GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Anchored by another stellar performance on the badminton court, Canada had its best day yet at the Pan American Games. . Canada won four gold medals within a one-hour span Thursday afternoon and swimmer Ashley McGregor capped the effort with a fifth finish atop the podium in the evening. Michelle Li of Markham, Ont., picked up her second gold in as many days with a 21-13, 21-12 victory over Torontos Joycelyn Ko in the womens singles badminton final at Revolucion Gymnasium. Li was so excited after the win that her legs nearly buckled. "After the game I could barely stand," Li said. "My legs were pretty weak. I was just so happy. "At the last Pan Am tournament, I made the finals in two events and lost, so its nice to have won two golds this time." At around the same time, the synchronized swimming duo of Quebec Citys Elise Marcotte and Montreals Marie-Pier Boudreau-Gagnon won gold in the womens duet free routine and Ottawas Mo Zhang won gold in womens table tennis. Calgarys Grace Gao and Vancouvers Tobias Ng followed Li on the badminton court with a gold in the mixed doubles. Li, who turns 20 next month, won the womens doubles title a day earlier with partner Alexandra Bruce of Toronto. In the pool, McGregor surprised herself with a time of two minutes 28.04 seconds in the womens 200-metre backstroke. "I did not expect to come to Guadalajara and win a gold medal," she said. "Im just happy I could swim fast and win the gold." Americans Haley Jo Spencer (2:29.30) and Michelle McKeehan (2:30.51) finished second and third, respectively. Edmontons Hanna Pierse (2:31.06) was fifth. Canada locked up Olympic berths in the synchro event and womens table tennis with the victories, while the badminton team members earned valuable ranking points in the buildup to qualification next spring. For Ko, her silver at the Pan Ams came after taking doubles bronze with Gao. "I didnt play my best and Michelle played really well. This is my first Pan Am Games and Im happy that I made it this far," said Ko. "If I have to lose, losing to my teammate is better than losing to another opponent." The mixed doubles match had plenty of drama as Canada fought back from a five-point deficit in the final set for a 21-13, 9-21, 21-17 win over Eva Lee and former world mens doubles champion Halim Ho of the U.S. "Its not every day you beat a former world champion," said Canadian coach Ram Nayyar. Ng said they didnt stray from their aggressive gameplan, adding they got a nice boost from the pro-Canada crowd in the 850-seat badminton venue. "We believed we had the right strategy and we stuck with it when it wasnt working and it came through in the end," he said. In table tennis, Zhang defeated Xue Wu of the Dominican Republic 4-2 (12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-3) while in the pool, Marcotte and Boudreau-Gagnon scored 188.988 for their victory. "Its a huge relief to know that were going to the Olympics," Boudreau-Gagnon said. "Were very happy right now, but the celebrations will come only (Friday). Theres still the team event." Mary Christene Killman and Mariya Koroleva of the U.S. were second with 179.463, while Brazils Nayara Figueira and Lara Teixeira were third with 177.413. Canada is expected to win gold and claim another Olympic berth after Fridays team free program. The Canadians have a huge lead after Wednesdays technical program with a score of 94.875. "The team watched the technical routine on film (Wednesday) night and I promise you, it was perfect," Canada coach Julie Sauve said. "It was so perfect that the girls were shrieking they were so delighted. Well be ready (Friday)." Canada has 39 medals (12 gold, 10 silver, 17 bronze) to sit third in the overall standings. The U.S. has a commanding lead with 98 medals, while Brazil is second with 42 medals. The Canadian badminton team won an impressive six medals in all but is still a longshot to challenge the sports powerhouses like China, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia at the London Games. Still, the performance here was a good building block for a squad that has more of an eye on the 2016 Olympics in Rio. "Weve got a good young team," Canada coach Jeff White said. "So if they all maintain it to 2016, I think Canada could be in a position to win a medal at the Olympics, which has never happened before." In womens team squash, Torontos Stephanie Edmison clinched a 2-1 victory over Mexico as Canada advanced to the gold medal match. Mexicos Samantha Teran opened