Sport, Recreation & Leisure

Dale Woodard
For the Sun Times
The girls of the gridiron are ready for the snap.
   And later in the year, the Lethbridge Steel women’s football team will play the role of playoff hosts as well.
As the Steel head into their second season of action, they do so not only looking to build on a strong inaugural season which saw the squad earn a post season berth, they also do so in an expanded and newly-named Western Women’s Canadian Football League that now includes teams from Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg.
With the Football Canada Cup coming to Lethbridge in July, the Lethbridge Steel women’s football team head into the season with a little extra motivation as the hosts of the league playoffs starting July 16, right on the heels of the all-Canadian event.
“It’s great to be hosting it, but it’s a big drive because we want to be representing ourselves in our city,” said Rebecca Medel, team president and corner and safety, as the team prepared for its first fully-equipped practice April 9 at Kate Andrews High School in Coaldale.
The Steel will vie for the right to play for a league title at home in a newly-expanded league that now includes the Saskatoon Valkyries, the Regina Riot and the Winnipeg-based Manitoba Fearless and the Nomad-Wolfpack.
“Last year was just the three Alberta teams,” said Medel of what was the Alberta Female Football League that consisted of the Calgary Rage and the Edmonton Storm. “Calgary and Edmonton has played each other for years before. So it was really impressive to make the playoffs. This year there’s still the three Alberta teams, but we’re the West Conference and there are four prairie teams. So we all make up one league this year. The winners of each conference are going to play each other in Lethbridge. So obviously our hope this year is to win our conference.”
The Steel bring back almost as many returning veterans as they do new players with 12 returnees from last year in addition to 11 first-year players.
“With half the team being new this year, most of the girls haven’t played football before,” said Medel. “I think it’s going to be a really good team. Everything we’ve done in the gym so far — drills and whatnot — people are picking it up. We’ve got some really good receivers and runners.”
Among the returning players is quarterback Kessie Stefanyk.
“We’re all really excited,” she said. “Last year we really didn’t know what we were doing, but we have a better idea of what we can do this year and a lot of new faces. It’s really exciting to have more people out.”
With a year already under their belt, the Steel head into the 2011 season a year older and wiser.
“We know how each of the girls played last year and their strengths,” said Medel. “It’s good to come in knowing you did this last year and wanting to improve. It’s not that anybody has to stay set in a position, we’re all able to try new things. It’s just good to know what we’re building on.”
Stefanyk noted the importance of getting a year under her belt.
“I remember my first game I was terrified. But now I have a better feel for it. I’m not 100 per cent, but I have lot more confidence, that’s for sure, and I know the other girls do, too.”
Among the new additions to the Steel is soccer player and soon-to-be physical education teacher Cali Harris.
“I’ve loved the Canadian Football League my whole life. I’ve been a soccer player my whole life, so this was an amazing transition to make,” said Harris, who is in her last semester of practicum at St. Mary’s High School in Taber. “Just from the energy of our team and how well we did last year I’m anticipating an amazing season. I think we have a great bunch here. I’m learning a lot from the veterans and the new girls are bringing a lot of energy and athletic ability.”
The Steel will kick off the season with a football jamboree May 7 in Saskatoon and begin their regular season May 14 when they face the Rage in Calgary.
The Steel’s home opener is May 28 when they host the Storm.
The team will play Calgary and Edmonton twice each, once at home and once on the road.
“It’s looking good,” said Steel coach Blair Takahashi. “We have a different team this year, for sure. I think we have a little bit more speed and having that experience under our belts is really going to help pay off. We can advance a little bit quicker than we did last year.”
And it’s never to early to set goals, said Takahashi.
“We need to keep things simple and be affective and work as a team. We’re really focused on performance and making sure the girls work to their potential. We definitely want to build and improve.”
The Steel will look to do so in the expanded league.
“It’s awesome to see it growing this much,” said Stefanyk. “Last year I had no idea a league even existed. Now that there are more teams coming out of everywhere it’s definitely growing. I want to win. I know all these girls do. We all want to win.”

The best under-18 football talent from across Canada will be in Lethbridge July 9-15 when the Football Canada Cup takes the snap at the University of Lethbridge community stadium.
