Pinball Clemons Coaching career Where did he coach? The burden was that this team, this organization, had given our family so much that Canada was going to be our home. Where did he live in Canada? Toronto Did he enjoy coaching? To tell you the truth, I don't know what it means to the first Black coach in the (Grey) Cup and to win it. What else did he say about coaching? Anything I accomplish has to be with the aid of individuals, and this team became like a family Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? As a coach, his nickname was often shortened to "Pinner" by his players. What was his record as coach? Clemons' record is 67-54-1 in the regular season over parts of seven seasons, with a 6-5 playoff record (including 1-0 in his lone Grey Cup appearance). How did his players like him? I don't know.
What else did he do while coaching in Canada?
In addition to coaching, what else did Pinball Clemons do in Canada?
Upon ending his playing career, Clemons became interim head coach of the Toronto Argonauts in 2000, replacing John Huard, who resigned after compiling a 1-6-1 record. When offered the head coaching job by team general manager J. I. Albrecht, Clemons was reluctant to accept it, wanting to spend more time with his family. According to Clemons, "it was an awkward situation. After saying no, they said do us the favour of going home and discussing it with your family. The burden was that this team, this organization, had given our family so much that Canada was going to be our home. The Argos had everything to do with my family becoming a part of this country. Because of all I had been given I decided it was my time to reciprocate." As interim head coach, Clemons coached the Argos to 6 wins out of their remaining 8 games. He had the interim tag removed from his title at the end of the season. In November, 2001, he was promoted to President of the Argonauts and relinquished his role as head coach in the process to Gary Etcheverry.  When Etcheverry was fired as head coach on September 17, 2002, Clemons returned as head coach on an interim basis for the remainder of the 2002 CFL season. Clemons was officially given the head coaching job again on December 17, 2002, while also relinquishing his role as team president. He remained the head coach until 2007. Clemons was nominated for the Annis Stukus Trophy every year from 2002 to 2007, coming up short each time.  In the 2004 CFL season, Clemons was the first black head coach to ever appear in a Grey Cup game. He became the first black head coach to win a Grey Cup championship during that same Grey Cup game, while also being the second black coach to ever guide his team to a pro football championship in North America. (Darren Arbet of the San Jose SaberCats was the first to do so in 2002 with an ArenaBowl XVI victory.) Clemons downplayed this milestone achievement, saying, "To tell you the truth, I don't know what it means to the first Black coach in the (Grey) Cup and to win it. I know that I can't do anything by myself, and on my own strength I'm very little good. Anything I accomplish has to be with the aid of individuals, and this team became like a family and is a family, it had very little to do with the colour of my skin".  Clemons has the second most head coaching wins in Argonauts history with 67. (Bob O'Billovich is first with 89.) Clemons' record is 67-54-1 in the regular season over parts of seven seasons, with a 6-5 playoff record (including 1-0 in his lone Grey Cup appearance). As a coach, his nickname was often shortened to "Pinner" by his players. After retiring as head coach, he was vice chairman with Toronto in 2008. CANNOTANSWER
After retiring as head coach, he was vice chairman with Toronto in 2008.
Michael Lutrell "Pinball" Clemons  (born January 15, 1965) is an American-Canadian sports executive and former running back and return specialist who serves as general manager for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Clemons played with the Argonauts for twelve seasons where he was a two-time All-Star and a three-time Grey Cup Champion, and twice served as their head coach before becoming an administrator, since winning three more Grey Cups. His no. 31 jersey is one of only four that have been retired by the Argonauts. He is one of the most famous former Argos players, and is also one of the most popular professional athletes in the history of Toronto. Clemons has stated that he feels CFL football is the best football in the world. Clemons is 5 ft 6 in (167 cm) tall and weighs 170 pounds (77 kg).

Early life
Clemons was born and raised in Dunedin, Florida to an 18-year-old single mother, Anna Marie Bryant, who had just graduated from a segregated high school. His father, Willie Clemons, lived an hour and a half away from them while finishing up his university education and later became a school teacher.