the tie with a 11-5, 11-4, 11-2 victory over Miranda Ranieri of Waterloo, Ont. Samantha Cornett of Deep River, Ont., defeated Imelda Salazar 11-6, 11-8, 13-11 to level the match before Edmison downed Nayelly Hernandez 11-8, 11-2, 11-2 to clinch the win. The Canadian mens team also advanced with a 2-0 victory over the U.S. Torontos Shahier Razik recorded seven straight points before Julian Illingworth was forced to retire. Shawn Delierre of Montreal clinched the semifinal win with a tough five-game victory over Christopher Gordon, taking the deciding game 11-8. Both squash finals will be played Friday. The women will take on Colombia, while the men face host Mexico. In womens soccer, Christina Julien of Williamstown, Ont., scored as Canada defeated Argentina 1-0. With the win, Canada qualified for the semifinals. Julien took a pass from Canadian captain Christine Sinclair of Burnaby, B.C., and chipped the ball past Argentine goalkeeper Elisabeth Minning for the games only goal. Canadas final group game is Saturday against Brazil. "We wanted to qualify for the next round," Canada coach John Herdman said. "It is job done, mission accomplished. We can now sit back and see how the other pool plays out." Canadian cyclist Stephanie Roordas set a Pan Am Games record in the womens omnium individual pursuit. The Calgary native finished with a time of three minutes 37.544 seconds. The previous record was set at the Winnipeg Games in 1999 by Erin Mirella of the U.S. Roordas sat third after four events behind Venezuelas Angie Gonzalez and Mexicos Sofia Arreola. Canada opened mens field hockey with a 7-2 win over Trinidad and Tobago. The Canadians fell 12-5 to the U.S. in womens softball, while the mens handball team got past Venezuela 28-25. In late baseball action Thursday, Canada dropped a 9-4 decision to Cuba. [url=http://www.shopnflonline.net/Black-Friday-Arizona-Cardinals-Jared-Veldheer-... Veldheer Cyber Monday Jersey . Randy Cunneyworth liked the work ethi of his hockey clubc last night, and believes his team deserved a better fate. Today consisted of some extra work on the power play with the focus on getting pucks on net with bodies in front. . On Saturday, he replaced Max Pacioretty on the Habs top line with David Desharnais and Erik Cole. [url=http://www.shopnflonline.net/Black-Friday-Washington-Redskins-Kedric-Golsto... . Eric Sprott and asset management company Sprott Inc. will back the 24-year-old Toronto driver. Hinchcliffe is to enter his first race this weekend in a Dallara Firestone Honda at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. [url=http://www.shopnflonline.net/Black-Friday-Tampa-Bay-Buccaneers-Lavonte-Davi... David Black Friday Jersey . Greg Chase had a goal and an assist for the Hitmen (3-1-0), who have won three games in a row, while Brady Brassart scored once. Jaedon Descheneau led the Ice (2-2-1) by scoring twice and Jagger Dirk had the other. . Must have made the other teams in South Floridas bracket shudder just a bit, too. The Bulls introduced the Big Easts nastiest defence to the NCAA tournament on Wednesday night, allowing only 13 points in the first half of a 65-54 victory over a California team that went long stretches without a single point.Arrigo Sacchi once said, "You dont have to have been a horse to be a jockey." With regards to becoming a professional soccer coach, that is an expression that one will hear often. In fact, it is a mantra for aspiring coaches who never made the grade as professional players. They point to recent successes in football management - like Tottenhams André Villas-Boas - who never played the game professionally as examples of why a professional playing career is overrated when it comes to being a professional coach. But is it? Does a professional coach need to have a professional playing career first in order to be successful as a coach? Is it a prerequisite for getting hired? Is a coach who never played the game viewed by the establishment as inferior to those who did? Lets take a look at the coaches in the English Premier League for some insight. Since the league began in 1992, there have been 179 different men in charge of the 20 clubs in the league. Some were only in the job for a day as caretakers, while others - like Sir Alex Ferguson - were in charge for many years. By my count, only six of those coaches moved into coaching without first having enjoyed a substantial professional playing career. The likes of Villas-Boas, Roy Hodgson (now manager of England) and Avram Grant didnt accumulate years of experience in the game as professional players before moving into coaching. Instead, they served years as coaching apprentices before working their way up through the coaching ranks. