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Falling in love at UVic

Sporer, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from UVic in 1998, and later a Master of Science in Physical Education in 2001, started his working life in computers, but attended UVic because he wanted to be involved in sports and the culture of constantly trying to perform. He played lacrosse at a high level and adores all sports. He took an undergrad kinesiology class with Howie Wenger, now a professor emeritus in the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, and was captivated by Wenger’s ability to convey complex ideas in a way that was easy to understand. Sporer finished his physiology degree and was eventually invited by Wenger to work in the Sport and Fitness Testing Lab, including with NHL athletes during the pre-season. “It was a great living lab,” says Sporer. Wenger had a unique way of flipping questions back at you for you to answer yourself, he recalls. “He did so in a way that always made me feel empowered. He was super inspirational to me, and I know to a lot of other people as well.”

Wenger, in turn, remembers Sporer as enthusiastic, bright and intelligent. “Ben loved to bring theory to practice all the time. It wasn’t just about building theory.” Wenger says people who work in a lab spend a lot of hours together. “Ben was really personable. He fit in with the group. He was the kind of guy who made the group better just by being there.”

While at UVic, Sporer fell in love with physiology and later, Trina, who was in one of his fourth-year classes. It turned out Trina, who earned a BA in Kinesiology in 1998 and later an MA in Physical Education in 2005, had an identical twin sister who was also a UVic student—which explained why he kept seeing her on campus. “For the longest time I thought they were the same person, so I would always say ‘Hi,’” he laughs.

Sporer went on to earn an Honours degree at UVic with Dr. David Docherty, followed by a Master of Science with Wenger, which eventually led to Sporer helping to build a sport institute while becoming one of Canada’s first full-time physiologists working in sport. He worked with the Pacific Sport Institute and then the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific to support various sports, including triathlon, snowboarding and cycling. He ran a bunch of “top secret projects” for Own the Podium, and performed work with the World Anti-Doping Agency, studying asthma inhalers. As if this wasn’t enough, he also completed a PhD at the University of BC.

Sporer worked with sport institutes until 2011, when he started his own company, Resync Consulting. He continued working with teams until 2016, steering the Canadian snowboard team through the 2014 Olympics to set them up for the next phase. He also began advising the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and in 2019, helped build a new performance strategy to drive performance on the field. Now VP of Performance Strategy at the Whitecaps, he put together a five-year plan to help set them up for the future.

The importance of output

A key concept that Sporer has adopted over the years is to focus on the context of the individual or team. It really is not always about winning, he stresses. He cites his pride in two Canadian cyclists with whom he worked who had exceptional performances at the 2008 Beijing Olympics—well beyond expectations—and one would have medalled if not for a mechanical problem. He draws a key distinction between “outcome” and “output.”

In the book, he writes: “Human performance is the ultimate execution of your goals to meet an objective. It is an output, not an outcome. This is true not just for sport but for any and every aspect of your life. To perform in a way that is sustainable over time, you have to think critically about the decisions and factors that influence your output.”

Both performances by the Olympic cyclists were far better than expected. “Those are moments where I get really excited, because you see someone perform in that moment. They deliver on demand,” he says.

Sporer was also proud to be part of the team that helped Canadian snowboarder Maëlle Ricker to be the first Canadian female athlete to win Olympic gold on home soil. In Turin 2006, she’d had a devastating crash that left her with a concussion and torn muscles—so the 2010 gold carried even more shine. Still, for every win, there is a loss—and it’s always hard for the athletes who crash or have something unfortunate happen.

Those eventualities, part of “the outcome,” are what you can’t control. But you can control your “output,” which includes preparation. In the book, Sporer divides performance into four core characteristics: physical, mental, tactical and technical. He adds that you could break “physical” into probably 100 different things, and when we perform it’s really an integrated output. Some people might be strong in one area and weaker in another.

The theories hold true in work and in the rest of our lives. A brain surgeon might lean heavily on the “technical” bucket, but physical plays a part, too, such as the surgeon’s ability to withstand stress and long hours. Given that output is what you can control and outcome is what happens on the day, if a person wants to succeed in a performance, they need to look at what’s required in terms of the four core elements to increase the likelihood of success.

The secret of high performance

High-performing teams, the ones that win year after year, have narrowed that variability. For example, their coaches have prepared them to bounce back after bad calls or setbacks. Sporer also worked with people who were sustained high performers in their chosen field—including artists, executives and athletes. He found eight characteristics that tended to repeat themselves across high performers, such as a growth mindset, but you don’t need to have all of them to be a high performer, he adds.

In the book, he uses an example of a female executive who excels at her job, until eventually, the long days of travel involved in her success starts to eat away at her wellbeing—which comes with a performance cost. His experiences and work in performance also served as a catalyst to make changes in his own life.

He and Trina decided together more than a decade ago that he would leave the sport institute. The travel was not compatible with being a great partner and an involved father, which was what he valued. “I was exhausted. I wasn’t able to train. I wasn’t able to stay physically active because I was travelling all the time... I was exhausted when I came home, so I didn’t have time to put in with my kids, with Trina…”

He’s constantly looking forward to what he wants to achieve and how to prepare. At 53, he wants a future in which he continues to mountain bike and ski with his two children—so he continues to prepare his body as best he can. Part of the beauty of analyzing output versus outcome is that it allows people to recognize what they can and can’t control. He admits that after the long hours of preparation, the losses can be rough.

The book is a chance for Sporer to widely share all he’s learned over the years about performance—a journey that started at UVic. “I’d love to stress the influence UVic had on our family and our lives. It was an amazing experience for both Trina and me.”

He learned to think critically at UVic’s Exercise Science, Physical & Health Education School. “It’s almost like a family. It’s a small enough school, but it’s a big enough school. I think that fostered a lot of that ability for me to be connected to the McKinnon Building, the faculty that was there, build relationships with Howie, be involved in the school.”

Meeting Trina was the most important milestone at UVic, he laughs. She’s his life partner, his business partner—and the driving force behind the book. “Yeah, she’s everything,” he says.

—Jenny Manzer, BA ’97

This article appears in the UVic Torch alumni magazine.

For more Torch stories, go to the UVic Torch alumni magazine page.