UNews - injuries

London Games a change in focus

trevor.kenney — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 22:22:57 +0000

This was supposed to be Jim Steacy's Olympics. It was supposed to be his time to strive for the podium, until debilitating foot and ankle injuries took away nearly two years of his training.

But you won't hear any complaints coming from Steacy (BASc '09), who will be competing in his second Olympic Games in London. Instead, you'll get the perspective of an athlete who knows just how fortunate he is to have the chance to perform on the Olympic stage.

"I really feel grateful going in," says Steacy, the eight-time national hammer throw champion, Canadian record holder and Horns Athletics product. "There's 45 athletes on the track team and only seven of us who have been on the team before, so to have the opportunity again is a blessing and not something I take for granted."

Horns alumnus Jim Steacy still sees himself as a medal contender if he can earn his way into the finals in London.

Injuries have not made Steacy bitter; rather they have reinforced his will and put into perspective just what it means to be an Olympian.

"After the injuries that I had in 2010 and 2011, it was seriously in question as to whether or not I'd make the Olympic team again or even if I would compete again," he says.

"It's been a rough four years but it's taught me to appreciate things a lot more and to take things for granted a lot less. Getting to do what I do is something that one percent of one percent of people get to do, so I'm definitely proud and honoured to be a part of the team again."

Competing in Beijing in 2008, Steacy qualified for the Olympic final and managed a respectable 12^th-place finish. For a 24-year-old in a sport where age and experience play huge roles, he was seen to be on the fast track to a podium performance in London. A broken foot and torn ankle ligaments have changed the expectation level.

"A medal opportunity is definitely a possibility in 2016 if he continues to throw. Making the final this year would be a good stepping stone in that direction," says his coach Larry Steinke. "He had 18 to 20 months where he wasn't able to train, period, and there's no shortcut to getting back to the top level. It's simply a matter of time, getting the volume of throws in and getting the timing back – it takes time."

Steacy echoes the words of his coach and is fully committed to being ready to attack the podium in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

"I'm not going to be at my peak performance or at my prime in London, so for me, a successful experience is making it into the final," he says. "I'll try and claw my way in, throw a season's best and if I do that, it'll be a tremendously successful experience. So the shift in focus is to four years from now in Rio. If I can stay healthy and do things right in training and rehab, there's no reason I shouldn't be on the podium."

Steacy eyes Rio 2016 as his next target, hoping for an injury free future.

Steacy is grateful for the support he's been shown over the years, and especially during the struggles of the past two years.

"Being an athlete and trying to get to this level is not an individual thing. You have to rely so much on your family and friends, coaches, your physio teams to get there," he says, giving a nod to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community that came out to support the athletes at an Olympic Send-off Celebration before the group jetted to London.

"Knowing you have the support of the community behind you, you wan to do well for them. They took the time out of their day to come wish us well and we want to thank them and perform well for them."

Competition Schedule

Hammer Throw Qualifying – Friday, Aug. 3 at 11:20 a.m. GMT (5:20 a.m. MDT)

Hammer Throw Final – Sunday, Aug. 5 at 8:20 p.m. GMT (2:20 p.m. MDT)

McAleenan enthused about opportunity

trevor.kenney — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:04:25 +0000

Erin McAleenan has no problem admitting she has a competitive side that sometimes gets the better of her. It's a feisty edge she's ready and willing to bring to the Pronghorns women's basketball program as its new voice and leader.

McAleenan was tabbed as the 10th coach in the program's history in April, taking over a team searching for some bite and subsequent success.

"I played the point and I was very competitive," says McAleenan, a point guard for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Acadia Axewomen from 1999 to 2003. She comes to the Horns off a three-year stint as assistant coach with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta Pandas.

"I wasn't afraid to be physical to the point that the game allowed. I played in the women's league in Edmonton while I coached there . . . my competitive edge maybe takes over sometimes," she laughs.

New Horns women's basketball head coach Erin McAleenan is ready to get to work.

A Sussex, New Brunswick native, McAleenan is getting her first crack at being a head coach at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) level. Her pedigree is impressive, including a wealth of provincial and national team coaching experience. Currently, she is in her second year as head coach of Alberta's U17 provincial team, and later this month she'll spend two weeks as an apprentice coach/manager with the Canadian National Women's Team as it prepares for the London 2012 Olympic qualifying tournament.

Her penchant for coaching stems from her father, a high school teacher and coach, who she describes as turning Sussex into a basketball town when they moved to the area in the 1970s. McAleenan began coaching as a Grade 8 student when she would help out at summer basketball camps for kids.

