UNews - discus

Ken McInnes named Interim Executive Director, Sport & Recreation Services

trevor.kenney — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 22:16:35 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has named human resources professional Ken McInnes as its interim director of Sport and Recreation Services (SRS).

McInnes has been with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for over 25 years in a variety of leadership roles, and will step out of his current position as the Executive Director, Human Resources to work with the SRS team. His focus will be to position Pronghorn Athletics and U of L Sport & Recreation Services programs for the future.

McInnes will begin to implement recommendations from the recently completed review of Sport and Recreation Services programs, which focussed on a new sport delivery model. He will also work with the SRS team on strengthening recreational programs and services.

Additionally, McInnes will focus on consulting and collaborating with partners, supporters and stakeholders of Pronghorn Athletics and Sport & Recreation Services programs to build on past successes and to promote excellence into the future.

In addition to being an experienced human resources leader, McInnes is a former Pronghorn track and field athlete who has competed at the national level in shot put, discus and hammer throw.

McInnes has an MBA from Royal Roads ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and is an alumnus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge with undergraduate degrees in management and kinesiology.

Horns' Millman always had U of L on his mind

trevor.kenney — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 20:56:58 +0000

Peter Millman’s track career began with him trying to run over hurdles as fast as he could. Today, Millman could just hurl them out of the way and waltz down the track – he’s clearly found his niche.

“I thought I was going to be a hurdler in Grades 6 through 8 and honestly, was really bad, and it was sort of embarrassing for my dad,” laughs Millman, whose father Paul coached track at the provincial and national level. “So I started throwing the discus in Grade 8, won provincials my second year and that’s basically where my throwing career began.”

Ready to embark on his second year of studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Millman is already a known commodity on the Canadian Interuniversity Sport track and field scene. That will happen when you win gold and silver medals in your first Canada West Championship meet and are named Canada West Rookie of the Year – and that was just the beginning.

Millman, 19, spent the summer racking up personal best throws and more accolades as he claimed three medals at the Canadian Junior Track and Field Championships. The Truro, N.S. product won gold in the shot put and silver in each of the discus and hammer throw events. He was then named to Canada’s Pan American Junior Championship team and competed in Medellin, Colombia at the end of August, qualifying for the finals of the hammer throw event and improving his Pan Am ranking from 10th to seventh position.

Peter Millman prepares to throw the shotput during the Pan American Junior Athletic Championships.

“Coming here and focusing on throwing and training with Larry Steinke, I believe opens everything up for me,” says Millman, who eyes world championship and Olympic appearances in his future. “I had opportunities to go to the United States but to me, it looked like an athlete factory down there and with Larry, it’s one-on-one focussed training designed to get you to the next level.”

The U of L didn’t have to spend a lot of time recruiting Millman, he was essentially in the family from the time he took his first training trip to Lethbridge in his Grade 10 year.

“I tried to convince my parents to let me move out here in Grade 10 and just start training with Larry but that wasn’t going to happen,” he says. “I had chosen the U of L by Grade 10, it was always where I was coming.”

The draw of course is head coach Steinke, leader of the national throws program and the mentor to Olympians Jim and Heather Steacy. He’s been mining talent from Truro for years, having previously brought Kate Forbes and Jonathan Doucette (now the coach at Dalhousie ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ) to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Along with Millman came Kayla Gallagher (last year’s CIS gold medallist in weight throw) and Montana Forsyth. In the fall, Millman says his dad will bring another high school group to Lethbridge for a week of training, possibly laying the foundation for future throwing prospects attending the U of L.

“The thing about Larry is that his programs are so individually based and he’s so knowledgeable about track, even outside of throws events, he knows the sport so well,” says Millman. “He understands what you need in terms of lifting, really everything within your training, he sets it up. Everybody has their own program focused on what they individually need to develop.”
Millman has changed his academic focus this fall, moving away from international management and focusing on history. He admittedly struggled last year and looks to return to the strong classroom performances he put in while in high school.

“I wasn’t going to force myself to study something I didn’t really want to do,” he says of the management vein he tried to follow in the shadow of father’s career (he runs an international student recruitment program in Nova Scotia). “I want to take something where my interests lie and I’ve done that this year. I really like the courses I’m in this semester so I hope things go a lot better.”

His competitive goals are enhanced this year as he looks to build off his rookie success as well as the summer experience he gained internationally.

“Hopefully, I want to medal this year at the CIS Championships. I had such a great outdoor season with the shot, I hope it transfers to the indoor season,” he says. “After that, theoretically the NACAC Under-23 (North America Central America and Caribbean) Games are a possibility. I’m still pretty young and would have another shot at it in two years but it’d be great to make that team.”