Clemons started playing football at age 8 with the Dunedin Golden Eagles, a youth organization co-ordinated by the Police Athletic League.

Clemons and his mother lived in public housing across the street from the city's sewer plant until he was 14 years old. At this point in Clemons' life, his mother married his stepfather and would also become the first African-American to get an administrative job for the City of Dunedin.

Clemons's mother was also a heavy influence in him becoming a devout Christian as she was also a clerk at a Baptist church in Dunedin. Clemons and his family currently attend the Meeting House in Oakville, Ontario.

Clemons later formed a relationship with his father, Willie, during his college years. Even then, the relationship between him and his father was more like a nephew to an uncle, being limited to visits during his family vacations down in Florida and regular phone calls. Willie was also invited to the 2003 CFL Eastern Division semi-final game his son was coaching in Toronto vs. the B.C. Lions, marking the first time his father had actually seen him in any capacity with the Argonauts. Shortly afterwards, his father died.

College career
Clemons graduated with a degree in economics from the College of William & Mary where he played running back and return specialist on the football team, as well as playing varsity soccer for a year. In his four-year college football career, he compiled 4,778 all-purpose yards and was named a Division I-AA all-American.

Professional football career
In 1987, Clemons was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. During the 1987 NFL season, Clemons played in eight games, predominantly as a punt returner, where he collected 19 returns for 162 yards.

When Clemons first joined the Toronto Argonauts in 1989, guest running backs coach Tom Cudney nicknamed him "Pinball" because of his running style. His diminutive size and extraordinary balance allowed him to bounce between defensive players much like a pinball inside a pinball machine. During home games, The Who song "Pinball Wizard" would play on the P.A. each time Clemons was involved in a great play. In his first game with the Argonauts, Clemons was named the player of the game. In 1990, Clemons received the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award after setting a single season record for all-purpose yards (3,300). The following year, Clemons won his very first football championship as his Argonauts defeated the Calgary Stampeders to win the Grey Cup. Clemons went on to win two more Grey Cups as a player when Doug Flutie led Argonauts won back-to-back titles during the 1996 & 1997 seasons. In 1997, Clemons surpassed his own single season all-purpose yards record from 1990 by recording 3,840 all-purpose yards. This mark stood until 2012, when it was broken by Chad Owens. On September 15, 2000, Clemons played his last ever game as an Argonaut. During his 12-year playing career with the Argonauts he set many team records including career pass receptions (682), punt return yards (6,025), punt returns (610), punt return touchdowns (8), kickoff return yards (6,349), and kickoff returns (300). He also set single season single-season punt return yards (1,070 in 1997), punt returns (111 in 1997), and kickoff returns (49 in 1997). Clemons also amassed a career 25,438 combined yards during the regular season, a CFL record.

In 2008, Clemons was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. And in 2009, Clemons was also inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.

Coaching career 
Upon ending his playing career, Clemons became interim head coach of the Toronto Argonauts in 2000, replacing John Huard, who resigned after compiling a 1–6–1 record. When offered the head coaching job by team general manager J. I. Albrecht, Clemons was reluctant to accept it, wanting to spend more time with his family. According to Clemons, "it was an awkward situation. After saying no, they said do us the favour of going home and discussing it with your family. The burden was that this team, this organization, had given our family so much that Canada was going to be our home. The Argos had everything to do with my family becoming a part of this country. Because of all I had been given I decided it was my time to reciprocate." As interim head coach, Clemons coached the Argos to 6 wins out of their remaining 8 games.  He had the interim tag removed from his title at the end of the season.  In November 2001, he was promoted to President of the Argonauts and relinquished his role as head coach in the process to Gary Etcheverry.

When Etcheverry was fired as head coach on September 17, 2002, Clemons returned as head coach on an interim basis with 6 games remaining in the 2002 CFL season. Clemons was officially given the head coaching job again on December 17, 2002, while also relinquishing his role as team president.  He remained the head coach until 2007.  Clemons was nominated for the Annis Stukus Trophy every year from 2002 to 2007, coming up short each time.