"When I went to university, I wanted to be a physiotherapist, probably because I had suffered a lot of injuries and was really interested in that line of work," she says. "Over time I realized that I really preferred working with kids. I ran all the summer camps at Acadia while I played there and when I was graduating (with a BSc) I knew I wanted to get into education."

She worked at a private school as an associate faculty member while she pursued her education degree at Trent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, coaching high school boys and girls and earning provincial team experience within the Ontario Basketball Association. After working as the lead assistant coach for the Ontario U17 provincial team, she met Alberta coach Scott Edwards at 2008 Nationals tournament in Charlottetown, and he encouraged her to move out west for the assistant's position at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

"While I loved teaching and working with high school kids, I think both my competitive side and my personal experience of playing CIS led me to want to try and make a difference with athletes at this age level," she says.

She comes to the Horns with her eyes wide open, understanding she's entering a basketball hotbed with deep community roots. Gaining the trust of that community will be central to her success.

"I don't think it's going to be easy but I think I'm the right person for the job," she says. "I'm definitely a people person, I want to go out into the community and develop those relationships. It's not going to happen overnight and like any relationship it'll take time for people to get to know me and to trust me and support the program I'm leading."

Her approach is grassroots.

"I want to connect with people, get involved with the high school and junior programs and expand our summer camp options," says McAleenan. "The more I can get out in the community and give back, the more people will get to know me so that we can create those relationships."

The Pronghorn program has the capability to lead basketball development in southern Alberta and McAleenan says her players can benefit from taking on that responsibility.

"I want to be able to give my student athletes opportunities to develop their leadership skills in the community and to do their part in being better role models, especially for younger females, whether that is through basketball specifically or other things I think we could get involved in," she says.

It all lends to creating an environment for success, both as students and as student-athletes.

"I'm thrilled to be given the opportunity to work with these young student-athletes and I value the role we have in their development," says McAleenan.

GET THE FACTS

· McAleenan considers herself a defense-first coach whose teams score off transition opportunities and good shot selection

· She was an assistant coach with the Canadian Developmental National Team at the 2011 Pan Am Games

· Adopted, McAleenan has a brother who played basketball at Bishop's ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and is currently living in Ottawa, as well as three half-brothers and two half-sisters, all living in New Brunswick

· McAleenan had never met U of L President Mike Mahon while they were both at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, but she did teach his son Seann a physical activity course at U of A and his other son, Brennan, was a physical therapist for the men's basketball program in her first year with the women's team

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

Sutherland makes top 50 list

trevor.kenney — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:17:34 +0000

Dr. Robert Sutherland, a neuroscience researcher at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN), is among 50 people named by Alberta Venture Magazine as their 50 Most Influential Albertans for 2011.

Sutherland made the list for a breakthrough discovery last year in which he and his team confirmed the re-generation of cerebral cortex cells in adult mammals.

The research focused on a part of the brain called the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped region of the brain responsible for short- and long-term memory storage and retrieval. This is an area that is especially sensitive to illnesses or injuries that can create memory loss, explains Sutherland. It's also a part of the brain that throughout adult life spontaneously creates new cells that are able to easily find their correct position in the brain's circuitry.

The team began by killing off about half of these cells by depriving them of corticosterone, an important hormone the cells need to function, causing the rats to develop memory issues very similar to humans suffering with dementia. Through a combination of a specific protein therapy, an enriched living environment and exercise, the researchers were able to re-grow the lost brain cells and prove that the rats had regained their memory function.

Regenerating brain cells is a problem neuroscientists have been struggling with for many years, with limited success. The challenge stems from the nature of the brain itself. "If you open up a laptop and take a look at the circuit board, every portion you look at has a sophisticated set of connections with other pieces," says Sutherland. "The brain is even more complicated."

For more on this discovery, follow this link.

Other persons honoured by Venture include U of L Honorary Degree recipients Gwyn Morgan and David Schindler. While previous U of L connections to the Alberta Venture list include Sutherland's colleague Dr. Bruce MacNaughton, sociology researcher and trend tracker Dr. Reg Bibby, and U of L Chancellor Emeritus Richard Davidson.

Read the Alberta Venture profile and additional biographies of the other 49 individuals by following this link.

Steacy siblings triumph

trevor.kenney — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:02:28 +0000

Jim and Heather Steacy added to their impressive track resume this past weekend, winning both the men's and women's Canadian Senior hammer throw titles in Calgary.

