Coaches Week 2020

September 19-27th is National Coaches Week. Join us to celebrate the positive impact coaches have on athletes and our community. This week remember to take the time to say #ThanksCoach.

On day ONE of Coaches Week 2020, we want to say #ThanksCoach to Greg Gibos, Heidi Shaw, Joe Carroll, and Lawrence Steinke.

Greg Gibos has been coaching for 14 years, and was the 2019 ACAC Coach of the Year, and is a 3-time SAHSVL Coach of the Year. Thanks Greg!

Heidi Shaw is a U of L Pronghorns Sport Performance coach as well as an Athlete Enhancement Program coach for the Alberta Sport Development Centre. Thanks Heidi!

Joe Carroll has been coaching for 7 years and coaches volleyball at LCI, Chinook High School, and Lethbridge Volleyball Club. Thanks Joe!

Lawrence Steinke has been recognized as Athletics Alberta High Performance Coach of the year 7 times. He is NCCP level 5 certified with 30 years of coaching experience. Thanks Larry!

Be sure to check out their complete coach profiles below!

Day TWO of Coaches Week, and today we say #ThanksCoach to Dave Waknuk, Kami Makar, and Shaelin Westerson.

Dave Waknuk's favorite quote is 'Success is where preparation meets opportunity'. He was the 2010/2011 ACAC Coach of the Year, and most recently, led Team Alberta U17 to silver medals at the Canada Basketball Championships 2019. Thanks Dave!

Kami Makar was the 2018-2019 Ringette Alberta Coach of the Year. Kami coaches with both the LRA (Ringette) and Lethbridge Minor Soccer Association. Thanks Kami!

Shaelin Westerson has been coaching for 6 years, and her favorite coach memory was coaching the Zone 1 figure skaters at the 2020 Alberta Winter Games. Thanks Shaelin!

Be sure to check out their full coach profiles below!

Day THREE of Coaches Week, and today we celebrate JJ Ondrus, Mitchell Dornblut, and Scott Rathwell!

JJ Ondrus has 22 year of coaching experience, and she coaches the U of L Pronghorns Women's Rugby, Winston Churchill Griffins Rugby, and Rugby Alberta Wolfpack. Thanks JJ!

Mitchell Dornblut coaches Lethbridge American League Baseball, but his favorite coaching memory comes from coaching a 12-year-old baseball team who stayed positive even when the score didn't look in their favor! Thanks Mitchell!

Scott Rathwell coaches the Lethbridge Lightning Hockey team. His favorite quote is, "Results cannot be earned. Results are simply borrowed and must be renewed everyday through hard work."

Check out their coach profiles below.

Day FOUR of National Coaches Week, and today we say #ThanksCoach to Jaime Thomas, Jill Tataryn, and Simon Schaerz!

Jaime Thomas coaches track and field, little league, and hockey. Jaime was named the 2019 Alberta Athletics Alberta High Performance Coach of the Year. Thanks Jaime!

Jill Tataryn coaches rugby at Chinook High School and the University of Lethbridge, and this past year coached volleyball for the first time. Jill has been coaching for 4 years. Thanks Jill!

Simon coaches the Lethbridge College Kodiaks cross country running and indoor track team. His favorite coaching memory is coaching the winning CCAA women's cross-country running National Championship title in 2019. Thanks Simon!

Check out their full profiles below!

On day FIVE of National Coaches Week, we are celebrating and saying #ThanksCoach to Olea Taboulchanas, Randy Bardock, and Shawn Daye-Finley!

Olea Taboulchanas was awarded the 2020 Volunteer Coach Award for Skate Canada South Region for her contributions above and beyond. With 22 years experience, she is National Coach certified and holds and Advanced Coaching Diploma. Thanks Olea!

Randy Bardock has been coaching for 40 years and has been recognized as the Canada West Coach of the Year, Alberta Soccer Coaching Association Educator of the Year, and coached for Canada Men's Soccer at Summer Universiade in Belgrade (2009) and Kazan (2013) Thanks Randy!

Shawn Daye-Finley recently relocated to Lethbridge and coaches with the Lethbridge Amateur Wrestling Club. In 2018 Shawn was awarded the Coach-Sports Performance Award by the City of Edmonton. Thanks Shawn!