And on April 9, southern Alberta football players will take what they hope will be the first step towards playing in the prestigious event as the first of four preliminary selection camps takes place at the U of L stadium.
“The U18 coaching staff will be coming down,” said Mike Nightingale, the head coach of the Tier II provincial champion Catholic Central High Cougars, who will act as one of the local organizers for the Football Canada Cup. “It’s a talent ID camp. They recognize there is pretty good football played down here in southern Alberta so they’d like to come down and take a first-hand look at the kids. In the past, the kids have had to travel up to Calgary and they felt that is would be better if they could come down to areas like southern Alberta and come look at the talent in their own back yard.”
A second ID camp is slated for April 10 in Calgary; a third camp will take place April 13 in Grande Prairie.
A final camp will take place April 17 in Edmonton, with the final selection camp taking place in Lethbridge May 20-23.
The final roster will hold a training camp June 17-19 in Red Deer before a main training camp back in Lethbridge July 3-8.
Traditionally held in Edmonton and Calgary, Football Alberta made the decision to stage camps in Lethbridge and Grande Prairie to fully comb the province for potential and cut down on travel times for athletes in or near those cities.
“The whole idea is to make it easier for the kids,” said Nightingale. “Football players and kids in general these days are very busy. So if they can take away the need to travel that’s really helpful. It’s certainly more responsive. It’s better for the kids in southern Alberta and northern Alberta where they don’t have significant travel costs and hotels and those types of things. It encourages them to come out and be part of the experience.”
Roughly 45 athletes are expected for the upcoming camp, he said.
“But it would be nice if we could get around 50.”
While he’s used to patrolling the sidelines with a clipboard in his hand, Nightingale won’t be in a coaching capacity when the Football Canada Cup comes to town.
“I’m assisting with the organization of the Canada Cup with Lethbridge hosting,” he said.
The Cougars bench boss conceded it will be a bit different to serve a different role when the cream of Canada’s high school football crop comes to town in July.
“It’ll be odd for me to not be coaching, but it’s about time for me to give back to the game,” said Nightingale.
However, the local coach is ready to embrace his new role.
“It’ll be really good,” said Nightingale. “I’ve always liked to be involved in the action and the coaching. But I really relish the opportunity to do this. I believe in giving back to the sport. It will be a different challenge.”
And with a nearly two-year-old stadium that first opened its doors in September 2009 sitting on Lethbridge’s west side, it’s time to welcome the Football Canada Cup to town.
“The whole vision was that we could attract these types of events,” said Nightingale of the importance of the stadium. “When Football Alberta came down here, they were blown away. It will be a showcase of what Lethbridge has to offer.”
Having Canada’s premier high school football event coming to Lethbridge will also show the gridiron talent in Wild Rose country’s south.
“I think it’ll be a big showcase of the talent around here,” said Nightingale. “In southern Alberta there are some tremendous football players. We’re excited.”

Dale Woodard
For the Sun Times
There’s no time like the present to start looking to the future for Neil Langevin.
   And to do so, the head coach of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s rugby team is taking up a job he had in the past.
With men’s and women’s sevens rugby being added to the 2016 Summer Olympics, Langevin has returned to the Rugby Canada program where he’ll take over the reins of the Under-20 women’s team.
“Rugby Canada contacted me to see if I would be interested in taking over the program,” said Langevin. “There’s been a change at the senior level where there has been a new coach in place. So I got a couple of phone calls and I (felt) it was a good time for me personally with my family to come back into the national program.”
Now, with the Own The Podium funding backing them, Langevin and Rugby Canada roll up their sleeves for a five-year buildup to the 2016 Olympics.
“Men’s and women’s sevens rugby was added to the Olympics for the 2016 Games,” said Langevin. “So as part of that process, Rugby Canada applied to Own The Podium for funding because the women are ranked fourth in the world right now. The goal for Rugby Canada was to get as many experienced coaches with their under-20 program (as possible) for the application to say that we’ve got our ducks in a row here and we have some experienced coaches working with the under-20s.”
Langevin brings ample experience to the plate.
He served as the head coach of the senior women’s team that placed fourth at the 2006 World Cup, when Canada was metres away from an appearance in the final before finishing fourth.