In the 2004 CFL season, Clemons was the first black head coach to ever appear in a Grey Cup game.  He became the first black head coach to win a Grey Cup championship during that same Grey Cup game, while also being the second black coach to ever guide his team to a pro football championship in North America. (Darren Arbet of the San Jose SaberCats was the first to do so in 2002 with an ArenaBowl XVI victory.) Clemons downplayed this milestone achievement, saying, "To tell you the truth, I don't know what it means to be the first Black coach in the (Grey) Cup and to win it. I know that I can't do anything by myself, and on my own strength I'm very little good. Anything I accomplish has to be with the aid of individuals, and this team became like a family and is a family, it had very little to do with the colour of my skin".

Clemons has the second most head coaching wins in Argonauts history with 67. (Bob O'Billovich is first with 89.) Clemons' record is 67–54–1 in the regular season over parts of seven seasons, with a 6–5 playoff record (including 1–0 in his lone Grey Cup appearance). As a coach, his nickname was often shortened to "Pinner" by his players.  After retiring as head coach, he became the team's chief executive officer in 2008.

Sports administrator 
From November 2001 to September 2002, Clemons served as the Toronto Argonauts President. He ended his tenure as President to resume his second stint as the team's head coach. In 2003, Clemons shared both responsibilities as the team's head coach & general manager. Though he was the de facto GM of the Argonauts as a result of an administrative shake up of the team, much of the player roster management duties were deferred to Greg Mohns, the team's director of football operations & player personnel. Clemons would relinquish his GM title to Adam Rita at the end of the season. On December 4, 2007, Clemons stepped down as head coach of the Argonauts to become their new Chief Executive Officer. At the end of the 2008 Toronto Argonauts season, Clemons announced that he would no longer act in the day-to-day business of the organization and on May 6, 2009, Bob Nicholson was announced as the new president and chief executive officer of the Argonauts. On that same day, Clemons was appointed the Vice-Chair of the team. In his new role, Clemons advises the president & C.E.O. on key sales and corporate partner programs, significant community initiatives, and brand and media relations. On October 8, 2019, Clemons was named as the new general manager of the team, replacing Jim Popp who was relieved of his GM duties with 4 games remaining in the 2019 Toronto Argonauts season. Clemons would also work closely with John Murphy, the team's vice president of player personnel, in assembling the roster.

Personal life
Clemons is also a motivational speaker, making frequent public appearances throughout the community. He is also a partner of the children's brand Simply Kids, a line of diapers, baby food and healthcare products found in supermarkets across Canada and the United States.

Currently, Clemons resides in Oakville, Ontario with his wife, Diane (a native Floridian), and three daughters (who were all born in Canada). His oldest daughter, Rachel, is 22, his middle daughter Raven is 19, and his youngest daughter Rylie is now 17. Clemons has described himself (borrowing a quote from C.D. Howe) as an "American by birth but Canadian by choice". In 2000, Clemons became a permanent resident of Canada. It had once been suggested that Clemons had remained an American citizen to rebuff any calls for him to run for political office, such as for mayor of Toronto. Clemons was the subject of Pinball: The Making of a Canadian Hero () a biography written by Perry Lefko published in 2006.

In April 2007, he visited Calderstone Middle School in Brampton to help start a reading program.

On August 21, 2007, Clemons founded the "Michael 'Pinball' Clemons Foundation" which is dedicated to helping disadvantaged youth.

On March 23, 2009, Clemons appeared on the CTV News @ 6 as a celebrity guest host to do the weather in celebration of Dave Devall's retirement.
He is currently working with Marc Kielburger and Craig Kielburger, founders of Free the Children, in an initiative to build schools and clean water systems in Africa.

On November 14, 2012, Clemons visited and gave a speech about life topics in Markham, Ontario for York Regional District School Board's annual QUEST Forum to promote Student Achievement and Well-Being.