GET THE FACTS

• Millman says he still has an autograph from former Pronghorn thrower and Olympian Jim Steacy on his bedroom wall back home in Truro from his initial visit to Lethbridge in Grade 10

• Millman competes in each of the discus, hammer/weight and shot put events but says, “I’m starting to think that maybe I have more potential in the shot put.”

• Millman has a younger sister in Grade 12 who he describes as a “genius”. She also throws hammer and is looking at attending an Ivy League school in the eastern United States

• Millman placed fifth in shot at the Pan American Junior Athletic Championships, while Horns teammate Kayla Gallagher won bronze for Canada in the hammer throw

Off-season success for Horns throwers

trevor.kenney — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 16:47:46 +0000

Coming off a successful first season with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns track team, Peter Millman and Kayla Gallagher both earned medals this past weekend at the Canadian Junior Track and Field Nationals in Sainte-Therese, Que.

Millman, from Truro, N.S., won three medals on the weekend, including a gold in the shot put with a throw of 18.31 metres. He also earned silver medals in the discus and hammer events with throws of 52.03 and 63.29 metres respectively.

Millman won the Canada West Championships in weight throw this past spring and placed sixth at the CIS Championship. He was also the silver medalist at the Canada West Championships in the shot put.

Gallagher, who won the CIS Championship in the weight throw as a freshman this past spring, earned a Canadian Junior Track bronze medal in the hammer throw with a toss of 51.66 metres.

Both Millman and Gallagher earned spots on the Canadian team for the Pan American Junior Championships to be held in Medellin, Colombia, Aug. 23-25.

Gallagher caps rookie season with CIS gold

trevor.kenney — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:40:48 +0000

The torch has officially been passed and it continues to burn as bright as ever for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns throws team.

With the brother/sister combination of Jim and Heather Steacy no longer competing, and winning medals, for the Horns, a new group of throwers debuted at the U of L this track season. In terms of medal counts, the team hardly missed a beat.

Rookies Kayla Gallagher and Peter Millman posted double medalist performances at the Canada West championship meet, each winning gold in their respective weight throw events and silver in the shot put. Gallagher then set the track community on its ear with a dominant performance at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championships, claiming gold in the weight throw for yet another throws national title for the program.

"I just wanted to place higher than what I was ranked going into the meet," says Gallagher, who was ranked fifth nationally. "A fourth-place finish would have been fine with me and getting on the podium would have been awesome – that was my thinking."

First-year Pronghorn thrower Kayla Gallagher continues the long tradition of excellence in the Horns' throws program.

She exceeded awesome by throwing 18.24 metres in the CIS final, a personal best by nearly two metres and almost a metre better than the rest of the field. At just 19, Gallagher is already on the fast track to a stellar career, and serves as another example of the talented athletes that head coach Larry Steinke continues to bring into the program.

Of course, Steinke had the inside track on Gallagher all along. A Truro, Nova Scotia product, Gallagher comes from a throwing hot spot, training with the Truro Lions club that spawned former Pronghorns Kate Forbes (the CIS Championship Meet record holder in weight throw) and Jonathan Doucette.

Her Truro coach, Paul Millman, is the father of fellow rookie Peter Millman, and is a close friend of Steinke's, so much so that Gallagher had twice visited the U of L for training camps as a high school athlete.

"I was never going to stay home for track," says Gallagher. "The biggest decision for me was whether I would go to the United States or stay in Canada but I honestly never really looked at any schools in the U.S., it just made sense to stay in Canada."

And to work with Steinke, the national team coach who has consistently produced the country's best young throwers.

Of course, it wasn't all record-setting throws and medals for Gallagher this season. She actually opened the Canada West season well off form.

"It was a rough start to the season, I was throwing worse than I had been two years ago," she says. "I had to reevaluate what I thought I could accomplish."

Devoting more time to weight throw (she also throws discus and shot put), Gallagher started to see results. She threw a personal best at the Canada West championship meet and established the longest throw ever for a CIS rookie in winning gold.

"When I threw 18-plus metres at CIS, it didn't surprise me because that's what I'd been throwing in the two weeks of practice leading in. The fact that I did it in a competition as opposed to just in practice was the big thing," she says.

She credits Steinke's coaching technique for much of her success, as well as the opportunity to train alongside Olympians such as Jim and Heather Steacy.

"I really enjoy Larry as a coach, he explains things really well and can show you how to correct things," she says. "He uses a lot of visual techniques, either with a video camera or by physically just showing you what to do, and that works for me because I'm a very visual learner."

Her transition to university life is an ongoing learning cycle. She admits that the time constraints of training for track and working a job take their toll on studying. Interested in psychology, Gallagher says she is working hard on improving her time management skills.

Considering the strides she made in the throwing circle in just one season, it's safe to say that when Gallagher puts her mind to something, she's likely to reap the rewards very soon.

