Meet the Team Behind Benchmarked

We chose the name Benchmarked for our company and podcast as a reference to holding a standard, having a direction, as well as having been "marked" and influenced by our time leading, coaching and teaching. 

At the core of what we do is our “9 Elements of Success”.

We will coach you on how to mine them and refine them to make yourself and your team better. Why do we use the terms MINE and REFINE? "Mining and Refining" comes from the many people in our family who were, and still are a part of the mining industry and it represents hard work not only to physically extract elements and gems from the earth, but also the continued and arduous work to refine them once pulled from the earth.

We will give you a blueprint to establish personal growth as a performer, athlete, leader as well as foster your team to grow as a group and as individuals within that group. We will help you learn to keep yourself and your team accountable. All 9 elements are measurable against benchmarks created by you (evidence of excellence) to form a framework of operations. When mined and refined the elements will help you thrive, build great culture within your group or organization.

Great culture builds success and success breeds more success. It’s a cycle that once created can repeat itself and drive you, your team, or organization to new heights.

Are you ready to get to work? Let us help you achieve your goals!

COACH

Marc Messier

Mess is all about getting leaders to lead and athletes and teams to perform at their very best. He will help your team create and sustain a culture of excellence and the develop the necessary habits to succeed. You will be left with RELEVANT AND USEFUL tools that can be implemented immediately and easily.

Coach Messier’s focus is providing guidance that aims to develop the following:

  • The ELITE MINDSET to give yourself the best chance for success

  • DISCIPLINE AND COMMITMENT to last all season

  • The FOCUS AND AWARENESS needed to win every day

  • The PROCESS OVER OUTCOME approach that gets results

  • MENTAL IMAGERY as part of your training (as well as through injury and return from injury)

  • ROUTINES and HABITS of EXCELLENCE needed to be consistently high performing

  • TIME MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION to become truly elite

  • The LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTER skills you need to lead yourself + your team

  • Developing the right CULTURE for long term success

DOMINATE EACH DAY!

COACH

J-G Larocque

Focused, approachable, and driven by results, JG is all about building strong relationships. He will help provide you with the right tools and solutions you need to be your most successful self—all this is done with clarity and care.

After all these years of coaching, Coach Larocque has boiled down the common denominators to team success and peak individual performance. He aims to help performers and athletes not let a lack of mental preparation affect their overall potential for greatness.

What can you expect from JG?

  • He will teach you to mine and refine the elements you need to boost daily performance, leadership skills, character, and build team success through a thriving culture and great team atmosphere.

  • He will help you break the blocks that may hinder you from attaining your highest achievement possible.

  • He will help you build the habits that can have the greatest affect on team culture while simultaneously getting the most out of each individual within that group.

  • He will enable you to thrive in challenging moments and stare down peak performance obstacles.

KEEP CRUSHING IT!

I had the privilege of participant in seminars hosted by Benchmarked. Marc Messier and J-G Larocque brought energy, humour, and insight into each of their 6 sessions for high school teachers and coaches around the province. Their stories of successes and failures as a teacher and coach brought a personal perspective to each of their lessons. The sessions were fun to listen to, feeling more like conversations in the Athletics Office or on the sidelines of a game rather than sitting in a lecture. There were immediate takeaways from each of the webinars that I implemented into my coaching right away. My team talks, coaching strategies, and individual conversations with athletes have all been partly shaped by what I learned from these webinars. Listening to Marc and J-G gave me the framework to build my leadership capacity as a Physical and Health educator and coach. I left the webinars feeling empowered with the tools necessary to facilitate positive change in my classes, department, and sports teams. You will not regret having Marc and J-G speak to your team.

-Cody R. - High School Rugby Coach

Preparing for the CFL combine was the most challenging and regimented training schedule I have ever put myself through. I was so focussed on the training aspect of my preparation and did not recognize the true value in the mental training side until I started working with Coach Messier. I learned how to stay locked in and to never lose sight of the end goal while focussing on daily progress, how to handle setbacks, and most importantly how to believe in myself when the pressure was highest. I was also given a workbook that allowed me to write down my thoughts and ideas throughout our work which was also incredibly helpful. The mental skills I developed throughout our work together became more important to me than the physical training in both the gym and on the field. I am a more resilient, focussed, and self-confident athlete because of Coach Marc’s guidance.

-Football Athlete / CFL Combine Participant

After being with JG for five days in Arizona I got to see him put his Mental Training into practice. After only 4 weeks of training JG was able to finish the Lost Dutchman Marathon. If that is not an Elite Mindset, I don’t know what is.

- Jonah Bayliss - Former Pittsburgh Pirate

Benchmarked proved to be the perfect partnership for OFSAA. Coaches Marc Messier and Jean-Gilles Larocque shared their years of experience and research with teacher-coaches from around the province in six valuable sessions. The information, strategies and insights provided are invaluable for coaches and educators. Focusing on nine elements of successful leadership, we are confident that you will learn something new that can be implemented immediately within your job, games, or practice.  Thanks again for providing this professional development opportunity to those who attended the seminars. 

-Shamus Bourdon Executive Director OFSAA.

I wish I could've taken this course at the beginning of my coaching career, but even 10 years later, all the information is still very relevant and useful.  Even more so, as much of it can also be applied to any life setting.  The overall ideas and philosophies are exactly what you would expect from coaches with such experience, knowledge and perspective. If you are like me and you volunteered to coach a team with little or no training whatsoever, I highly recommend joining Marc and JG as they share their experiences, their tools and their love of the game.”

-Tanya L. - Hockey and Soccer Coach