On February 28, 2014, Clemons visited the Scouts Canada National Leadership summit to speak about teamwork and working as one team to kick off the new program and strategic plan announcement.

On April 28, 2015, Clemons officially became a naturalized citizen of Canada.

Clemons was recognized on February 10, 2017 by the College of William and Mary, his alma mater, with an honorary degree during Charter Day ceremonies, where he also was principal speaker.

From February 10–26, 2017, Clemons partnered with Global Pet Foods and Air Miles for the "Show Us Your Heart" event. Its goal is to raise money for homeless pets, rescue groups, and animal shelters across Canada through donations made at Global Pet Food stores.

Achievements 
 CFL record for most all-purpose yards, All-Time Regular Season: 25,396 (1989–2000)
 Recorded over 5,000 career yards in rushing (5,232), pass receptions (7,015), kickoff returns (6,349), and punt returns (6,025)
 Argonauts team records for career pass receptions (682), punt return yards (6,025), punt returns (610), punt return touchdowns (8), kickoff return yards (6,349), and kickoff returns (300)
 Argonauts team records for single-season punt return yards (1,070 in 1997), punt returns (111 in 1997), and kickoff returns (49 in 1997)
 Argonauts team record for single-game kickoff returns (8) on August 21, 1990, versus Edmonton Eskimos
 CFL most outstanding player (1990)
 Three-time Grey Cup champion as a player (1991, 1996, 1997)
 One-time Grey Cup champion as a head coach (2004)
 Two-time Grey Cup champion as a Vice chairman (2012, 2017)
 First black head coach to reach & win a Grey Cup championship (2004)
 Two-time CFL All-Star (1990, 1997)
 Two-time Tom Pate Award winner (1993, 1996)
1995 John Candy Memorial Award
 One-time Eastern Division Most Outstanding Player Trophy winner (1990)
 Four-time Eastern Division All-Star (1990, 1993, 1994, 1997)
 Voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#31) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.
 Was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
 Was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
 Retired number by the Toronto Argonauts (#31)

Honours
 He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Ontario in 2001, giving Him the Post Nominal Letters "O.Ont" for Life.  In 2011, he was one of the recipients of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards presented by Canadian Immigrant Magazine.

Honorary Degrees
Michael "Pinball" Clemons has received honorary degrees from several universities. These include:

Legacy
In 2012 in honour of the 100th Grey Cup, Canada Post used his image on a series of commemorative postage stamps. The image was also used on presentation posters and other materials to promote the Grey Cup game and other celebrations associated with the centennial.

CFL coaching record

CFL GM record

Coaching tree
Assistants under Clemons that became NFL, CFL, or NCAA head coaches:

 Aaron Best: Eastern Washington (2017–present)

References

Further reading 

 Q & A with Pinball Clemons for Now Magazine (July 12–18, 2007)
 Interview with The Good Point (Oct. 7, 2008)
 Liberal senator likes Clemons' 'politics of hope' (Toronto Star Column, Oct. 26, 2008)

External links

 Michael "Pinball" Clemons Foundation website
 Toronto Argonauts profile
 
 CFL.ca stats
 CFLapedia bio
 DatabaseFootball.com stats

1965 births
Living people
African-American Christians
African-American coaches of Canadian football
African-American players of Canadian football
African-American sports executives and administrators
American sports executives and administrators
American football running backs
American emigrants to Canada 
American motivational speakers
American Protestants
Black Canadian players of Canadian football
Canadian Protestants
Canadian people of African-American descent
Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners
Canadian football return specialists
Canadian football running backs
Canadian motivational speakers
Dunedin High School alumni
Kansas City Chiefs players
Members of the Order of Ontario
Naturalized citizens of Canada
People from Dunedin, Florida
Players of American football from Florida
Sportspeople from Pinellas County, Florida
Sportspeople from Oakville, Ontario
Toronto Argonauts coaches
Toronto Argonauts general managers
Toronto Argonauts players
Toronto Argonauts team presidents
William & Mary Tribe football players
William & Mary Tribe men's soccer players
Association footballers not categorized by position
Association football players not categorized by nationality
Peter Eriksson  (born 19 November 1952) is an Athletics coach and formerly the head coach of the Olympic and Paralympic programs for both British Athletics and Athletics Canada. Eriksson has over 30 years of coaching experience in speed skating and track and field; and has led Canada to record medal performances in the 2016 Olympic Games, 2015 World Championships and 2014
Commonwealth Games. Under his leadership as Performance Director and Head Coach, the nations that he has worked with has generated over 240 medals at major International Competitions.