Langevin also served as the head coach of the U23 program that produced a number of current senior players.
“I know what I’m getting into,” said Langevin. “I know the scope of the job and the way around it. I also have a pretty good network of friends and colleagues throughout the country that can help me out and help identify and develop players. I think everything was a perfect storm for me to get back involved.”
Now, the countrywide scouting session begins.
“The first thing is to cast the net really wide and really far,” said Langevin. “So we’re going to be going to five different regions in the country and (see) upwards of about 300 different players from all way from 15-year-olds all the way up to 30-year-olds. We’re going to try and get a new scope of the land and see what’s out there.
“It’s not bad because we set up weekend camps. So I don’t have to miss a lot of my real job. I head to Halifax, Quebec, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver in the next seven weeks.”
On the local front, Lethbridge has already produced two athletes for the national team, former Pronghorns Ashley Patzer and Kelsey Willoughby.
“I think, for me, I understand the standard knowing there’s a lot of local young girls that can actually meet that standard,” said Langevin. “So when I go coast-to-coast we kind of know the formula of the type of player we’re looking for.”
And the head coach is looking forward to the challenge.
“I’m excited,” said Langevin. “I can see the 2016 date and know that some of the work that I’m going to be doing here is going to wind up, hopefully, on the podium in 2016.”

Dale Woodard
For the Sun Times
This is no leisurely dip in the pool for Laura Heine and Tom Scott.
   When the duo dive in off the starting blocks, the ticking of the time clock isn’t the only facet the two swimmers deal with as Heine and Scott slice through the water dealing with a tow rope and a 70-pound mannequin.
And when the Lifesaving Society’s 2011 Pool Lifesaving Championships hit the pool at the Max Bell Regional Aquatic Centre at the University of Lethbridge March 19 and 20, Heine and Scott — members of the Max Bell Mantas — proved they possess both the physical and mental toughness it takes to be a lifeguard.
And while she’s new to the sport, Heine, 26, has already taken her game to the national level.
“My friend convinced me to go to provincials last year in Edmonton and I qualified to go to nationals. So I went to Montreal last year,” said Heine during the last day of competition.
The event featured more than 300 athletes from across Alberta and Northwest Territories competing in the juniors, seniors, and masters divisions.
“I started coaching this year. So I coached the junior lifeguard club and I’m hooked.”
It was under more serious conditions that Scott got his introduction to the sport of lifesaving.
“I started when I was 12 and living in Calgary. It was after a car accident. It was just a sport I could get into and not get too competitive with it. It was good for recovery,” said Scott, now 21. “I moved to Lethbridge and had stopped swimming. Then my girlfriend started to coach this (lifeguard team) and I got into it.”
Lifesaving Sport is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation. The Lifesaving Society is the provincial and territorial sport organization for Lifesaving Sport in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
Heine broke down the rigours of the event.
“We dive out and grab the mannequins, that can weigh (up to) 70 pounds. We then carry them back to the other side as fast as we can,” she said. “(In another event) we have a tow rope. We dive in and swim as fast as we can for three lengths and then have to grab the mannequin, tow them in as fast as we can and swim back.”
And if anyone thinks being a lifeguard means sitting on an elevated chair on the beach, soaking up the sun and getting a tan, think again.
“It’s very physically and mentally exhausting,” said Heine. “You have to think about getting your flippers and getting your tow rope. So it’s thinking a step ahead.”
That challenge also appealed to Scott.
“For me it’s the mannequins and the different events, it’s not all just swimming back and forth. It adds a different aspect. It’s very fun and very intriguing and engaging,” he said. “It’s very physically demanding. Some guys power through the lanes and then they have to hook the mannequin and tow it all the way back. There’s a lot of technique to it. It takes a lot of power and a lot of endurance. It’s very demanding.”
Like Heine, Scott has also taken his lifeguard game to the national level, having competed as a 16-year-old at Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S.
“Besides that I’ve been all around Alberta,” said Scott, who has competed at recent events in Edmonton and Wetaskiwin, and Calgary.
But on the final day of the competition at the University of Lethbridge, Scott learned he may be heading back to nationals.
“I’ve heard I probably have a spot on the national team. So I really want to go to British Columbia (in May) to compete there with the Team Alberta.”