UNews - world championship

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

Schori sees no limits

trevor.kenney — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 20:47:46 +0000

Peter Schori has no qualms about saying he has long coveted the head coaching position with the Pronghorns swim team. Similarly, he has no problem declaring that there are no limits to what this team can achieve.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be here," says Schori, who was born in Gainesville, Fla. but grew up primarily in Calgary. "I've wanted this job for a long time and I can't wait to see what we can do in the next few years."

New head swim coach Peter Schori is enthused about the future of the Horns swimming program.

Schori comes to the U of L having worked wonders with the Marlin Aquatic Club in Medicine Hat the last 11 years. Schori had left an assistant's role with Calgary's Cascade Swim Club to go to Medicine Hat in 2001, seeking a head coaching position and smaller community to set down roots.

Since then, he has been busy putting the Marlin club on the map, producing elite level swimmers that included both world championship and Olympic participants.

"What we were able to do in Medicine Hat is pretty unique in terms of producing the high performance swimmers we did out of a tiny club and tiny town," says Schori. "I went in there with the belief, and I told them this, "You can get there from here, you don't have to be in Calgary", and they did. "Honest to goodness, I don't see a limit in terms of what we can accomplish here in Lethbridge."

Schori coveted the Horns job because it allows him to grow professionally and move into a high performance setting. His work in Medicine Hat was primarily with pre post-secondary swimmers and he's excited about the chance to work with young men and women.

"The facilities here are great, the size of the community is awesome and there's just a different feel to a university community than a city or town that does not have a university," he says.

His wife Staci (BFA '08, BEd '10) is a U of L alumna and the couple just recently welcomed daughter Willow into their lives.

A competitive swimmer growing up, Schori is quick to downplay his talents in the pool.

"My standard line is that if I get in the water I lose credibility," he deadpans, admitting that he actually fell just shy of a national caliber level.

What he learned as a swimmer who almost made it is reflective in the way he coaches today.

"I was good enough to understand the sport very well but I had my shortcomings, and I think if I'd had a little more support in terms of coaching, it would have helped me at the time," he says. "Some people can use the experience of going to an Olympics to help teach, whereas I can bring the experience of some of the things I struggled with to help teach."

Schori isn't blind to the challenges he faces. His Canada West rivals at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia boast National Training Centres, while American colleges and universities have come into Lethbridge and wooed some of the best young swimmers away from the Horns program. But he's willing to fight the fight and believes the Horns can win a few battles along the way.

"It's tough when an American school can come here offering $120,000 in scholarship money but at the end of the day, that's just four years of schooling, and we can provide that too," Schori says. "We have everything we need here. What we need to do is convince the best student/athlete swimmers that this will be the environment that they can achieve their true potential."

This story first appeared in the September 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Steacy fifth at Universiade

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:19:05 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns thrower Heather Steacy has completed her competition at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, China, finishing fifth in the final of the women's hammer throw event.

Steacy faulted on three of her six throws and managed a best throw of 67.72 metres in the final. The winning throw was recorded by Zalina Marghieva of Moldova, who set a new national record with a toss of 72.93m. Steacy was slightly more than three metres shy of the bronze medal position.

Meanwhile, Steacy, along with her brother Jim, also a former Pronghorn athlete, was named to Canada's World Championship track team that will compete at the World Track and Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Aug. 27 to Sept. 4. The meet is considered a dress rehearsal for Canada's national team as it prepares for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Babcock brings Olympic moment home

trevor.kenney — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:53:26 +0000

To hear Mike Babcock tell the story, he's been extremely fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. Another way to look at it is because of Babcock's presence, it became the right time.

Babcock, a self-professed dreamer and one of hockey's most accomplished coaches, shared his philosophy on coaching and on life at the 1st Annual Calgary Alumni & Friends Dinner in early March. He says it's no accident that good things come from people who think big.

"I'm a big believer that if you don't dream, you cap your potential. I'm 46 now but I haven't stopped dreaming," says Babcock. "To me, the greatest part about living is that you are in charge of that dream, you're not in bed at night with your eyes closed, you're actually living that dream, you can make a difference in that dream and you can decide where it's going to go."