Athletes in his programs have won 122 medals at the
Paralympic Games since 1984, in addition to medals won at World Championships and other
major international events. Eriksson is the most successful Paralympic Track and Field coach in
Paralympic history.

He has personally coached many athletes to international medals, including Jeff Adams, Kelly Smith, Scot Hollonbeck, Jamie Bone, Rainer Kuschall, Heine Koboerle, Rick Reelie, Clayton Gerein (1964–2010), Colette Bourgonje, Gavin Foulsham, Peter Carruthers (1947-2017), Christoph Etzlstorfer, Daniella Jutzeler (1967–1994), Håkan Ericsson, Bo Lindqvist, Jan-Owe Matsson, Aron Andersson, Tatyana McFadden, Chantal Petitclerc, Brent Lakatos, Hannah Cockroft, Shelly Woods. Eriksson is also a co-founder of the World Series for wheelchair racing, a series of international high calibre wheelchair racing events across the world 2003 to 2009.

He served as head coach of Britain's Paralympic team from 2009, where he led the team to a third position in the nations ranking, and then replaced Charles van Commenee as the Olympic head coach of UK Athletics in 2012. He resigned from this position in 2013, and took the CTO/head coach position for Athletics Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic program. Working with Athletics Canada, Eriksson did not just make history with record medal counts at major events he also established himself as the most medal-winning head coach of Canadian Athletics in modern history.

Career in Sweden
Peter Eriksson was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the only son of Eskil (a construction worker) and Ellen (a switchboard operator). Spending the first years of his life in Södermalm, southside of Stockholm he eventually moved and grew up in Bagarmossen, a suburb of the city of Stockholm, and from an early age he was instilled with a strong work ethic from his parents.

As a young man he was interested firstly in athletics, and competed in the sport of speed skating for 17 years (1963–1980). He participated in the Sprint World Championships in 1977 and 1979 with the best performance of 10th place in the 500-metre in 1977 World Championships. During his speed skating career, he represented Södermals IK and Pollux speed skating clubs. From 1972 to 1983 he worked as a fireman (#128) on Östermalms Fire Station in Stockholm.

In 1980 Eriksson participated as an apprentice coach at the 1980 Olympic Games for the Swedish Track and Field Association. During these games Eriksson met Gusti Laurell, former Swedish national coach, who became his mentor and has influenced him throughout his coaching career. In addition to Laurell, Herman Buuts, the former national head coach of Sweden and the Netherlands, helped him with summer training during his last two active years as a speed skater. Buuts has also had a tremendous impact on Eriksson’s coaching philosophy and interest in track and field throughout his career.

Eriksson first became involved in coaching after the end of his speed skating career. He began his coaching career in Stockholm with a junior speed skating team and around 1982 moved over to coach Paralympic track and field athletes. The transition occurred while studying at Boson Sports School east of Stockholm where he met wheelchair track athlete Ronnie Schuttman, who asked Eriksson to coach him.
Eriksson completed his master's degree in physical education at GIH (University of Stockholm) 1983. He taught in schools around Stockholm for a few years before starting research in the physiology on spinal cord injuries at the University of Stockholm for Professors Per-Olof Åstrand and Bjorn Ekblom until 1986. During this period Eriksson acted as the head coach for the Swedish Paralympic Team and coached several international wheelchair athletes such as Jan-Owe Matsson, Bo Lindqvist and Håkan Ericsson.

