ChronicleMichaël Bournival, the breathtaking story of a unique student

This Thursday afternoon in Trois-Rivières, exactly three years after hanging up his skates due to persistent concussion symptoms, the former Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning player was proud to receive his diploma from UQTR, if where he just finished a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology.

If the text stopped here, the story would be weird. However, the manner in which Bournival completed this stage of his training left the university staff speechless. The former hockey player, who was eight years out of the classroom when he decided to enroll in the program in 2019, maintains an overall average of 4.27 to 4.3.

If I were to do the math, Michael would probably get A+ grades in all of his courses, except for one where he got an A.reaction of the head of the university’s physical activity sciences department, Jean Lemoyne.

Sometimes graduate students get very high averages when they only take a few courses. But rarely do we see such results in the baccalaureate. Especially since Michaël was a young father and, as an athlete, he had previously studied in a different context. Honestly, I didn’t hesitate to identify him as a candidate for the master’s degreeprofessor’s confession.

The very high level of academic excellence earned Michaël Bournival the Silver Medal of the Governor General. Of the 907 UQTR baccalaureate graduates (in five ceremonies held this week), he is the only one to receive this prestigious honor.

Sitting in a cafe a few blocks from the university, Bournival measured his tremendous success from a fairly attractive angle when I met him.

Our daughter Juliette was five months old when I started my baccalaureate. And one of the things I’m proud of is that I study without neglecting my family. I was studying in the afternoon when Juliette took a nap. Then I returned it at night when he slept for the night. I didn’t waste quality time with my daughter. It did not affect our family life.he says.

Later, this famous Juliette again intervened in the conversation. Because a lot because of him so Michaël Bournival decided to end his life as a professional hockey player.

He said he has suffered four concussions in his career. The second came during the Canadiens ’training camp in 2014, when he was about to begin his second season in the NHL.

I hid this second concussion because I wanted to secure my position within the team. And I have never recovered from that injury. I say I had four concussions, but deep down I didn’t think the second was really gone.

The last four seasons of my career have been really tough. I was dizzy when I woke up in the morning. I’m sick of the ice. Sometimes I showed up in the arena exhausted. But I pretended to be okay.My quality of life is really starting to go down. And when our son was born, I said to myself: “there is no chance that I will continue like this. If I persevere in playing, all the moments I will be with him will be ruined”. So I decided to retirehe says.

Michaël Bournival and his wife, Marianne Larouche, are now preparing for the birth of a baby boy. The arrival of Juliette’s younger sister is set for August.

Michaël Bournival knew from the junior ranks that he wanted to be a kinesiologist.

On the sideline of the Subway series (when Quebec junior hockey’s best hope is faced with Russia’s best hope), I attended a conference where they stressed the importance of not betting at all on hockey and having a second solid career plan.

Kinesiology has been with me for a long time. I thought it was a way to combine my two greatest passions: hockey and training. This is the best in both worlds!he said cheerfully.

However, if he was told he could achieve that level of excellence in university, he probably wouldn’t believe it, he admits.

I am a good student at CEGEP. But it was great for me to go to college eight years after my last schooling. I asked my girlfriend (who is a teacher) to give me some tips. He showed me his way of studying and it went well.

I still see myself in anatomy class in my first semester. This is one of the major courses in the program. I took my notes while other students were using the computer. I think writing my notes like this helped me memorize the material.

I am passionate about what I study and, moreover, I am a competitive person. I do nothing in half and I want to get good results. Because of my hockey career, I feel like my learning process has been reversed. I try to apply the theory taught to me to what I did as an athlete. I have synthesized a lot of studies this waysaid Michaël Bournival.

Three years after entering UQTR, Michaël Bournival presented the image and tone of a man who fell into a magic potion. He loved his field of study so much that he decided to graduate with a master’s degree.

I don’t plan to do a master’s degree, but it will allow me to add a more scientific component to the interventions I will do later. My master’s project is related to the use of accelerometers on young hockey players. This will be done in partnership with Hockey Quebec and it will focus on the players who will be part of Team Quebec at the next Canada Games.

I wore a foot pod when I played in Tampa Bay and I thought it was just for measuring our heart rates. It’s fascinating now that it’s on the other side of the computer. These chips collect a lot of data. For example, they also measure the intensity volume of players and they detect left-right asymmetries, which can help prevent injuries or facilitate rehabilitations.he explains.

Incidentally, the student model from UQTR taught that three of the four teams that made it to the NHL semi-finals (Edmonton, Colorado and Tampa Bay) continuously measured their players ’activities using accelerometers.

This technology is used by several teams. It is an opportunity and an asset to handle and master ithe said.

One thing leading up to another, UQTR is therefore in the process of developing a unique prototype of a hockey player.

Within the walls of the UQTR hockey laboratory, we saw a former NHL hockey player who is passionate about coaching and will have the scientific background necessary to supervise his athletes from the training room to running matches.

I aim to marry the activities of the trainer and physical trainer, he admits. With this in mind, he hopes to return to the back of a Saint-Joseph Seminary team next season to continue to refine his strategy and technique.

The very idea of ​​helping young people from his region live a career in sports like his is a huge source of motivation for him, he says.

Another very interesting aspect of his approach consists of developing new ways of training off the ice or making a more effective transition between physical preparation and what ice hockey players do.

My experience has taught me that coaches talk very little to physical trainers and that there is not necessarily a relationship between what athletes do in the gym and what they should do on the ice.

For example, I was in charge of the Patriotes ’physical preparation this season and, with coach Marc-Étienne Hubert, we organized cardio training specific to ice hockey, mimicking game scenarios. For gamers, it’s more fun than riding a stationary bike. And that helps maximize ice time. This is the kind of thing I want to bring and that is part of my philosophy.

The most knowledgeable readers will probably have noticed that in addition to the stunning results he achieved in class, Michaël Bournival was the physical trainer of the team that won the Canadian University Championship. That obviously earns it another A+.

The story of this humble and friendly young man is very inspiring. It will be fascinating to see what he can do with the unique knowledge he has developed.