Jim Steacy, a 2008 Olympian and former Pronghorns star, completed more than a year long road to recovery and claimed his seventh Canadian Senior title with a throw of 76.27 metres. Steacy missed the entire outdoor season with a pair of injuries that required surgeries to both legs.

Having achieved his second 'B' standard throw of the season at the Canadian Championships, Steacy has qualified for his second World Championships later this summer in Daegu, South Korea. Steacy finished 13th at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. He is the Canadian record holder in the hammer throw with a distance of 79.13 metres.

"I am very happy to be at the level I am at after only four months of training," says Steacy. "To have qualified for the Worlds is a huge step along the path towards the London Olympics next year."

Heather Steacy, a four-time CIS medalist, earned her first Senior National title in Calgary beating out the Canadian record holder and former Olympian Sultana Frizell. Steacy edged out Frizell with a throw of 70.86 metres.

Her throw on Saturday was just shy of her personal best of 70.98 metres but was also her second 'B' standard of the season. It will now be up to Athletics Canada to decide if she will compete at the World Championships, as Frizell has achieved the 'A' standard, automatically qualifying her for the Worlds. If she does get named to the Canadian team it would be her first trip to the World Championships.

Both Jim and Heather will get a good test in Edmonton this week at the Edmonton International Track Classic. American Kibwe Johnson, who broke the 80-metre mark for the first time this season, will travel to Edmonton, while the second ranked female in the world, Kathrin Klaas of Germany, will also compete in Edmonton. Johnson has the second furthest throw this season in the world with a mark of 80.31 metres.

The World Championships will run August 27th to September 4th in Daegu, South Korea.

The next generation

trevor.kenney — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:58:15 +0000

The human brain is a remarkable organ. From the day we're born until the day we die, our brains evolve as we experience the world and expand our knowledge.

But the brain is also vulnerable to dementia-related diseases like Alzheimer's disease, which kills the brain's cerebral cortex cells and erodes short-term memory.

Dr. Robert Sutherland is an Alberta Heritage Medical scientist; the director of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience; and a professor of neuroscience at the U of L.

This summer, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) neuroscientist Dr. Robert Sutherland made international headlines when he and his research team became the first in the world to regenerate cerebral cortex brain cells in adult rats.

The research focused on a part of the brain called the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped region of the brain responsible for short- and long-term memory storage and retrieval. This is an area that is especially sensitive to illnesses or injuries that can create memory loss, explains Sutherland. It's also a part of the brain that throughout adult life spontaneously creates new cells that are able to easily find their correct position in the brain's circuitry.

Sutherland and his team at the U of L's CCBN – including undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral trainee Jen Lai and doctoral candidates Simon Spanswick and Fraser Sparks – began working on the problem about five years ago.

Sutherland's history at the U of L goes back to 1980, when he completed post-doctoral training in neuropsychology and became a psychology faculty member until 1991. After a decade teaching and researching at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of New Mexico, he returned to the U of L to help launch the CCBN, Canada's first department of neuroscience, in 2001.

Sutherland says the facility offers excellent infrastructure (including high-tech lab space and funding), and a critical mass of expertise. "It's a highly collaborative place. I've worked and published with virtually every faculty member," he says.

The CCBN is also an important training ground for up-and-coming neuroscientists, like doctoral candidate Fraser Sparks, who helped with the brain cell regeneration project. Sparks says Sutherland's lab has a unique research environment, encouraging students to assist on each other's research programs and allowing them the chance to explore anything they find intriguing. "One thing we're not afraid to do in the Sutherland lab is criticize theories – including our own," says Sparks.

While Sutherland's regeneration technique is a major discovery, it is only the beginning. The next step will be to translate the research into therapies that work for patients. Sutherland and his team have received a second five-year grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to continue the project.

"Part of what we're doing is refining the treatments to get closer to an actual effective clinical therapy, and in an absolutely convincing manner, show that these cells are functioning the way they should," says Sutherland.

For patients with dementia diseases, a clinical therapy is desperately needed. Sutherland points out that at the current rate of growth, in 30 years, someone will develop dementia every two minutes.

"The total cost of dementia could reach $153 billion per year by 2038, up from the current cost of $15 billion per year. Without fundamental scientific advances such as ours, it is certain that the burdens will grow dramatically," says Sutherland. "It is urgent that we find ways of preventing, reversing and repairing injured brains. Our findings are a significant advance in that direction."