Career in North America
Eriksson moved to Edmonton, Canada in September 1987 after spending a year in New York City. He continued his research at the Steadward Centre (formerly known as the Rick Hansen Centre) at the University of Alberta under professors Robert Steadward and Yagesh Bhambhani until 1992, when he moved to Ottawa, Ontario. During his research period Eriksson published more than 18 scientific research articles on his work.

Between 1988 and 1996 Eriksson acted as a head coach for the wheelchair racing athletes in track and field with CWSA (Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association), from 1996 onwards he coached primarily as a personal coach for several top Canadian and US wheelchair racing athletes.

Since arriving in North America, Eriksson has coached athletes from ten different countries; namely Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Great Britain, Sweden, Canada and United States. Eriksson was the first Paralympic track and field coach in Canada certified at Level 5 (NCCP) for track and field. Eriksson acted as the high performance director for Speed Skating Canada between 1992 and 1995, which led to seven medals at the 1994 Olympic Games. In 1995 Eriksson moved into working in the high technology field until 2005.

In 2005 he became the first Paralympic coach to be awarded Canadian Coach of the Year and was also inducted in the Terry Fox Hall of Fame. The same year he accepted the position of head coach for track and field for US Paralympic Committee, where he worked for a year. After this period Eriksson worked as high-performance adviser for Own the Podium (funding agency for elite sport in Canada) until January 2009, when he began work as head coach for track and field for the Paralympic program at UK Athletics.

Career in UK

Eriksson was hired by UK Athletics as the head coach/performance director for the Paralympic program from March 2009 to October 2012. The mission was to change the international medal standing for the GB & NI team. At the 2008 Paralympic Games the GB & NI team finished 18th in the Nations standing, with two Gold medals (David Weir). The goal was set to improve the performance of the GB & NI team to be the top 10 nation at the 2011 IPC World Championships and to be the top 8 nation at the 2012 Paralympic Games leading up to a finish in the top 3 in 2016.

Under the leadership of Eriksson, the 2011 IPC World Championships results were better than expected where the GB & NI team finished 3rd in the overall medal standing with 12 gold medals and with 38 medals in total. The 2012 Paralympic Games in London continued to be a success where the GB & NI team once again finished 3rd with 11 Gold medals and with 29 medals in total.

Part of the success for the GB & NI team under Eriksson’s leadership has been complete integration with the Olympic program, the slogan for achieving this being 'the same, the same, the same', ensuring all funded athletes on the Paralympic program have the same opportunity, facilities, support services, training/coaching environment and expectations as their Olympic counterparts.

In October 2012, Eriksson was appointed to replace Charles van Commenee as UK Athletics Olympic head coach. It was intended that he would lead the programme until the World Championships in London 2017, but he resigned in June 2013, citing personal reasons.

Back to North America 2013

Eriksson accepted the CTO/head coach position at Athletics Canada in August 2013 located in his hometown of Ottawa, Ontario. This CTO/head coach position was inclusive of both the Paralympic and Olympic programs.

The mandate and the reason for hiring Eriksson was to improve the medal count at major events such as Paralympic and Olympic Games, IAAF and IPC World Championships, Commonwealth Games, PanAm Games etc. From 1996 to 2013, the average medal count for the Canadian track and field team has been 0–2 medals at major events.

Eriksson once again delivered above expectations on medals at major events. During his time at Athletics Canada, Eriksson did not just make history with record medal counts at major events he also established himself as the most medal-winning head coach of Canadian Athletics in modern history with the following performances:

 2016 – Olympic Games, top-10 nation with a record of 6 medals; this was the first time Canada was ranked in top 10 at the Olympic Games in modern times; Canada ranked 35th at the 2012 Olympic Games 
 
 	2016 – Paralympic Games, top-14 nation improved from 25th nation in 2012 Paralympic Games
 	2015 – IAAF World Championships, Record of 8 medals ranked 7th in nations ranking in the Medal table; this was the first time Canada was ranked in top 10 in World Championships since 1995. Canada ranked 21st in 2013 and 22nd in 2011 in the medal table
 
 	2015 – PanAm Games, record of 27 medals, 2nd in the nation ranking, compared to 4 medals in 2011  
 
 	2014 – Commonwealth Games, Record of 17 medals, ranked 5th nation in the medal table compared to 14 medals in 2010

Eriksson left his position in December 2016. Athletics Canada's board of directors and CEO have acknowledged that Coach Eriksson had an outstanding career as Head Coach at Athletics Canada and that under his leadership Athletics Canada athletes received record-breaking results at numerous international and world competitions during his tenure.

