The Alberta Sport Development Centre— Southeast is extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with the top athletes emerging in Medicine Hat. Our team consists of Courtney Marchesin (mental skills coach), Kimberlee Brooks (sports registered dietitian), Ed Stiles and Alex Graham (strength and conditioning coaches), Gina Van Metre (rural sport development programmer) and myself, Kristina Segall (ASDC-SE coordinator).
We believe that by working together as athletes, coaches, parents, and organizations, we can create the best athletes in our province. The main purpose of the ASDC network — which also includes locations in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie and Lethbridge — is to coordinate and enhance services available to Alberta’s emerging athletes and coaches.
As a multi-sport athlete from an early age, I did it all, including skiing, dancing, gymnastics, tennis, track, badminton, volleyball, basketball, racquetball, soccer, cross country and skating. Yes, I had amazing parents and when I win the lottery I will treat them big time! It wasn’t until I made Team Saskatchewan for soccer, that I realized my full potential. I always competed at a high level, but never had specialized coaches in any of the sports I competed in. When I refer to specialized coaches I’m referring to strength and conditioning coach, sports dietician, mental skills coach and others I was beyond blessed to receive instruction from. My performance level reached an all-time high.
I was always fit and fast, but with strength and conditioning training, I reached a level of speed, strength and endurance that I never thought was possible. I learned how to properly fuel my body before a competition and how food could be used to help me recover quickly after a competition. I learned how visualization and mental toughness could help me make smarter decisions on the field in a split second.
Living in Moose Jaw, my parents (the dream team) had to make multiple trips to Regina and Saskatoon to ensure I got the training I needed to compete and succeed at a high level of competition. This isn’t even including the travel required to compete, just to train. To have the specialized services and experts that ASDC has located in Medicine Hat is truly outstanding for a community of Medicine Hat’s size. We have an incredibly talented team who can help you achieve your goals and dreams in your sport.
Just a friendly reminder that the deadline to apply for our Athlete Enhancement Program is Aug. 31. This program is for emerging high performance athletes that want to receive expert support to improve their sport performance. Now is your chance to go from good to great!
Kristina Segall is the coordinator of the Alberta Sport Development Centre — Southeast and she would love to hear from you and chat with you about the ASDC-SE programs and services. She can be reached via email at ksegall@mhc.ab.ca and via phone at 403-504-3547.
