At the heart of Team Manitoba’s wrestling team is a father-son duo: Jordan Blais, a standout athlete, and his father and coach, Dominic Blais.

Dominic credits Jordan as a key contributor to the team's success.

“When Jordan and our senior athletes travel to wrestling hotbeds like Pennsylvania, they come back a better version of themselves and they help refine how the rest of the team trains. That’s one of the main reasons our program has been so successful.”

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Father and Coach

For Jordan, having his dad as a coach comes with unexpected perks.

“It’s like a 2-for-1 deal. On trips when we're going out to places, it's not just sharing these experiences with the coach, but my dad, too. It’s super nice having him around.”

Dom, meanwhile, treats all athletes equally when it’s time to compete.

“During the match, whether it’s my son or other athletes, I’m with them. I try to treat them all the same and I want all of them to do well. ”

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Back to the Beginning
Jordan’s inspiration to wrestle came from his sister.

“She started first. I went to go watch her compete at a Manitoba tournament, thought it was pretty cool, and decided that I could do that too.”

For Dominic, wrestling’s been in his life for decades, even before he had kids involved in the sport.

“I started with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1997, then I fought MMA professionally for ten years. I had done some wrestling for my MMA matches. But it’s my daughter who got me into it because she wanted to wrestle - and the more I did it, the more I realized this sport is so cool. Now, I’d rather watch an NCAA duel than UFC.”

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Finding Balance at Home and On the Mat

Their coach-athlete dynamic doesn’t stop when they leave the gym.

“They still call me Coach Dom at home,” Dom laughs. “Right now I feel like I'm seeing the fruits of having spent a lot of time with them when they were little because the quality of the relationship is at a level that it wouldn't be if we didn't have that right.”

Jordan agrees, especially when it comes to competition.

“Having him there definitely calms me down a little bit more. I know I can trust my dad to say the right thing while I'm on the mats.”

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Leading by Example - like Father like Son

Jordan respects one thing above all in his father’s coaching style, and it’s his approach that sets him apart. 

“He is on the mats with us a lot - because I know a lot of other coaches, they are not. They just yell from the side, even in practice. That's a big deal because then you get more respect and a different perspective on how your coach views things - because if they're just yelling at you, you don't really see what they see.”

And Dominic beams with pride at the leader Jordan is becoming.

“As a parent, you’re always proud of your kids. He’s showing a lot of  leadership. He's grown a lot in the last few years, just emotionally, mentally, physically. I'm very impressed with him not taking a loss too hard seeing the loss as a learning experience.”

“Also with guiding the next generation of all the younger athletes, they look up to him quite a bit.”