In 2017 Eriksson started working as high-performance adviser for Own the Podium (funding agency for elite sport in Canada). Since October 2021 Eriksson works as an independent High Performance Consultant.

Medals 

Paralympic medals won by athletes under Eriksson's coaching:

Medals won by athletes under Eriksson's leadership:

Personal life

Eriksson married Rhonda Nishio (born 1955) in 1992 in Ottawa. He is the father of four daughters, Jaclyn (born 1994), Jennifer (born 1995), Jasmine (born 1999), Julia (born 2002).

Coaching – Awards

2017 – Medal of Confederation – Senate of Canada

2012 – High Performance Coach of the Year – UK Coaching Awards – UK Coach

2012 – Hall of Fame – UK Coaching Awards – UK Coach

2008 – Coach of the Year – Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association (CWSA)

2008 – Coach of the Year – Athletics Canada

2008 – The Order of Ikkos, United States Olympic Committee

2008 – Coaching Association of Canada, Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award

2006 – Coaching Association of Canada, Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award

2005 – Coach of the Year – 32nd Annual Canadian Sport Awards; First Paralympic coach to ever receive this honor, this award is for all sports in Canada

2005 -	Introduced to the Terry Fox Hall of Fame

2005 – Coach of the Year – Ontario Sport Awards

2004 – Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association (CWSA) – Coach of the Year

2004 – Coaching Association of Canada, Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award

2000 - Coaching Association of Canada, Wittenauer Coaching Excellence Award

1998 - Coaching Association of Canada, Wittenauer Coaching Excellence Award

1997 - Dr. Robert Jackson, Outstanding Volunteer Award, Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association

1996 - Nominated for the 3M Coaching Award. Coach of the Year

1996 - Coaching Association of Canada, Wittenauer Coaching Excellence Award

1995 - Coaching Association of Canada, Wittenauer Coaching Excellence Award

1993 - Coaching Association of Canada, Wittenauer Coaching Excellence Award

1991 - Nominated for the 3M Coaching Award. Coach of the Year

1990 - Nominated for the 25th Annual Air Canada Amateur Sport Awards. Coach of the Year.

1989 - Coach of the Year, Manitoba Wheelchair Sports Association, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1986 - Wheelrose Person of the year, Rehabilitation Group, Sweden.

1980 - First Olympic Reserve, Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York.

1977 - Number 10 in the world (500m), World Speed Skating Championships, Netherlands.

References

External links
http://www.insideworldparasport.biz/insideparasport/9103-no-excuses-warns-eriksson-as-gb-a-ni-team-arrive-in-new-zealand-for-athletics-world-championships
http://www.insideworldparasport.biz/insideparasport/9090-weir-aims-to-qput-down-a-markerq-as-british-contingent-departs-for-2011-ipc-athletics-world-championships
http://www.insideworldparasport.biz/blogs/232-parablog/8983-peter-eriksson-its-more-than-just-the-medals
http://insidethegames.biz/component/content/article/232-parasport/3754-top-foreign-coach-appointed-for-2012-paralympics
http://insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/athletics/5956-column-mike-rowbottom-interviews-uk-athletics-new-paralympics-head-coach-peter-eriksson

1952 births
Living people
Swedish athletics coaches
Sportspeople from Stockholm
Swedish male speed skaters
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom Donald "Don" Webb is a Canadian former diver and diving coach, notable for coaching Olympic athletes including Beverly Boys, Judy Stewart and Milena Duchková. He would later coach the Canadian national diving team around 1968 and the men's Olympic team in 1976. Although a professional diver, Webb entered coaching by a chance opportunity to judge a gymnastics competition. His diving career was ended when he fell awkwardly from a dive into a pool and lay unconscious at the bottom for under a minute.