This story originally appeared in the Fall 2010 issue of SAM. For a look at the full issue of SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Courtney and Horns celebrate Movember

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:09:52 +0000

It would be easy for Andrew Courtney to feel disillusioned about his five years with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's hockey team. A laundry list of injuries has left Courtney in the trainer's room or on the operating table as much as he's been on the ice.

Yet, despite leaving his family, moving across the country and having only played 20 games over the last two seasons, Courtney is not only at peace with his circumstance, he's thankful. Now, the Belleville, Ont. native says he wants to give something back – and he'll do so by growing a moustache.

"I decided to come out here to continue playing hockey and to further my education, which was the dream growing up," says Courtney, the impetus behind the Horns' Movember initiative (donate by following this link). "My mom's a high school teacher, and she always preached to me how important it was to get an education. This was an opportunity to do that, and it's been the best move of my life."

Moustache members of the Horns men's hockey team (front row from left); Andrew Gilbert, Lucio Pucci-Daniele, Ryan Letts and Dan Iwanski; (Back row from left) Dustin Moore, Andrew Courtney and Reese St. Goddard.

Movember, a campaign that originated in Australia in 2003, draws attention to and raises funds for the fight against prostate cancer. Last year, 35,156 people in Canada took up the cause and raised $7.8 million for Prostate Cancer Canada.

The program itself is simple, grow a moustache, collect pledges and the fund grows. For Courtney, the cause is personal, on a number of levels.

"Both my uncle and my grandfather have had to face prostate cancer in recent years and luckily for them, they caught it early and everything is well," says Courtney.

"In my five years, we really haven't done anything like this as a team. This is a way for me to say thank you to Lethbridge and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge for welcoming me into the community. I just wanted to give something back and try and get the community a little more involved with Pronghorns Athletics."

The Horns have been growing their mustaches since returning from a pre-season trip to Colorado, and are now selling tickets for a raffle that features a Los Angeles Kings jersey signed by the entire Kings team, as well as a Molson prize pack. The raffle will be drawn Nov. 20 at the Horns' home game against ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Regina Cougars. That night, all proceeds from the 50-50 draw will go to Prostate Cancer Canada, along with the raffle proceeds and money raised from a special promotion that sees U of L President Dr. Mike Mahon shooting pucks into the net between periods. As well, the team will be wearing special Pronghorns jerseys that will be available through silent auction, again with the proceeds to be donated.

"I didn't know how the team would react to this, but they've been great," says Courtney, a kinesiology major. "All the guys are growing their mustaches – some better than others – and now it's just a matter of selling tickets and getting as many people to the game as we can."

Pronghorns forward Andrew Courtney displays the special edition jerseys that will be part of a silent auction at Saturday's Movember night at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

Courtney played 37 games his first season at the U of L, before being limited to just 26 games the next because of an ankle injury. In his third year, shoulder and knee problems would limit his participation to just five games. Last season, Courtney was off to a blazing start, scoring 13 goals in the team's first 15 games to lead the conference. Unfortunately, he blew out his knee just prior to the Christmas break and was lost for the rest of the year.

"At the beginning it was really stressful and depressing," he says of the eight-month rehabilitation process following the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery. "Having the support of the guys, my family and friends, was huge. They helped me get through this process, this long road, and without them I couldn't have done it."

It's why he wants to say thanks to southern Alberta. That it might lead to helping any number of men in the long run is an added bonus.

"Coming here, I didn't know anyone other than Steve (Zmudczynski) and we were the only guys from Ontario on the team," says Courtney. "As the years have gone on and I've met more people, I've really been accepted as just another member of the community. It's been overwhelming to experience that."

GET THE FACTS

· Courtney played Junior A Tier II hockey in Trenton, Ont. before his final season of eligibility, when he played for the Ontario Hockey League's Niagara Falls Thunder.

· He has had three knee surgeries on the same knee in the last 18 months, two arthroscopic procedures and a total ACL reconstruction.

· Movember raffle tickets are available from Horns hockey players or in the Horns Athletics office (PE210).

· Courtney scored a power play goal against ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba, Oct. 29. It was his first game in 11 months following knee surgery.

New service better addresses health issues

trevor.kenney — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:11:31 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has recently signed up with Occupational Injury Service (OIS), a new service for staff and faculty who experience a work related injury or illness.

The OIS program aligns with medical clinics that provide timely and appropriate medical care and disability management services specifically for
occupational injuries, with an emphasis on immediate (i.e., same day) communication with the employer to facilitate a safe return to work.

