Istvan Balyi: Father. Husband. Sport scientist. Exile. Born July 23, 1942, in Debrecen, Hungary; died Dec. 3, 2024, in Sooke, B.C., of liver failure; aged 82.
Istvan BalyiCourtesy of family
Packing in Budapest for the flight to Canada, Istvan Balyi looked at his favourite winter coat and considered taking it. A fine-tailored leather piece lined with sheep’s wool. But he couldn’t risk it. It was April and the security attaché, disguised as the late-arriving team assistant, would read the intent.
So it was that the young sport scientist, part of the Hungarian Olympic team’s advanced mission to Montreal in 1974, walked out the front door of his Montreal hotel in shorts and a T-shirt, turned right and simply kept going.
He walked until he met two police officers, then gestured with his hands and appealed to them in Hungarian. They deduced he was a defector and took him for immigration processing. He was following his older sister; she had escaped to France in 1956.
Istvan secured a teaching position in physical education at the University of Montreal. Being a graduate of one of the most prestigious sports universities in Europe, the Testnevelési Feriskola, his expertise was unquestioned. His French was another matter.
Istvan started translating between a French textbook and another in Hungarian to make teaching notes. He reflected years later, “When you are in deep water, you have to swim.”
The Montreal teaching position was his first step in a long and influential career in Canadian coaching and sport science. He would teach in the Department of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa for eight years and later the National Coaching Institute at the University of Victoria.
When he started advising different Canadian national teams and sport organizations, preparing athletes for Olympic and international success, his consulting career began.
One of his first roles came with the Canadian alpine ski team. He made an important observation: the athletes lacked fundamental movement skills that they should have developed as young athletes. They had specialized too early. It inspired him to start work on the Long-Term Athlete Development model based on the sport science of the Eastern Bloc and the best coaching practices of the West.
By the end of his life, he had consulted with more than 50 sports organizations in more than 20 countries. He authored papers, wrote textbooks and was recognized with an honorary doctorate from his alma mater in Budapest in 2022.
His childhood? He was evasive. The history of that time might offer clues. He was born when Hungary had allied itself with Nazi Germany and by the age of three his family was living under de facto Soviet administration. Totalitarian fascism at birth, totalitarian communism at kindergarten. Then his father was taken away to be re-educated in a labour camp.
“By age six, you know what you can say, and who you can say it to,” he would recall. “Imagine.”
While at the University of Ottawa, Istvan met master’s student Ann Hamilton.
“It was the classic student-idolizes-professor thing,” Ann says. “I thought he was intriguing.”
In addition to sport, they shared a common love of books and music. They eventually married and had a son, Nick.
Despite being emotionally remote, Istvan worked hard to provide for Ann and Nick.
“He would have given me the shirt off his back in the freezing cold to make sure I was happy,” Nick Balyi. “He was always supportive of whatever I was doing.”
Istvan didn’t hesitate to call out nonsense thinking when he saw it. Those who spoke rubbish were intimidated. Those who understood his Hungarian manner were appreciative – none more than his family and closest friends.
He ate hot peppers like appetizers and used proper Hungarian paprika in his goulash. He loved reading (from Jaroslav Hasek to James Patterson) and music (from Mozart and the Moody Blues to Serge Reggiani and Pink Floyd).
Istvan was a testament to determination and commitment to excellence. His work continues to guide both Canadian sport and athlete development around the world, his mantra embedded in countless programs: “Focus on the process, not the outcome.”
Jim Grove is Istvan Balyi’s friend and colleague.
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