UNews - Canada Games

Horns coaches represent at Canada Games

trevor.kenney — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 16:19:28 +0000

After leading their respective teams through the grind of a Canada West season, two ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns women's coaches have had an equally busy spring and summer coaching Team Alberta's soccer and basketball squads at the Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Que.

Long-time women's soccer head coach Ilsa Wong is leading the Team Alberta U17 female soccer team in Sherbrooke. It is her first time representing Alberta at the Canada Summer Games, having previously represented Team Alberta at the 2007 Western Canada Games.

"We have a very strong squad with nine players from south of Red Deer and nine players from northern Alberta, but our toughest competition will be Quebec, BC, and Ontario," says Wong.

Following the completion of her first season with the Pronghorns women's basketball program, Erin McAleenan is back with the provincial program this summer. McAleenan was the head coach of Alberta's U17 team last summer and will lead the same age group in Sherbrooke.

McAleenan's squad is situated in pool C and faces Quebec and BC during pool play with the quarter-finals starting Aug. 14.

For more information and game results visit http://www.jeuxducanada2013.ca/en/

Heather Steacy golden at Canada Games

trevor.kenney — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:06:00 +0000

What did you do on your summer vacation – probably not as much as Heather Steacy.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge track and field star added another accolade to her impressive resumé on Thursday, winning gold at the Canada Summer Games in Charlottetown, PEI.

With a furthest throw of 59.92 metres, Steacy dominated the hammer throw competition, winning by more than six metres. Quebec's Annie Larose finished second at 53.62m, while Ontario's Kristin Obrochta was third at 52.89m.

"It was a really good throw technically today for me so I'm happy for sure," Steacy, who was ranked number one heading into the competition, says. "Obviously anything can happen in a competition, but I did think I could do this."

Steacy returns to campus this fall to begin her fourth year at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. In three seasons with the Horns, the 21 year-old Lethbridge native has claimed three Canada West titles in the weight throw to go along with two CIS titles. She has also earned a CIS bronze medal.

Steacy's golden toss is another step forward in her quest to compete for Canada internationally, including a possible trip to the Olympic Summer Games. Her brothers Jim and Sean Steacy have both competed at the international level and Jim, a multiple Canadian champion in the hammer throw, represented Canada at the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing last summer.

"It has been really good to have the experience of my brothers to rely on and it is definitely encouraging to see how well they have done," Steacy says. "It is definitely motivating, especially watching Jim compete in Beijing at just 24 years old."

Steacy comfortable on any stage

trevor.kenney — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:43:20 +0000

When Heather Steacy takes the stage, it's all about technique – whether she's in a throwing circle or a recital hall.

The two-time CIS women's weight throw champion is as comfortable heaving weights around a track as she is playing clarinet to a convocation crowd. And while that might seem like a startling contrast, Steacy says the two disciplines actually feed off one another.

"I think there are a lot more similarities with hammer (and weight) throw and music than there are with other sports," the 20-year-old, third-year music major says. "In hammer, you have to have pretty much perfect technique to be able to stay in control the whole time and be able to release in the sector, so I think it's quite similar to music."

Exercising proper breathing and executing technique at the time of performance are shared traits of musicians and athletes. Steacy says her early introduction to musical performance has aided her athletically in big competitions.

"I started playing piano when I was five and have been doing Kiwanis Music Festivals ever since, so I've never really had an opportunity to develop big issues with nervousness like some people have," she says. "I don't really get nervous. I get jitters every once in a while, but I've learned how to control it over the years, and it doesn't affect me very much."

That was on display in her first appearance at CIS nationals in the spring of 2007. Just 18 years old at the time, Steacy shocked everyone by winning gold. A year later, she'd defend her title, throwing a still personal best distance of 17.93 metres and dominating the competition by more than a half metre.

"My first year was pretty surprising because I didn't expect to win at all," Steacy says. "Last year, it was nice to be able to do it a second time. I had been training really hard and throwing well, and I always find I compete well at the big meets."

Steacy is on a career path that will lead to bigger and bigger meets down the road. It's a journey already traveled by another Steacy, older brother Jim. The Canadian Olympian and multiple Canadian champion and record holder casts a long shadow, but Heather has learned to reap as much as she can from Jim's experience.

"I don't think it's as bad for me as it is for Sean because I don't have to compete with him," she says of her other brother, another former Pronghorn thrower. "I love being able to train with Jim and see how well he's doing. Knowing that I have pretty much the same opportunity of doing everything he's doing is very encouraging."

Steacy is preparing for her third CIS championship appearance, Mar. 12-14 in Windsor, Ont. She opened the season with a secondplace showing at the Golden Bear Open meet in January and while not taking gold is somewhat of an oddity, Steacy says she welcomes more challengers to a relatively unknown sport.

"There's getting to be a lot more girls competing now, which is a good sign," she says. "There will actually be people to compete with now instead of just going and throwing by yourself, competing against yourself all the time."

Training five days a week, including twice daily Wednesday through Friday, you might think Steacy has little time for anything else. Add in the fact her entire family is into track and it sounds like throwing dominates her life. That's where music steps in to provide another outlet.

"It's kind of nice coming to school where there are people who have no idea what I do," she says. "It's neat being able to explain things (about hammer), but it's also nice not being asked all the time. It's nice to have that contrast in my life."

That disparity also seems to create a student-athlete balance that leads to excellence in both arenas.

GET THE FACTS

• The hammer throw is an outdoor sport where the women heave a 4kg ball (8.8 lbs) attached to a metal wire 119.5 cm in length (three feet, 11 inches). The weight throw is an indoor sport where the women toss a 20lb weight attached only to a handle

• Steacy won the CIS weight throw gold last year with a throw of 17.93m, nearly two metres better (15.97m) than her win in 2007

• Her summer competition schedule could include trips to Prince Edward Island (Canada Games), Serbia (World ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Games) and Lebanon (Francophone Games)

• Steacy started playing clarinet in Grade 5, taking lessons from U of L music professor Peggy Mezei

UNews - Canada Games

Horns coaches represent at Canada Games

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Heather Steacy golden at Canada Games

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Steacy comfortable on any stage

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