into the world of coaching, something he has been doing ever since. Now 41-years-old, Patrick has spent 37 years in the world of competitive swimming.
Patrick will now be taking that wealth of experience to Quebec City and the Université Laval as head coach of their swim program.
“One of my main objectives is to get their swim program on the same level as their other sports teams like football,” he said. “I want there to be a great team environment and a program that puts swimmers on team Canada for years to come.”
Since leaving Cornwall, Patrick has been an assistant head coach for a swim team in Hamilton, ON which sent athletes to the Olympic qualifiers. He has since 2010 been serving as head coach for the Chena Swim Club in Vancouver, which has sent five members to the Canada Games in recent years, and the club also sent an athlete to the 2015 Pan American Games, amongst other accolades.
Patrick begins his new job at Université Laval on Sept. 4.
