Montreal, June 30, 2011 (Sportcom) – Having won a silver medal (BC4 category) last weekend during the Cheshire Building Society International Tournament in Wigan, Great-Britain, boccia player Marco Dispaltro is the Sportcom Athlete of the Week for the week of June 27. The Canadian team’s rookie from St-Jérôme was teamed up with Josh Vander Vies and Caroline Vietnieks of British-Columbia for this tournament.
Even though this was Dispaltro’s first international boccia tournament, he has a lot of experience in wheelchair sports. In fact, he was a member of the Canadian rugby team for about ten years and then joined the tennis team. It is only recently that he has focused his energy in boccia and success has quickly followed. Last spring, this Quebecer guaranteed his place among the national team, which according to him, wasn’t a surprise.
"I’ve been involved in the world of sports for a long time and I trust my abilities. My expectations are always to win. I achieved good results last weekend and yes, I was expecting it. Even if my other competitions were not at the international level, I got good results."
Aside from his extensive experience in high level sports, Marco credits his amazing progression to his innate qualities as a thrower. When he was younger, he often played bowling and according to him, this played a key role. "The throw is similar so it was natural for me because I was programmed to throw with precision."
From rugby and tennis to boccia
Three years ago, Marco Dispaltro experienced the Paralympics Games in Beijing as manager of the Canadian wheelchair rugby team which won the bronze medal. Shortly after the Games, he became coach of the Swedish national wheelchair rugby team, a position that he will occupy until next October. After the month of October, he will focus his efforts to qualify for next summer’s Paralympic Games in London.
Boccia and rugby are sports which have very different atmospheres. Rugby is a contact sport where noise is part of the game, whether is it the noise from the chairs colliding or the calls between team players who want to execute or receive a pass. When it comes to boccia, the atmosphere is similar to tennis or golf. Silence prevails when players throw their ball.
"It took me a while to adapt. I’m a talkative guy so it wasn’t easy for me because I have a tendency to always talk! Boccia is a gentlemen’s sport so it’s harder to intimidate your opponent. There are still moments when I am more animated and I think my teammates like what I bring to the team. Let’s just say that when we train, the other teams can hear us!"
Being an athlete and a coach has its advantages according to Dispaltro.
“When you’re an athlete, you can sometimes question certain coaching decisions. By becoming a coach myself, I experienced the other side. I think that having been an athlete and a coach has helped me tremendously. "
Leave nothing to chance
Always methodical in its preparation, the boccia player collects data at every practice. According to his own estimate, Marco Dispaltro has thrown approximately 60 000 balls on four types of surface (concrete, rubber, wood and tile) since the playing surfaces are not always the same at each tournament. “When you’re an international level athlete, you must be a little obsessed when it comes to training. Training volume is vital for boccia because we always make the same movement. "
And that’s without taking into account the ingenuity needed to train in unusual places. "For example, before leaving for England, my teammate François Bourbonnière and I practised our throws in the airport. You have to be able to adapt".
After the London Games, Marco Dispaltro will continue to offer rugby clinics around the globe. He was recently in Brazil where he participated in the recruitment of players who could possibly play on the national team for the Rio Paralympic Games of 2016.
