Celebrating the Coaches Behind Boccia Canada’s National Team
This National Coaches Week, Boccia Canada is recognizing the coaches whose knowledge and commitment help Canadian boccia athletes perform at their best on the international stage.
For National Team head coach César Nicolaï, a career in boccia began in 2009, shortly after he completed his master’s degree in Adapted Physical Activity at Montpellier STAPS University in France. After moving to Montréal, Nicolaï came across a boccia coaching course led by Mario Delisle, now Boccia Canada’s High Performance Director. He signed up, began volunteering with the National Team and eventually joined the coaching staff.
More than 15 years later, Nicolaï remains a regular presence on the boccia courts in Montréal, leading training programs and working directly with athletes.
His approach is grounded in understanding each athlete and recognizing that no two athletes prepare, communicate or compete in exactly the same way. Positivity and open communication are central to that process, with Nicolaï working alongside athletes to identify solutions on court and support their individual performance goals.
Nicolaï is joined on the National Team coaching staff by Simon Larouche, Eileen Bartlett and Tiffany Gaudette, each bringing different experience and perspectives to the program.
“Everyone has something to contribute, whether it’s technical knowledge or a different approach to mindfulness and communication. We give each other room to share those ideas and put them into practice,” said Nicolaï. “One of the things I appreciate most about this coaching team is the willingness to learn from each other.”
Larouche first became involved in boccia at age 15, volunteering as a timekeeper and scorekeeper at a competition in Laval. He later became a full-time performance partner before pursuing coach training in 2014 and joining Québec’s coaching staff in 2016. With the National Team, he brings particular expertise in BC3 ramps and balls, as well as performance analysis and adapting training to each athlete.
For Bartlett, coaching builds on years of involvement as a boccia volunteer and national referee. Through the Coaching Association of Canada’s Women and Gender Equity in Coaching Project, she joined the Canadian coaching staff at the World Youth Championships and received mentorship from former national coach Monique Camirand. Working with the National Team gives her further opportunities to learn from fellow coaches and bring that experience back to athletes in Newfoundland.
Gaudette came to boccia coaching after earning medals in para seated field events at the Canadian Track and Field Championships. A graduate of Humber College’s Child and Youth Worker program, she has volunteered with Cruisers Sports in her hometown of Mississauga and the Ontario Cerebral Palsy Sports Association. She brings that community experience and her perspective as an athlete to coaching, with an emphasis on emotional intelligence, mindfulness and helping athletes pursue their own parasport goals.
Together, the coaching staff works with athletes through the many hours of training, preparation and competition that happen throughout the season.
“We also want to thank the people behind the coaches: our partners, parents, children and friends,” said Nicolaï. “With 11 competitions and 98 competition days in the 2025–2026 season, this commitment asks a lot of coaches and the people close to them. Their support makes it possible for us to be there for the athletes, and it’s important that we take the time to recognize them.”
During National Coaches Week, Boccia Canada celebrates coaches and performance partners across the country, and the important role they play in supporting athletes at every level of the sport.
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About the Boccia Canada
Boccia Canada is the boccia delivery arm of the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association (CCPSA), the National Sport Organization for the Paralympic sport of boccia. Boccia Canada is focused on providing athletes and individuals of all ages and skill with the chance to play a unique Paralympic sport. We lead, develop and grow boccia from grassroots to producing World Champions, and we collaborate with partners to increase participation of Canadians with physical disabilities in sport.
About boccia
Boccia is a Paralympic sport of precision and strategy similar to lawn bowling or curling, played by athletes with Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy and related disabilities. It is one of only two Paralympic sports that do not have an Olympic counterpart. Athletes compete in one of six sport classes based on their level and type of disability: BC1, BC2, BC3, BC4, BC5, and Open.
Media Contacts
Katie Hughes
Boccia Canada