Les Gramantik
Hi, I am Les Gramantik. Starting my athletic career in the Sports School System in Romania I was an elite athlete and international pole-vaulter. Continuing with my passion for athletics and sports, I turned to coaching which has now included 44 years internationally for Romania, Israel and Canada. I have coached over 50 Canadian National […]
Advanced Coaching Diploma Graduate – Ryan Schroffel
With the intention of studying to becoming a school teacher, Ryan Schroffel couldn’t deny being pulled towards a career that’s so deeply rooted in his blood: coaching. His grandfather was a football coach and his mom was a school teacher, so the innate characteristic of teaching lead him to become a coach. While attending and […]
Advanced Coaching Diploma Graduate – Alexx Diep
Alexx Diep was enjoying his time as a lifeguard when he was approached by his colleague about making the switch from guarding poolside to coaching poolside as a local collegiate team needed a coach. Although Alexx says in high school he never saw himself becoming a coach, his background in swimming made him an excellent […]
Advanced Coaching Diploma Graduate – Deon Flynn
Like many coaches finding their way into the career of coaching, an injury during an athletic career leads to several athletes becoming coaches and that’s exactly what happened to Deon Flynn. “Instead of staying home and waiting for the injury to heal, my coach at the time thought it was still important for me to […]
Advanced Coaching Diploma Graduate – Dave Waknuk
Dave Waknuk’s career goal was never to become a post-secondary basketball coach, but 16-years of coaching later he is entering his 6th season coaching the University of Lethbridge Women’s Basketball Team, marking his 3rd year as head coach. Despite his own skills as a player not quite excelling in the game, his love and interest […]
Blessing In Disguise
“It was a blessing in disguise”, says alpine ski racer Marie-Michèle Gagnon when reflecting on her injuries sustained months before representing Canada at her third Olympic Games after crashing on her training run in Lake Louise in October 2017. An MRI taken the next day concluded a cleanly torn ACL, a common injury for this sport, however Gagnon also suffered a torn labrum in her shoulder. “I know […]
Ten-Foot-High Jump back to Health
“It was probably the worst pain I have felt in my life” described Freestyle skier, Sascha Pedenko after suffering an injury to his knee from a fall sustained in warm up run doing a right cork 9, ten feet in the air, during a training camp in New Zealand as he was preparing for the […]
Don’t sugar coat it
“Don’t sugar coat it” asked Alpine Canada’s Morgan Megarry of Canadian Sport Institute Calgary and Alpine national team physiotherapist, Courtney Brown, as he went down on the slopes while training in Alta Badia, Italy resulting in his 5th major knee injury. A torn MCL, ACL, and meniscus; a skier’s worst nightmare. Knowing he had a […]
Finn-ishing on his own terms
Growing up in Calgary and on the slopes at Canada Olympic Park, Freestyle Skier Finnian Young knows the track like the back of his hand, but a new day-old trick was something he wasn’t as familiar with, causing an unpredicted outcome. “We were just having a training night and I was doing a trick I […]
Reconstruction constructive
Un téléski brisé dans une piste de ski en Autriche est ce qui a incité Mark Hendrickson à faire son premier vrai saut après avoir récupéré de sa deuxième reconstruction du ligament croisé antérieur. Lors de son premier camp d’entraînement avec l’équipe à 18 ans, le skieur acrobatique maintenant âgé de 21 ans était prêt à sauter, mais sans téléski […]