Coaching Crossover Ep 2: Bill O'Toole and Frédéric Fontang

Welcome to the Coaching Crossover Podcast! Hosted by Matt Dumouchelle, as he invites two
coaches from different sports to discuss leadership, team culture and what it takes to thrive
under pressure, straight from the mouths of the people who live the grind and shape the
standard every day.

In episode 2, we focus on tennis and swimming, while bringing two old acquaintances back together. Bill O’Toole is the Head Coach of the Toronto Swim Club, the elite club in Canada for swimmers aiming for gold in the pool. Joining him is former tennis pro and current ATP coach Frédéric Fontang.

With more than 30 years of coaching experience, Bill O'Toole has coached swimmers to nearly 100 National and 100 Provincial records. He has placed several swimmers on Canada’s National Team including the Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships. He most famously worked with Penny Oleksiak, Canada’s most decorated Olympic athlete, while receiving numerous awards for his coaching himself, including the Petro Canada Coaching Excellence Award and Swim Ontario Coach of the Year.

Frédéric Fontang is a highly respected tennis coach who has worked extensively on the ATP Tour. He is most notably known as the longtime coach of Félix Auger-Aliassime, helping guide the Canadian star’s rise into the world’s elite, while also becoming the second highest ranked Canadian men’s player in ATP history. He previously worked with Tennis Canada and has coached several ATP players including Caroline Garcia, Vask Pospisil and Jeremy Chardy. 

We’ll talk about the mental side of each sport and how different it is working with an individual as opposed to a team.