Just A Cup - Derek Covington: Olympic Performance, Well-Being & Building Better Systems | S3 E75

n this episode of Just A Cup, host Bryan Fetzer sits down with Derek Covington, one of Canada's most experienced Olympic and high-performance sport leaders. Derek's career has taken him from being a national-level track and field athlete chasing his own Olympic dream to helping build the systems behind athletes competing on the world's biggest stage. His high-performance career has spanned nine Olympic Games and included leadership roles with Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee. As Director of Olympic Preparation with the Canadian Olympic Committee, Derek helped national sport organizations develop customized preparation strategies designed to give Canadian athletes and coaches the best opportunity to perform when it mattered most. But this conversation goes beyond medals and podiums. Bryan and Derek explore an important question facing sports organizations today: Can you pursue extraordinary performance while still protecting the well-being of the people responsible for producing it? Derek believes the answer isn't choosing between performance and well-being. The best systems recognize that the two can—and should—strengthen one another. The conversation explores what Derek has learned about creating high-performance environments, supporting athletes through pressure and adversity, developing trust, and understanding the individual behind the performance. They also discuss mindfulness and self-awareness. Derek's own journey into mindfulness changed the way he thinks about performance. Rather than treating mindfulness as simply another technique, he sees it as a way of helping athletes and leaders become more aware of how they respond to pressure, uncertainty, distraction, and difficult moments. Another major theme is the evolution of athlete development. Athletes today have more information, technology, resources, and autonomy than ever before. Derek discusses why the future of athlete development may require moving beyond traditional centralized systems toward environments that are more personalized and responsive to the individual. His current work through NStride continues exploring new approaches to human performance. Derek and Bryan also talk about coaching, leadership, mental health, organizational culture, measurement, and why simply adding a wellness program isn't enough if the environment creating the stress never changes. That's where this conversation gets interesting. High performance isn't simply asking people to do more. Sometimes the better question is whether we've created the right environment for them to become more. Episode Guide 00:00 – Welcome and introduction to Derek Covington 03:00 – Derek's journey from athlete to Olympic performance leader 08:00 – Chasing his own Olympic dream 13:00 – Moving from athlete to high-performance leadership 18:00 – Lessons from nine Olympic Games 23:00 – What creates a true high-performance environment? 28:00 – Performance versus athlete well-being 33:00 – Why the two don't have to compete 38:00 – Mindfulness and performance 43:00 – Building resilience without simply demanding toughness 48:00 – Culture, trust and leadership 53:00 – The changing athlete-development model 58:00 – Technology, personalization and NStride Final Minutes – Derek's advice for coaches, athletes and leaders Topics Discussed Olympic performance Canadian Olympic Team High-performance sport Athlete development Athlete well-being Mental health in sport Mindfulness Self-awareness Resilience Leadership under pressure High-performance culture Coaching Organizational culture Trust Athlete-centered development Sustainable performance Performance measurement Personalized athlete development Technology in sports performance NStride Athletics Canada Athlétisme Québec Olympic preparation Human performance Guest Links Derek Covington on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-covington-b2248828/ Athlétisme Québec: https://www.athletisme-quebec.ca/ Derek Covington – Mindfulness & Performance: https://omwellness.ca/about-derek-covington/ Listen & Watch Just A Cup Bleav – Just A Cup: https://bleav.com/shows/just-a-cup/ YouTube – Just A Cup: https://www.youtube.com/@coachfetzjustacup Episode Credits Host: Bryan Fetzer Guest: Derek Covington, MSc — Olympic and High Performance Leader, Founder & CEO of NStride, and Technical & High Performance Director with Athlétisme Québec. Additional Episode Notes Derek previously spent seven years with Athletics Canada, including responsibility for the national team program, and later held Olympic-preparation leadership positions with the Canadian Olympic Committee. His work has increasingly focused on building environments where performance, mental well-being, mindfulness, and athlete development operate together rather than as competing priorities. Enjoyed the conversation? Follow Just A Cup, leave a rating or review, and share the episode with an athlete, coach, performance professional, or leader interested in creating healthier—and better—high-performance environments. #JustACup #DerekCovington #Olympics #HighPerformance #AthleteWellbeing #Mindfulness #MentalPerformance #AthleteDevelopment #Leadership #TeamCanada #Resilience #Bleav Social & Contact Just A Cup on Bleav: https://bleav.com/shows/just-a-cup/ Just A Cup on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coachfetzjustacup Bryan Fetzer on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachfetz/ Bryan Fetzer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanfetzer/ One-Line Guest Bio Derek Covington, MSc is an Olympic and high-performance sport leader whose career has spanned nine Olympic Games, including leadership roles with Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee. He currently works in high-performance athletics with Athlétisme Québec and is Founder & CEO of NStride, bringing together performance, well-being, mindfulness, and athlete development. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.