Primary Coaches

Mary Chewning - mary@thunderbirdstrack.org

• Head Coach of Power/Speed 

Mary is an Athletics Canada certified Performance Coach (formerly level 3) and coaches power/speed athletes from Grade 8 and upwards. She is also the Head Coach - Sprints and Hurdles at University of British Columbia.

She has been coaching track and field / running since 2000 and joined the Thunderbirds in September 2014.  She has held coaching positions at Ocean Athletics and several high schools in the South Surrey area in hurdles, jumps, and sprints where her athletes represented Team BC at National Championships and Canada Summer Games, as well as Team Canada for the World Youth Games.

Graeme Fell - graeme@thunderbirdstrack.org

• Elementary / JD Coach

Graeme began his career as a club athlete in England running cross-country and competing in all events. Specialized in steeplechase as he grew older, earned National team spots on first Britain and then Canada. Competed at Commonwealth, Olympic and World Championships and is the former Canadian Record Holder in the 3000m steeplechase. He has been an elementary teacher for 16 years and has coached at elementary, high school and international level. His goal is to build successful, life long, athletes. Currently, Graeme is in charge of the Junior Development program, and advises on athlete development and program creation at virtually every level of the sport. 

Larry Blaschuk - lblaschuk@thunderbirdstrack.org

• Verticle Jumps Coach (Grade 8+)

First involved in Track as an International level official before being invited to start coaching. Is now in his 6th year with Vancouver Thunderbirds. Has coached numerous BC High School champions, Canadian Junior and Senior Champions, and Western Canada and Canada Summer Games Gold medalists.  Larry is the personal coach for Mike Mason, the BC Record holder in the event and a longtime National Team member as a World Junior Champion, a 2008 Olympian, a 2010 Commonwealth Games team member, and a FISU and NACAC medalist.  Larry is motivated to continue to give back to the sport that he feels passionately about and feels that he has taken much more from the sport than he can ever hope to give back.  

Chris Johnson - cjohnson@thunderbirdstrack.org

• Endurance Coach (Grade 8+)

Chris competed at the national level in the 800m level and transferred the knowledge he built up during his lengthy track career into coaching. He is the former head of cross country and track and field  at St. George's School where his teams won several individual and team titles at the BC High School Championships including the overall team title (boys and girls combined) at the 2012 BC High School Track and Field Championships with a boys only team. In the past two years, Chris has helped guide four Thunderbird middle distance athletes to spots on the Canadian National team and several of his athletes have run for Team BC in national level competition. In addition to coaching with the Vancouver Thunderbirds, Chris is an assistant coach at the University of British Columbia.

Byron Jack - bjack@thunderbirdstrack.org 

• Intermediate Power/Speed and Horizontal Jumps Coach
• Assistant Elementary / JD Coach

Reached National level as a triple-jump athlete and has been coaching since 1985. He has degrees in Physical Education and Education and is certified as a level 3 Jumps Coach. Still competes at the Masters’ Level internationally. 

Assistant Coaches

Sean Dawson 

• Assistant Distance Coach

Sean Dawson has been coaching cross-country and track and field for the past 12 years.  He is a certified teacher and is the Head of the P.E. department at West Point Grey Academy.  As well, he is the head of the school's cross country and track and field teams, and has won team titles at the BC High School Championships. Sean is a certified run, jump, throw instructor and is a NCCP Level III endurance coach. Sean was a registered message therapist at UBC Sports Massage Therapy, and was a competitive road cyclist, competing in North America and Europe.

Adelle Johns

• Assistant Elementary / JD Coach

Adelle began her track career as a JD, competing in lots of different events. After becoming a hurdler in high school, she realized she had the most fun doing everything, so started doing heptathlon. As a heptathlete Adelle competed on the Canadian NACAC team, at various national championships, and on the UBC track and field team. She wants to help JDs experience as much fun as she had through the sport.

Advisors

Laurier Primeau - lprimeau@thunderbirdstrack.org

• Coaching Advisor

Laurier competed in both the decathlon and 400m hurdles internationally for Canada. He was the driving force behind the growth of the Vancouver Thunderbirds and coach with the club, at Saint Georges (where they won a BC High School team title under his reign) and at UBC before taking up the position as Head Coach with Scottish Athletics and then Trinity Western University. He continues to consult for the club.