Babcock, who coached the 1993-94 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's hockey team to the institution's first national championship, has gone on to experience success at every level. He recently led the Canadian Men's Olympic Hockey Team to a gold medal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Along the way he's won a World Junior title, a Men's World Championship gold medal and a Stanley Cup, and yet he consistently refers to the U of L triumph as one of his most satisfying accomplishments.

"I still look at that ring fondly," he says.

Then, while showing the packed ballroom at The Westin Calgary a picture of himself enjoying a Stanley Cup celebration with the Detroit Red Wings, he adds, "When I look at that picture, if you think that was any more exciting at the time than winning that national championship at the U of L, you're mistaken, it's just all what you're prepared for at that time in your life."

If Babcock is anything, he is true to his roots. When speaking about building relationships he is honest and genuine, and is eager to share his successes.

"What he preaches he believes," says Trevor Ellerman (BMgt '94), a forward from the 1993-94 championship team. "I've talked to him every couple of years since then and what he's saying he absolutely believes, and when you call him up and you need something, he goes out of his way to make it happen."

Babcock is the first to admit he's not a polished public speaker, saying he's much more comfortable talking to 20 players in a dressing room setting. That seemed to endear him even more to the 450-plus people at the event. His stories of interacting with Canada's Olympic heroes, both on and off the ice, took everyone inside the experience, but he was quick to bring the star gazing into perspective.

"Every once in a while, in life you don't know why you are blessed, you don't know why you have an opportunity to go to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and set yourself up for the future or why your kids are healthy or why someone just reached out and touched you," says Babcock. "Sometimes I don't even know what I do, I've just been really fortunate."

Understanding he has the ability to influence change, he looks to use his celebrity in a positive way.

"I tell our players every day, we have a chance, with the notoriety we've been given, with the game, to make a difference in the world," says Babcock. "It's an amazing thing if you're willing to step up and make a difference and to me that's what dreaming is all about."

Concluding his presentation with a photo of himself hoisting the Stanley Cup, flanked by his family on a dock at his lakeside summer residence in Saskatchewan, Babcock summarized his philosophy.

"The thing I think is really important is that unless you have someone to share these things with, it doesn't much matter," he says.

"In the end, that's what it is about," he continues. "The things that are special for Mike Babcock about being from western Canada are these things, grassroots things, being around real people, trying to make a difference, standing up for what you believe in, sharing yourself and building relationships, so you have someone to talk to as you get older."

BABCOCK QUOTES

• On campaigning for the Olympic head coaching position with Red Wings vice-president Steve Yzerman, the Olympic team general manager. "I wanted to be the coach of this team and I made it very clear to Steve Yzerman. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing because when you work with a guy, sometimes, it's kind of like your wife, she knows you pretty well and she doesn't like you sometimes."

• On why Canada's Olympic team members are successful. "Everyone thinks they're the best because of their skill level but the real super, super, superstars in the game are great because of soul. They've got something more than everybody else, they've got a way to reach out and make the people around them better, they've got something they dig down and get when it matters, they get on their toes and go after people and they do it night after night."

• On the strength of family to the Olympic players. "They've got something special about them and then when you meet their parents and their families at these tournaments, it's not hard to figure out why they are so successful, because they surround themselves with great people and their parents have built a fantastic foundation for them."

• On the Olympic village. "To sit in the village and to watch the athletes come in, some absolutely elated and some absolutely crushed, it was an experience I'll never forget. Just being around passionate people fired up about their country, I thought was truly inspiring to our players."

• On Sidney Crosby, who scored the Olympic winning goal for Canada. "I can't even imagine, at 22 years of age, the amount of pressure this kid is under, but he was fantastic and he delivered for us."

• On being a proud Canadian. "Winning was unbelievable but the bringing together of Canadians and Canadians showing their pride was something that will always stand out for me."

UNews - world championship

Horns' Millman always had U of L on his mind

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Schori sees no limits

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Steacy fifth at Universiade

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Babcock brings Olympic moment home

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