2x Olympian and Moguls Coach, Philippe Marquis, on Mentorship as the Missing Link in Athlete Development

Two-time Olympian and national moguls coach Philippe Marquis has spent nearly a decade guiding Canada’s top freestyle skiers. But when he talks about what actually shapes a world-class athlete, he doesn’t start with snow, technique, or results.

He starts with mentorship.

Marquis, who competed at the 2014 and 2018 Olympic Games, now leads Canada’s moguls Next Gen program and serves as Chair of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission. Across both roles, he says mentorship is the thread that separates athletes who thrive from those who burn out.

“Eighty percent of the growth doesn’t happen on snow…it happens off it,” he says. “That’s where mentorship makes the biggest difference.”

Why Mentorship Works: “You Choose Sport”

Growing up, Marquis notes, the biggest influences in a young person’s life—parents and teachers—are assigned, not chosen.

Sport is different.

“You don’t choose your parents or your teachers,” he says. “But you do choose sport. When an athlete stays at the national-team level, it’s because they intentionally wanted it. That’s what opens the door to real mentorship.”

That intentionality, he says, makes young athletes more receptive to learning the deeper lessons that define long-term success: resilience, confidence, identity, and fear management.

Coaching as 360° Mentorship

After retiring from competition, Marquis coached in Vail for three years before joining the Canadian national team staff, where he now works with athletes ranging from juniors to emerging World Cup contenders.

“Snow training is only 20% of what I do,” he says. “The other 80% is mentorship—mindset, development, teaching athletes how to take ownership of their path. If athletes invest in those areas, their trajectory changes.”

“When they buy into everything outside performance—the mental work, the recovery, the character—they succeed. And even if they don’t break through immediately in sport, they succeed in life because they’ve invested in themselves.”

Why Mentorship Will Define the Next Generation

For Marquis, mentorship isn’t an add-on—it’s the foundation of athletic development.

It shapes confidence. It builds identity. It teaches young people how to show up in sport and in life.

“Mentorship is where athletes learn to show up—physically, mentally, emotionally,” he says. “That’s what builds champions. And honestly, it’s what keeps them in the sport.”

As he prepares the next wave of talent, Marquis believes the message is simple: Mentorship isn’t optional. It’s the differentiator. And it may be the most important thing we can give young athletes.

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