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers retired from the game as a player at the age of 20 due to injury before beginning his journey on the coaching pathway. But these coaches are very much the exception. When it comes to getting a job as a coach at the highest level in England, having a professional playing career behind you is almost mandatory. But does it actually make a difference? Does a professional playing career make you a better coach? Im not convinced that it does. Some of the brightest coaches in the game - people like Villas-Boas and Rodgers - demonstrate that the ability to coach the game isnt reflective of ones ability to play the game. Those coaches became students of the game at an early age and worked their way up the coaching ladder, either as assistant coaches or as academy coaches, before moving into senior management. Internationally, some of the most successful coaches in the game achieved their success without ever touching the field as professional players. Arrigo Sacchi turned AC Milan into one of the greatest club teams ever in the late 80s and early 90s, winning back-to-back European Cups. Carlos Alberto Parreira won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994; neither he nor Sacchi ever set foot on the field as professional players. Closer to home, Canadas womens national team coach, John Herdman, never played professionally. Yet he is one of the best coaches Ive come across in over two decades of professional involvement in the game. [url=http://www.shopnflonline.net/Black-Friday-Denver-Broncos-Gary-Zimmerman-Jer... Zimmerman Cyber Monday Jersey. While players are immersed in a football culture day in, day out, that doesnt necessarily translate to success in coaching. Take Arsenal and England defender Tony Adams, for example. An exceptional player for both club and country, his forays into management with Wycombe Wanderers and Portsmouth FC failed to bring success; he suffered relegation to League Two with Wycombe and only managed to win four of his 22 games in charge of Portsmouth before being sacked. Adams last coaching appointment was in May 2010 with Gabala FC in the Azerbaijan Premier League, a post he subsequently left in November 2011. Arguably the worlds best-ever player, Diego Maradona, had a disastrous spell as manager of his national team. In charge of Argentinas 2010 World Cup appearance, he will be remembered for his tactical naiveté and general incompetence during his countrys 4-0 hammering at the hands of Germany. In professional football, being able to manage the personalities of your players is far more important than being able to ping a 60-yard ball across the pitch. Sir Alex Ferguson summed it up nicely in his recent autobiography, when he said, "Football management is a never-ending sequence of challenges. So much of it is a study in the frailty of human beings." While a professional playing background teaches you the technical, tactical and physical requirements of the game, does it teach you to understand the frailty of human beings? Not really. Being a player is often a selfish existence; you worry, first and foremost, about your own performance. You dont have that luxury as a manager, where you must give as much of your time (if not more) to the weakest member of your team as you do to your star player. You must be able to see the bigger picture, and must be able to tailor your teaching methods to meet the needs of each and every one of your players and staff. The ability to do this comes naturally for some - which might explain why so many clubs make the mistake of hiring a former player as their coach. They assume that years spent playing the game are equivalent to years spent teaching it. But for most coaches, being able to manage a group of professional players comes only with years and years of practice. But if you dont have a professional playing career behind you, getting an opportunity at a professional club is very difficult. Because there is definitely a perception amongst club owners and chairman that the lack of a professional playing career is somehow a black mark on a coachs resumé - as if the ability to teach the game is directly related to the ability to play the game. Perhaps the only way to dispel this belief is for more coaches like Villas-Boas, Rodgers and Herdman to achieve success in the game. ' ' '