Dec 18, 2014

Canadian Women's National Field Hockey Team roster selected for 2015 New Zealand Tour

 
Beckett Frisch (Calgary, AB) with Calgary Ladies Field Hockey Association
Vancouver, BC – Field Hockey Canada and the Canadian Women’s National Field Hockey Program have selected 21 athletes to travel to New Zealand in January for a tour, which will include a training camp and test matches.
The touring Women’s National Team consists of two goalkeepers, seven defenders, seven midfielders, and five forwards. The roster comprises of members from the 2015 Women’s National Team and Senior Development Squad, which were both named earlier in December.
Five athletes – Alex Thicke (North Vancouver, BC), Beckett Frisch (Calgary, AB), Katarina Angus (West Vancouver, BC), Rosie Beale (Victoria, BC), and Steph Snyder (Waterloo, ON) – will likely make their first international appearances for Canada in the test matches versus New Zealand.
The trip to New Zealand will be the Women’s National Team’s first major activity of 2015 and will serve as key preparation for World League 2, which takes place in March and is step towards 2016 Olympic qualification.
The New Zealand training camp will take place from January 19-30th. The camp will be followed by three friendly matches, and three official test matches against the New Zealand National Team, which is ranked fourth in the world.

Canadian Women’s National Team New Zealand Touring Roster
Abigail Raye
Defender
Kelowna, BC
Alex Thicke
Midfield
North Vancouver, BC
Amanda Woodcroft
Midfield
Waterloo, ON
Beckett Frisch
Goalkeeper
Calgary, AB 
Brienne Stairs
Forward
Kitchener, ON
Danielle Hennig (Vice-Captain)
Defender
Kelowna, BC
Hannah Haughn
Forward
North Vancouver, BC
Holly Stewart
Forward
North Vancouver, BC
Kaitlyn Williams
Goalkeeper
White Rock, BC
Karli Johansen
Defender
North Vancouver, BC
Katarina Angus
Defender
West Vancouver, BC
Kate Gillis (Captain)
Midfield
Kingston, ON
Kathleen Leahy
Defender
Victoria, BC
Kristine Wishart
Midfield
Hamilton, ON
Maddie Secco
Midfield
Victoria, BC
Natalie Sourisseau
Midfield
Kelowna, BC
Rosie Beale
Defender
Victoria, BC
Sara McManus
Defender
Tsawwassen, BC
Steph Snyder
Midfield
Waterloo, ON
Stephanie Norlander
Forward
North Vancouver, BC
Thea Culley (Vice-Captain)
Forward
Rossland, BC

New Zealand Tour Schedule 
January 19-30 – Training Camp
January 31 – Match 1 vs. NZL “A”
February 1 – Match 2 vs. NZL “A”
February 3 – Friendly vs. NZL
February 5 – Test Match 1 vs. NZL
February 7 – Test Match 1 vs. NZL
February 8 – Test Match 1 vs. NZL
- 30 -
About Field Hockey Canada
From grass roots to high performance, Field Hockey Canada is working to develop and strengthen field hockey across the country, and to position our National Teams for podium contention in 2016 and beyond.
Field Hockey Canada Contact:
Shaheed Devji
Manager, Creative and Communications
Field Hockey Canada
sdevji@fieldhockey.ca

Dec 12, 2014

The Race to Nowhere in Youth Sports

With great power comes great responsibility - "You are the gatekeepers of youth sports, the people who play God, and decide who gets in, and who is kicked to the curb."

A great piece, and a great explanation of what "10 000 hours" actually means. A must-read for parents and coaches!

http://changingthegameproject.com/the-race-to-nowhere-in-youth-sports/

Original Post from Coaching Association of Canada. 