This service is specifically for non-emergent injuries/illnesses and provides the following benefits to staff/faculty:

• Same-day access to a physician with a background in occupational medicine and WCB-Alberta training (within 15 to 30 minutes of arrival)

• Same-day completion and submission of reports

• Identification and co-ordination of required medical services

• Earlier access to required medical and diagnostic tests, specifically MRI, CT and bone scans

• Earlier access to specialists and surgical procedures

• Completion of disability management reports that detail physical work capabilities and limitations to help determine return to work dates and tasks

• Worker and employer injury management education

• Development of a safe return-to-work plan

• Ongoing communication with the employee's family physician (OIS is a voluntary program). Staff/faculty will be given the option of attending an OIS clinic or other medical care if needed

If you experience a work related injury or illness, follow the incident/accident reporting process as usual. Report any work related injuries or illnesses to your direct supervisor, and complete the online campus incident/accident report form: http://www.uleth.ca/hum/archives/riskandsafetyservices/Services/report_form.html

If you require first aid, contact Security Services at 2345 or other appropriate responder in your area. If you require medical treatment, contact the wellness co-ordinator at 403-332-5217 and the OIS clinic of your choice will be contacted for an appointment (same day in most cases).

The OIS clinics are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If your injury occurs outside of these hours, you would need to access medical services through a walk-in clinic or emergency services at the hospital.
There are currently two service providers for OIS in Lethbridge:

• CBI Health – Dr. Gibb, Bigelow Fowler West; Dr. Ukrainitz, Bigelow Fowler South; Dr. Mellor

• LifeMark Health – Dr. Allen, Piedmont Clinic west; and/or Dynamic Physiotherapy

For those who work on the Calgary or Edmonton campuses, there are service providers for the program in both cities.

Calgary
• CBI Health – Midpark, Deerpark or Sunridge
• Wellpoint Health Corp
• Life Mark

Edmonton
• Medicentres Canada Inc – Westgrove, Ellerslie, Capilano, Castledowns or Millard Health

A few employees have had the opportunity to use this service already and the feedback has been very positive. Statistics show that the sooner someone is treated for an injury or illness, the sooner they are able to get back to work and participate in the other activities that make life enjoyable!

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Suzanne McIntosh, wellness co-ordinator at 403-332-5217.

Weekend events include Blue and Gold

trevor.kenney — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:42:05 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorn Athletics will take centre stage tonight with the annual Blue and Gold banquet in the Students' Union ballroom.

Male and female athlete of the year awards will be handed out as well as individual team honours. Expect the women's rugby team, two-time CIS national champions, to be highly decorated, as well as track star Jim Steacy, who capped off a perfect CIS career with two more national gold medals in the shot put and weight throw events.

Elsewhere on campus, the weeklong run of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia concludes with shows Friday and Saturday nights, 8 p.m. in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre. Directed by Brian Parkinson, Arcadia is considered one of the most brilliant plays of the 20th century.

The Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building serves as host site for Dr. Scott St. George's presentation, Through the Trees, Friday afternoon, 2 p.m. in room WE1001.

The Prairies are Canada's most significant dryland area and regional drought has an enormous impact on agricultural and energy production and the reliability of public water supplies. In this presentation, Dr. St. George will describe how tree rings have been used to describe the behavior of climatic and hydrological systems beyond the limited perspective offered by instrumental measurements.

The issue of vaccination risk and immunity will be explored Saturday morning, 10 a.m. in room PE250 as Mary Tocco, an independent vaccine researcher, gives a presentation. Tocco will discuss vaccine ingredients and injuries, as well as address myths around vaccines and talk about natural immune development.

Tickets for Vaccination Risk and Immunity are $10 each and available by calling 403-331-3301.

Professor Aaron Taylor and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Film Club are presenting their final screening of the semester Sunday evening. The 1955 film, Night of the Hunter, will be shown, 7 p.m. in PE275.

Region's elite level athletes are in good Stead

trevor.kenney — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:16:34 +0000

Shawn Stead knows a good athlete when he sees one. If things go as planned, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will get used to seeing them more and more on campus in the near future.

Stead (BA '04) is the U of L's new High Performance Manager, Strength and Conditioning, meaning he works with the area's best young talents in the hopes of training the next generation of national and Olympic-level athletes. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will be the hub of that training program.

"The long term goal is to identify and develop young athletes from a number of sporting bodies within Alberta," Stead says. "If they are in this region, bring them in here and train them, providing them with the services they will need to have success."

A Creston, B.C. native, Stead has essentially been a Lethbridge resident for eight-plus years. He finished his kinesiology degree at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 2004, all the while working with the Pronghorns men's and women's soccer programs.

"We had a lot of success as far as reducing injuries and then on-field success as far as teams making playoffs that hadn't made it before, and I believe that was part of it," he says.

Following graduation, Stead enjoyed an internship with the United States Ski Association in Park City, Utah. Over the course of his nine-month assignment he was given access to the association's world-class training centre.

"You got the all-encompassing view of what an athlete needs to have success and the support staff of these national and Olympic programs," Stead says. "Getting the chance to work and test athletes at the Olympic level was an eye opener, a really good experience."

Upon his return to Canada, he partnered with a colleague in establishing a private sport training company, Crash Conditioning, which focuses on developing the area's elite hockey players. His clients include the Western Hockey League's Lethbridge Hurricanes; including individual players such as two-time World Junior gold medalist Zach Boychuk, as well as the midget AAA Y's Men Titans, the city's top level minor hockey team.

Stead's techniques focus on building well-rounded athletes from early on in their development.

"We teach mobility and movement mechanics," he says. "Essentially it's strength in movement, if you are strong in the movements that relate to your sport, you're probably going to be a pretty proficient athlete.

"If you can get athletes when they're young, that's the ideal situation. You want to provide them with a foundation that they can develop, over time, all the characteristics of an elite athlete. That begins with mobility work and flexibility work and then as they age you can start to incorporate more strength work and other modalities."

The program is in its infancy, Stead having just opened his office in May of last year. As it develops, he sees the U of L becoming a centre for athletic excellence and whether that translates into more prominent young athletes becoming a part of Pronghorn Athletics remains to be seen. Either way, it raises the profile of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and Sport and Recreation Services in Lethbridge and southern Alberta.

"The sky's the limit and this facility has a lot of potential," Stead says. "We're slowly moving in a positive direction. It's taken some time but it's there and when we get over the hump, it'll be really good."

GET THE FACTS

• Stead, married to wife Julie, was an all-sport athlete in high school but progressed furthest in golf and hockey, where he had a brief taste of the junior level

• Crash Conditioning, his private enterprise, trains 40-plus hockey players in Lethbridge and another 100-plus in Calgary

• Stead works with all disciplines, including elite level canoers like part-time
U of L student Daniel Purcell, a member of Canada's
National Development Team

• The majority of Stead's clients will train in PE157, a room that is currently being developed to include field turf

• The sports centre concept is already being utilized in areas such as Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary and Medicine Hat. The U of L program would work under the auspices of the Alberta Sport Development Centres, with Lethbridge as the Southwest office

Depth the key to title defence

trevor.kenney — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:04:34 +0000

These Pronghorns are out to prove they're more than a one-trick pony.

The defending CIS
national champion women's rugby team is looking for a repeat performance and it'll get that opportunity on home soil when the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ hosts the national championship tournament Oct. 30 through Nov. 2 at the Lethbridge Sports Park.

A year ago, the Pronghorns showcased their depth in capturing just the second CIS title in the history of Pronghorn Athletics. With their captain away on a national team tour and injuries sprinkled throughout the lineup, the Horns still found a way to win, beating ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Western Mustangs 15-10 in the title game.

"That was kind of the hallmark of the team last year," head coach Neil Langevin says. "No matter how many injuries we had or people away, the group stepped up. This year, instead of being one or two deep in every position, we've tried to be two or three deep in every spot."

An exceptional recruiting class has netted a handful of rookies who have already contributed at the CIS level, including first-year players Brandi Van Eeuwen and Kendra Reeves, who have helped transform the team's identity.

"Our game plan is to still run the ball wide and use our speed but we wanted to address the fact we'd been physically handled in the past by other teams, such as ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta," Langevin says.

Despite a 9-5 loss to the Pandas in the Canada West seeding tournament in September, the Horns controlled the trenches, only failing to capitalize on opportunities.

"That's the first time I could say we actually physically dominated U of A."

With captain Ashley Patzer and last year's CIS nationals most valuable player Brittany Orr back, the Horns (who lost just four players to graduation) are loaded for their attempted repeat. It's a trend Langevin expects will continue.

"With the strength of the high school league here, the program is sustainable for a long time," he says. "Out of our 32, eight of them are first-year players."

That the Pronghorns get to showcase this talent in front of a local crowd only adds to the excitement.

"Our girls don't get a chance to play at home and that's exactly why we wanted to host," Langevin says. "We want to show southern Alberta what this sport, for women, looks like."

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