Be sure to check out their full profiles below!

Today is Day SIX of National Coaches Week, and today we celebrate Nash Shipton, Sue Stevenson, and Suzanne Harris for their dedication!

Nash Shipton is just getting started on his coaching career while still active as an athlete in the sport of volleyball. Nash coaches LVC Men's U16-U17, Pursuit Volleyball and Volleyball Alberta Camps. Thanks Nash!

Susan Stevenson is a coach with the Lethbridge Ringette Association and was recognized with the Coach of the Year award by the association in both 2009 and 2017. Sue's favorite quote is 'All in'. Thanks Sue!

Suzanne Harris has been coaching for 'many' years and is involved with many teams and programs including the Coulee Classic Dragons, Nautigals, LRDBF community teams, DASA, UofL Fiat Dux, Dragonforce, Breast of Bridge. Thanks Suzanne!

Check out their profiles below!

Friday means it is Day SEVEN of National Coaches Week, and today we recognize and celebrate Anna Schwark, Neil Langevin, and Russ Gallant!

Anna Schwark coaches the Lethbridge College Kodiaks Women's Volleyball team, and has been coaching for 7 years! Thanks Anna!

Neil Langevin is a Lethbridge Sport Hall of Fame inductee, a member of the University of Lethbridge Alumni Honour Society and holds many more accolades. In addition to coaching, Neil is the Director of Pronghorn Athletics. Thanks Neil!

Russ Gallant coaches at the Lethbridge Judo Club, and the club won Judo Canada's club of the year award the last 2 seasons. Russ's favorite quote is 'To today what other won't to live tomorrow like others can't". Thanks Russ!

Check out their complete profiles below.

On Day EIGHT on National Coaches week we recognize Karen Johnson, Lee Mein, and Randy Hyland!

Lee Mein has 25 years of coaching experience, and was recognized as the 2010 MMA Coach of the Year. Thanks Lee!

Karen Johnson is a coach with the Dragon Boat Association of Southern Alberta and Dragon Boat Canada. Her favorite quote is a Japanese word, 'Two Kaizen' which means improvement, change for the better, continuous effort. Thanks Karen!

Randy Hyland has 20+ years experience coaching football and rugby. Randy has enjoyed coaching the South Zone team at the Alberta Summer Games 3 times. Thanks Randy!

Day NINE of National Coaches Week means it is time to recognize and celebrate 4 more outstanding coaches! Let's hear it for Brad Dersch, Jimi Pearce, Megan Robbins, and Tim Cooney!

Brad Dersch has 20 year of experience coaching baseball, hockey, and basketball. His favourite quote is '10% of life is what happens to your, the other 90% is how you deal with it'. Thanks Brad!

Jimi Pearce coaches the Coulee Cruisers Dragon Boat team, and his favorite coaching memory is seeing the Coulee Classics finish their first 4k in Australia with tiger sharks in the waters! Thanks Jimi!

Megan Robbins is a personal trainer and nutrition coach at O2 Training Centre. Megan's philosophy is to focus on things that are within your control. Thanks Megan!

Tim Cooney is a speed skating coach, and in 2018 received the Coaches Award of Excellence from Speed Skating Canada, and the Lethbridge Sport Council Coach of the Year award. Thanks Tim!

Last, but certainly not least, we want to say #ThanksCoach to 3 final coaches to celebrate day TEN of coaches week 2020! Thanks to Caroline Reimer, Patrick Selk, and Ryan Heggie!

Caroline Reimer is a Roller Derby coach, and her favorite coaching memory is being able to witness the remarkable ability and sportsmanship of our local teams. Thanks Caroline!

Pat Selk coaches wresting and football, and was the 2019 LSCAA recipient of the Coaching Excellence award. Pat's been coaching for 14 years. Thanks Pat!

Ryan Heggie has coached basketball, baseball, and ringette. Ryan recieved the 2015-16 ACAC South Division Coach of the Year, and was nominated for the 2019-20 CCAA Coach of the Year.

Thanks for coming along this journey of celebrating coaches with us! Remember to show your coach how much you appreciate them, not just this week, but all year long!