He is the youngest of eight children and has two daughters to wife Mary Ann Ray.

Career

Diving
His diving interests began at the age of 10, when he joined the YMCA to learn tumbling and diving. His career started at the age of 14, when he professionally toured Western Canada as a carnival high diver. Within four years, he was in Australia, diving off 11-storey buildings in to fire-rimmed watertanks. When he was 30, he won the world high-diving crown in Toronto.

In 1957, then aged 24, Webb decided to quit diving after a dive off a small platform resulted in him landing on his back in the pool and losing consciousness. He was on the bottom of the pool for under a minute, while none of the 150 spectators were aware there was anything wrong until he was pulled above water by his brother Gerald. Webb escaped the incident with just a bruised head and later explained that he felt he had made a poor approach and should have landed with his feet first. Following the incident, his fiancee pleaded with him to quit diving, which he agreed to and suggested he would instead devote his time to becoming a salesman. Recalling the incident 10 years on, Webb remarked that "nothing under the sun would get me up there again".

Coaching
His entry into diving coaching was by accidental chance, when he was asked to judge a gymnastics competition which included Judy Stewart, then a gymnast who impressed Webb with her ability. Reflecting on that time, Webb recalled that he "got a kick out of being involved, and before I knew it, I was coaching Judy on the trampoline". Initially, he would divide his time between coaching gymnastics and diving, before concluding that Stewart, by then his student, would have a better career chance in diving and he chose to fully commit to dive coaching. He had been coaching Canada's Olympic and national diving team in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, although remarked that had considered marking 1968 as the end of his coaching career.

By 1970, a handful of divers lived with Webb and his wife, where he would transport the divers through snow drifts to and from practice sessions and his station wagon was described as being "always over-loaded with young Canadians aspiring to become Olympians". In June 1970, Webb, then described as one of Canada's top diving coaches, announced his intention to retire from coaching after the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, as he was critical of the fact that coaching diving in Canada was not paid employment and was under pressure to financially support his family. Webb had to fund his own expenses to travel with the team to Edinburgh as the Canadian Amateur Diving Association did not budget to bring Webb along. Webb had recently lost his third job in 10 years due to spending too much time voluntarily coaching divers.

During a news conference in March 1974 regarding announcements for the April 1974 Canada Cup diving competition, Webb was asked if he believed the reason that girls dominated Canada's sport scene was because they were more dedicated and able to make sacrifices. In response, Webb disagreed, suggesting that girls were instead more able to make greater sacrifices due to a Canadian society that would place greater expectations on boys to complete their schooling and reach financial independence sooner than girls. Webb further suggested that "in most Canadian homes, the parents don't get upset if a daughter spends an extra year or so to finish her schooling". Webb was also known to be coaching the men's Olympic team in 1976. His coaching style was described as "animated and sometimes volatile". Webb coached Olympic gold-winning medalist Milena Duchková and arranged her one year visa for her to live in Canada.

In 1980, he was one of six national team coaches for Dive Canada and praised the federal government in helping Canada reach a healthy position in the world diving scene, with $27,000 provided by Sport Canada to help towards costs. Additionally, he worked as coach for the "powerful" Pointe Claire team and in 1984, believed he had "the best group of divers he's ever been involved with". By 1990, was credited as helping to make Canada "a world-ranked power in the sport".

Personal
Webb's father, an enthusiastic sports spectator, worked as a railroad worker and Webb himself was the youngest of eight children. His brother Gerald was a year younger than him and he married Mary Ann Ray.

He is a father of two daughters, his eldest, Kelly, born c1962.

References

Canadian male divers
Divers from Toronto
Canadian diving coaches

1930s births
Living people
Year of birth uncertain