GET THE FACTS

· Gallagher is currently training with Steinke and a group of elite throwers in Phoenix, AZ through Apr. 8

· Millman was named Canada West Rookie of the Year

· Gallagher has set her sights on breaking Kate Forbes' CIS weight throw record of 19.66 metres (2005 CIS Championships), then wants to take aim at Heather Steacy's Canada West and school records (20.28 metres)

· Gallagher will compete for Nova Scotia at the Canada Summer Games in August, and hopes to turn a strong performance at the Canadian national meet in Quebec into an invitation to the Pan American Junior Track and Field Championships in Peru, also in August

This story first appeared in the April 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Steacy named flag bearer

trevor.kenney — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:06:07 +0000

BELGRADE, Serbia – Former ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorn Jim Steacy (BASc '09), a hammer throw finalist at last summer's Beijing Olympics, has been named as Canada's flag-bearer for the 2009 Summer Universiade opening ceremonies.

Mr. John Morrison, ambassador of Canada to the Republic of Serbia, Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro, made the announcement at a Team Canada reception held at his residence in Belgrade.

The 25th World ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Games will officially begin Wednesday when athletes from 143 countries march into Belgrade Arena.

Steacy, who was born in Saskatoon and now resides in Lethbridge, Alta., became the first Canadian in 84 years to reach the Olympic final in the hammer throw last summer in China, finishing in 10th position.

The 25-year-old has adorned the maple leaf at numerous international competitions including gold-medal performances in the hammer throw at the 2007 Pan American Games and 2005 Francophone Games, a silver-medal finish in his top event at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, as well as an appearance at the 2005 Universiade in Izmir, Turkey, where he competed in the hammer throw and discus. He holds the Canadian hammer throw record of 79.13 metres.

Steacy, a Bachelor of Arts and Science graduate from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, is one of the most decorated athletes in Canadian Interuniversity Sport indoor track & field history. He was named CIS track & field male rookie of the year in 2002-03, was chosen CIS track & field male athlete of the year - in field events - on four occasions. He is also a five-time weight throw champion and a three-time shot put gold medallist in five appearances at the CIS national championships, and was undefeated in the weight throw at any competition over his five-year university career.

"Jim was an outstanding CIS student-athlete for five years and has been a great representative of Canada at many international sporting events," said Team Canada chef-de-mission Drew Love. "We're honoured and pleased to announce him as our flag-bearer for the Universiade opening ceremonies.

"Today was a very special day for the entire Canadian delegation as we had the chance to announce our flag-bearer and celebrate Canada Day at the ambassador's residence."

The Summer Universiade is an international multi-sport event that takes place every two years, and is second only to the Olympic Games in the number of participating athletes and countries. The Universiade is open to competitors between the ages of 17 and 28 in the year of the Games who are full-time students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.

Steacy named to Team Canada

trevor.kenney — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:40:51 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumnus James Steacy (BASc '09) is one of four Canadian Olympians and 29 athletes in total who have been selected to participate in the 25th Summer Universiade, July 1-12, in Belgrade, Serbia.

A total of 14 female and 15 male athletes will represent Canada at the international event, led by an Olympic foursome that includes hammer thrower James Steacy of Lethbridge, 400-metre specialist Carline Muir of Edmonton, high jumper Michael Mason of Nanoose Bay, B.C., and long jumper Ruky Abdulai of Coquitlam, B.C.

Another Team Canada member, sprinter Richard Adu-Bobie of Orleans, Ont., was an alternate for the Canadian 4x100m relay at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

Last summer in Beijing, Steacy became the first Canadian in 84 years to reach the Olympic hammer throw final, finishing in 10th place. Steacy was 13th in the event at the 2007 IAAF world championships and won gold medals in the discipline at the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2005 Jeux de la Francophonie. He holds the national record of 79.13 metres, 2.19m more than the toss which earned Belarus' Aleksandr Vashchyla Universiade gold in 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Steacy is one of the most decorated athletes in CIS track and field history. He was named male rookie of the year in 2002-03, was chosen athlete of the year in field events on four occasions, and in five appearances at the CIS championships with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns he captured five weight throw titles and won the shot put competition three times. He remained undefeated in the weight throw his entire university career.

Steacy and Mason head a group of nine athletes who have Universiade experience. Steacy competed in the discus in 2005 in Izmir, Turkey, where he placed eighth in the qualifying round and did not advance. Mason jumped his way to ninth place in 2007 in Bangkok.

Canada has tallied 59 athletics medals in its history at the Universiade including four gold, 29 silver and 26 bronze medals.

The Summer Universiade is an international multi-sport event that takes place every two years, and is second only to the Olympic Games in the number of participating athletes and countries. The Universiade is open to competitors between the ages of 17 and 28 in the year of the Games who are full-time students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.

UNews - discus

Ken McInnes named Interim Executive Director, Sport & Recreation Services

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