Ontario PGA Profile – VANCOUVER 2010 EDITION
Mr. Cross Country Heading to His 9th Winter Olympiad
Written by Scott Pritchard
(Pickering, Ont., - January 22, 2010) – When Jack Sasseville was looking for a winter job to complement his seasonal golf career he never imagined the job would see him participate in eight Olympic Winter games both as a coach and television commentator. The simple fact was that Sasseville was merely trying to supplement his income and kill some time in the off season when a cross country ski teaching position became available in the mid 1970’s in Winnipeg, Man.
“My initial attraction to Cross Country skiing was the absolutely liberating feeling of being able to balance on one ski. It’s it the same feeling that you get when you hit the ball right in the sweet spot and have the ball go exactly where you want. It’s cheating gravity and it keeps me going to this day. In fact I am heading out this afternoon.”
At the time Sasseville was a 20 something Associate Professional at Niakwa Golf Club in Winnipeg working for Chick Duncan. He had just completed his apprenticeship and written his Class ‘A’ exam when the opportunity of a lifetime fell on his lap.
“It started out as just working in the ski shop and teaching the odd lesson here and there. I participated in some cross country races and had some success over the course of two years,” recounted Sasseville, who is known to many in the Cross Country industry as Mr. Cross Country. “The kids really flocked to me and I was approached by the Manitoba Cross Country Ski Association to work for them. Soon after, our program in Manitoba produced some kids who did well and I was noticed by the technical ski director for the National Team. That really opened the door for me, but I still believe I was the right guy in the right place,” added Sasseville, who would go on to be appointed the Head Coach of the National Cross Country Ski Team.
That appointment came in the summer of 1979 and just six months into his tenure Jack Sasseville would be en route to the 1980 Olympic Winter games in Lake Placid.
“Initially I was hesitant to take the National job,” laughed Sasseville. “I thought the kids in Manitoba would miss me and I had invested a lot of time with them. I wasn’t even thinking about the Olympics.”
Prior to joining the National team as its coach, Sasseville was one of only two people in Canada to be in a full time cross country ski coaching position. Sasseville attributes his quick ascension through the ranks to his passion for teaching and coaching, something he has done since becoming a member of the Canadian PGA in the 1972. In addition to teaching golf, Sasseville also coached football and taught at the local YMCA in Winnipeg.
“Teaching has always been a passion of mine and something I like to think comes naturally,” recounted Sasseville, from his office at Hardwood Ski & Bike, where he is the President and General Manager of the Cross Country Ski and Mountain Bike Resort.
Sasseville’s first Olympic experience at the Lake Placid games was an eye opener for him.
“The Olympics in those days were far less organized than they are today,” recounts Sasseville. “In 1980 it was just me and another coach. We did everything from waxing skis to taking care of athlete preparation from a coaches’ standpoint. Today’s athletes have 7 waxers, 5 coaches, 1 RMT, a sports psychologist and a doctor. It’s completely different. ”
Sasseville learned a lot from his first Olympic games, which ultimately helped him in his maturity as a coach. The 1980 opening ceremonies were surely an indication of Sasseville’s naiveté when all he could think to himself was: “This is on TV”.
Sasseville went on to coach in four Olympic Games and though the bulk of his memories are centered on the hard work of waxing and organizing athletes, he still remembers his fondest memory as if it were yesterday.
“It was the first day of the Olympics in Calgary and they were testing the clock in the stadium. Just as I was skiing into the stadium my name flashed up on the score board. That was pretty cool,”
Following the 1992 games in Albertville, France, Sasseville found himself without a job. The national XC ski team reassigned his and a number of other national team staffers’ jobs. It was time for Sasseville to figure out what he was going to do with the rest of his life.
“I knew it was time to move on. We were from a specific generation doing things a certain way and we knew it was time for a new fresh voice,” said Sasseville.
Sasseville was living in Canmore at the time and took a job as a starter at the Canmore Golf Club. It was a way for him to get his foot back in the door in an effort to regain his Class ‘A’ status as a golf professional, which he had allowed to expire a decade earlier.
“There weren’t many opportunities at the time and I really needed a job,” remembers Sasseville. “Darren Cooke really helped me out by offering me starter’s position and he also let me teach. It actually helped me grasp a good understanding of the industry from the ground level again.”
Sasseville continued to coach skiing in the winter and in 1995 he was offered a Program Director position in Ontario at Hardwood Ski and Bike in Coldwater. Sasseville moved to Ontario that winter and began his duties at Hardwood where little did he know he would eventually go on to become a partner in the operation.
Once again, to complement his winter occupation with his summer one, he turned to Alan Chud the Head Professional at the time at The Lake Joseph Club in Muskoka. In the summer of 1996 Sasseville began working as an associate professional for Chud at the ClubLink facility.
“It was great that I was able to find work in the golf industry and particularly with a company that treats its employees well,” said Sasseville, recalling his 12 year employment with ClubLink.
The next winter was a real turning point in Sasseville’s career and one that solidified Sasseville as Mr. Cross Country. In addition to his program director duties at Hardwood, Sasseville also did stadium announcing for various cross country events. It was at the 1997 world championships in Trondheim that Sasseville would stumble on to an opportunity in broadcasting. Just before the world championships, Sasseville was approached by the CBC to do a one hour television special on the world championships. Sasseville gladly accepted and that propelled him to the position of CBC’s lead cross country ski analyst.
“I really enjoy the broadcasting side of things,” said Sasseville, who has worked the 98, 02, and 06 games as a commentator. “I wish I knew enough about another sport to be able to do it full time,” joked Sasseville.
Sasseville’s polished delivery on the airwaves didn’t come as naturally as some might expect, when listening to him a decade later.
“I would say during my first broadcast at the Olympics in Nagano I was a 6 (handicap) and a 4 (handicap) by the end of it,” recalls Sasseville. “I was pretty close to scratch in Turino and I felt then that now I could consider myself a professional,” added Sasseville, who joked about finally mastering the skill of talking while listening to someone in your earpiece. After the Olympics in Turino he and Scott Russell were nominated for a Gemini award for their work.
Sasseville has done over 50 broadcasts since 1997 and his most memorable moment came in Salt Lake City when Beckie Scott won the bronze medal (now has gold).
“I was literally in tears when Beckie crossed the finish line. I couldn’t even talk and Scott Russell, our play by play announcer, had to talk for me,” laughs Sasseville. “It was a special moment for me and to be the person to call the race and then to do the medal ceremony was really cool. I knew Beckie quite well and I know that it takes thousands of people to help you win a medal and I felt like I contributed to her win. Obviously, a lot more people helped her much more than I did, but I still felt part of it.”
Looking forward to Vancouver, Sasseville will be working with the CTV/ROGERS operation. That means he won’t have his long time sidekick Scott , but an entirely new person calling the play by play, as well as a second color analyst – Beckie Scott.
“It’s going to mean I won’t be doing as much talking,” chuckled Sasseville, who has mainly worked with one play by play man since his broadcast career began in 1997. “Vancouver is going to be a blast and I am really looking forward to it.”
As for predictions for Vancouver Sasseville was very conservative, but he believes if our skiers are at the top of their game come Vancouver, then we have a good chance at two medals.
“Before the season started I would have said Canada would win two medals in cross country skiing and I still stand by that but I think everything is going to have come together perfectly for them to do that,” said Sasseville, the current Canadian Masters Champion for 55-59 year olds. “They have struggled so far this season. They got off to a slow start and haven’t been close to the podium so it’s really up in the air, kind of like the Leafs,” quipped Sasseville.
Sasseville now works as the Teaching Professional in the summer at Oslerbrook Golf and Country Club. He skis every day in the winter and is preparing for the 2011 World Masters in Vernon, BC. Sasseville doesn’t want to lose his connection to the two sports he dearly loves. His self proclaimed psychotic lifestyle suits him just fine.
“Skiing has helped my golf career and golf has helped my skiing career,” said Sasseville. “Like every other player I wanted to be on the tour and coaching has helped me work on mental skills. When I was growing up there was no emphasis on mental skills and quite frankly I didn't have the mental skills to succeed. I am so much better on the mental side of things now and coaching provided me with the opportunity to obtain those skills. Because of that I am also a better teacher,” added Sasseville, who also coaches a highly competitive cross country team at Hardwood.
Sasseville heads to Vancouver next month and in the meantime he continues to not only push his athletes at Hardwood every day but himself as well every day. The formerly 220 pound high school student is now a lean 165 pounds and has become a role model for many in all sports.
For more on Hardwood Ski and Mountain Bike Resort visit http://hardwoodskiandbike.ca/ |