After 14 years as head cross-country coach at Université Laval, Félix-Antoine Lapointe introduced on Twitter on Tuesday that he might be leaving his place to give attention to different skilled roles. The Rouge et Or coach will tackle the positions of head coach of the Provincial Centre of Excellence in Athletics in Quebec in addition to provincial head coach at Athlétisme Quebec.
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Mise à jour professionnelle.
Après 14 années comme entraîneur du programme @rougeetor en athlétisme et cross-country, je quitte mon poste d’entraîneur-chef du RO cross-country.
Parfois prioriser c’est renoncer, il s’agit d’une décision difficile mais murement réfléchie. pic.twitter.com/WNa4EaozQZ
— Felix A Lapointe (@CoachLapointe) August 13, 2024
Laval has been identified for having one of the vital prestigious observe and area and cross-country packages within the nation. Since he stepped into the function in 2011, Lapointe has seen 5 U SPORTS nationwide crew titles, together with the historic home-crowd double-banner win on the 2021 U SPORTS Championship on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec Metropolis. In his Twitter announcement, he notes that these championships have been key moments in his teaching profession. The lads’s crew has received the provincial title in every of Lapointe’s 12 seasons teaching, whereas the ladies have received seven instances.
Lapointe additionally coached Canadian Olympians Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Jean-Simon Desgagnés and Thomas Fafard throughout their time within the college’s program; all three simply competed for Canada in Paris, the place Philibert-Thiboutot reached the 1,500m semi-final and Desgagnés and Fafard reached the ultimate of their respective 3,000m steeplechase and 5,000m occasions.
Lapointe informed Radio-Canada that the calls for of the Laval and Quebec Athletics teaching roles have been an excessive amount of to stability. “It was turning into too troublesome to mix all these features,” he mentioned. The coach goals to proceed growing athletics packages for elite athletes in Quebec by offering a supportive setting and assets for these competing internationally.
“I had been enthusiastic about it for a yr,” Lapointe defined. “It actually wasn’t a straightforward resolution to make.”
Sylvain Cloutier, head coach of the Laval observe and area crew, might be taking up the management function for the cross-country program.
The 37-year-old coach thanked the student-athletes and fellow coaches he labored with over the previous 14 years. “The bonds fashioned with the athletes, the teachings discovered after defeats and the sensation of obligation achieved following victories will stay eternally engraved in my reminiscence,” he wrote on Twitter.
Merci, Coach Lapointe!