Dec 8, 2014

Tentative Aquatic Schedule for December 12-14, 2014

Here is the link to our tentative aquatics schedule for Friday, December 12 to Sunday, December 14 2014:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_i06kI_D5XWRk80WDdYRlB2SkU/view?usp=sharing

Brooklyn Snodgrass of Cascade Grabs Gold

Canadians win gold at U.S. short course nationals

Swimming Canada - GREENSBORO, N.C. – Richard Funk of Edmonton and Brooklyn Snodgrass of Calgary each won a gold medal on Friday night at the U.S. Nationals short course swimming championships.
In the men’s 100 yards breaststroke, Funk was seeded fourth heading into the event final but took nearly a second off of his time from the morning (53.12) to place atop the podium in 52.36. He won out of lane six, defeating Portuguese Olympian and record-holder Carlos Almeida by less than two tenths-of-a-second. Funk came very close to reaching the NCAA 'A' standard (52.29).
In the women’s 100 yard backstroke, Snodgrass led wire-to-wire in putting up her winning time of 51.59. That is an NCAA automatic qualifying time for the 2014 NCAA Champion in the 200 backstroke.  Snodgrass won the bronze medal in the 50-m backstroke at the Commonwealth Games.
Kennedy Goss of Toronto, also racing for Indiana, notched her second individual medal of the competition finishing second in the 200 yard freestyle.  Goss' time of 1:44.87 was a season best.  She was also third Thursday in the 500-yard freestyle.

Dec 3, 2014


Tentative Aquatic Schedule for December 8-11, 2014

Here is the link to our tentative aquatics schedule for Monday, December  8 to Thursday, December 11 2014:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_i06kI_D5XWakl6Rjc0dHdHTzQ/view?usp=sharing

TC's High Performance Dietitian Kelly Drager Educates the Experts

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Many of the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary’s (CSIC) specialists have had the privilege of being recognized as national leaders within their respective fields. This list includes Registered Dietitian Kelly Drager, who recently spent time in Montreal sharing her research findings with other sports experts from around the country.
Drager presented in Montreal after being asked by Own the Podium to facilitate two different sessions at the Montreal Sport Innovation (SPIN) Summit 2014. The Montreal symposium was the 9th annual conference put on by Own the Podium, whose conferences have the goal of “developing and networking in the areas of applied sport science, sport medicine, and sport innovation.”
Drager was enthusiastic about the opportunity to share her knowledge at the conference, believing that “SPIN is a great opportunity to connect in person with colleagues and other sport science disciplines. The collaborative candid conversations are often what initiates the creative thinking process, leading to future projects that will further the development of athletes to the highest level possible.”
One of the topics that Drager shared her knowledge about was the concept of Relative Energy Deficiency for Sport (RED-S). RED-S is a syndrome that refers to impaired physiological function including metabolic rate, menstrual function, bone health, immunity, protein synthesis, and cardiovascular health. Along with the interdisciplinary panel of fellow specialists Shaunna Taylor, Trent Stellingwerff, and Adrienne Leslie-Toogood, Drager presented on RED-S and its implications for all coaches and Integrated Support Team members (IST). The group also introduced implications and strategies for paramedical staff, sport scientists, coaches and sport leaders who are looking to improve performance while maintaining athlete health.
The second facilitation Drager was asked to lead was titled Weight Management Consideration for Athletes. Drager’s main goal for the session was to facilitate discussion for determining appropriate weight and body composition for athletes. This is a key consideration for IST members, as often managing weight is necessary for performance and body composition demands are extremely sport specific. Drager addressed issues such as how weight and body composition targets are determined for athletes, key components that should be considered when assessing if an athlete is at an appropriate weight, and what the best approaches to achieve desired changes for an athlete are.
Drager’s work at the CSIC has provided her with the incredible opportunity to further her professional development while working with teams such as the National Wrestling Team and Bobsleigh Skeleton Canada. At the SPIN conference, she was able to share knowledge gained through her work with CSIC teams during one of her workshops by presenting a case study on the consequences of health and performance which reviewed current evidence based approaches to effectively facilitate fat loss while maintaining or gaining lean tissue in the athletic population. The combination of being able to elevate athletes’ performances while also making progress within the ever-evolving field of nutrition is a benefit that Drager knows is enabled by the leaders of the CSIC who are always striving to be a step ahead of the international competition.
Drager recognizes that the environment created at the CSIC has helped her, along with other IST members, stay ahead of the curve when it comes to research. She acknowledges that, “At CSIC we have the ability to directly interact with the athletes on a daily basis as well as the other sport science members of the IST. Seeing the athletes train maximally everyday is motivating, creates a sense of national pride and definitely encourages everyone working within the team to do the best to foster excellence.”
Stay in the loop!
Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Brittany Schussler: @bschussler
Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto