A solid foundation of any sports testing and development program is built upon the objective method and program originally designed for it. However, a development program can only go so far if they don’t have the coaching experience, education, and expertise to back it up. Luckily, your neighbourhood Sherwood Park sports testing and development team has all of the above and more! Our competitive Thread team consists of Dan, our Lead Instructor, Joel, our Strength & Conditioning Coach, Greg Doll – the On Ice Instructor, and Donna Stewart, our Power Skating Instructor.
They come together to form one of the most effective and experienced development teams out there, ready and willing to take your young athlete to the next level of their athletic career. So let’s take a moment to get to know them!
Dan Waschuk – Lead Instructor
Dan is the very definition of experience, education and expertise. He has played hockey for well over 20 years, having had four successful seasons with the WHL, captained the Grant Macewan’s men’s hockey team, played in the memorial cup, the ACAC all-star team, and won several awards (top scorer and the molson 3 star award) during his time with the Regina Pats. Since then, Dan has moved his sights away from being a player to being a coach, having already run 5 successful development camps across Alberta. Besides having a well-devleoped inside knowledge of the game of hockey, Dan is also interested in the psychological side of sports, which is why he is currently pursuing a PHD in Sports Psychology. Last year, in his second season as assistant coach with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, Dan won a National CIS Championship. He teaches players valuable and important stress reduction, centring, and visualization techniques which allow players to gain a valuable mental edge.
Joel Jackson – Strength & Conditioning
Joel, a certified personal trainer and former Manitoba Junior Hockey League and ACAC player, brings to the table a well-rounded knowledge of all aspects of athletics to the staff of Competitive Thread. He graduated with a degree in Kinesiology and Sport studies from Augustana University and was recipient of back to back Academic-Athlete Achievement awards. Joel, like Dan, is also committed to growing his personal education and knowledge base by currently pursuing a PHD in Kinesiology and Sports Science. In his off time, Joel is training both the Bears and Pandas teams at the University of Alberta. He is passionate about the off-ice component of the game and cannot emphasize enough how important training is to the development of each player in the off-season.
Greg Doll – On Ice Instructor
Greg Doll has been involved with hockey, in both the capacity of a player and instructor, for the past 18 years. Greg played for the Bonneville Pontiacs in the AJHL before pursuing an education at Grant Macewan, where he was the alternate Captain for his final two seasons with the Grant Macewan University Griffins. Greg has a strong passion for all competitive sport and obtained a degree in Physical Education from the University of Alberta. Currently, Greg is working as a Lead Instructor with Donnan and Vimy Hockey Academy, and has a keen interest in the instructional and developmental aspects of the game.
Donna Stewart – Power Skating Instructor
Donna brings to Competitive Thread over 30 years of experience as a power skating instructor, having worked with a number of teams and organizations across Alberta. She is a certified Can Power Skating Instructor who holds both technical and theory NCCP level 3 certifications. But beyond power skating, she is also an intermediate level hockey coach who takes a serious approach to teaching youth. She uses only the most up to date and proven skating techniques to teach our young athletes. Her passion in her field is unparalleled and she truly believes that by improving your skating, you will improve your game.
As you can see, we have the experience and dedication to take your child’s athletic performance to the next level! To see our current open registrations, visit our registration page here: http://www.competitivethread.com/hockey-development/edmonton/register/
Competitive Thread offers cutting edge physical assessments utilizing sports science designed to build superior athletic performance. We operate in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver empowering athletes to excel to their highest playing potential. We carry this same approach into our Edmonton and Sherwood Park Hockey Development Camps tailoring our programs to the skill level of each athlete and truly maximizing their experience.
