Welcome back to our monthly newsletter! It has been a very busy December and January. Unfortunately, we had to forego the January edition of the Speed Mechanics newsletter, as all things expansion have been consuming most of our time! We are back, though, and have a ton to tell you, but I’ll try to keep it brief. First, I want to showcase our first Athlete of the Month for 2022, then speak about our new coaches and AP updates. Next, we’ll go over the exciting news regarding the APEX Institute. Finally, we will wrap up with updates on upstairs and our new Continuum Health Centre. Let’s dig in!
Athlete of the Month – Lukas Le Gras
We are excited to announce our first Athlete of the Month for 2022 as Lukas Le Gras. Lukas is a star multi-sport athlete playing both hockey and baseball (likely other sports as well). Playing for the Peninsula Eagles U15 A team for hockey and the Victoria Eagles Junior Premiere team in baseball; Lukas also works hard off the ice/field. Due to the cancellation of tournaments over the Xmas break, Lukas decided to work out more, joining our 2-day Catchers Camp with Logan Wedgewood and all three of our 4-day Speed Camps with our new speed coach, Adrian Kinney. Watching Lukas sprint before the speed camps and observing his mechanics and technique after the last two months of work has been nothing short of incredible. He’s a quiet leader in the facility but works hard and has fun doing it. Outside of sports, Lukas also speaks two languages, French and English. We are looking forward to seeing what he can do on the field this summer with his Eagles team, as the whole team has been putting in the extra work together this off-season. Keep working hard!
Coaching Updates
There are a lot of new faces around the facility, with some new additions to our AP Program. As mentioned back in November and December, we had new coaches coming from New Brunswick and the US. Please welcome Adrian Kinney from NB and Rylie Matthews from Ogden, Utah. Since his arrival, Coach Adrian has taken on the new Speed & Agility sessions, an integral part of the AP Program. He has also been working with the UVic Vikes Ultimate team with Coach Rylie and on-field with the JP Eagles team. Coach Rylie has been leading Strength & Power sessions in the AP Program, working with the Centre of Soccer Excellence at Reynolds, training the UVic Vikes Ultimate team, and has given multiple presentations – with more to come. We would also like to welcome Steve Mackinnon from Rugby Canada as one of our new Lead Strength & Conditioning (S&C) Coaches. Steve has joined the team and hit the ground running, working on several projects with our Lead S&C coaches and getting up to speed with the expansion and our new practitioners. Finally, the Speed Mechanics family welcomes Lead S&C coach Laura-Ellen de Vries. She joins us with a wealth of experience from overseas, working in the Netherlands and completing her Masters in Exercise Science there. She has been the lead coach for the Canadian Sports Institute’s Sports School for the last two years. We’re excited to have her wealth of knowledge and experience working with adolescent and youth athletes.
NEW PARTNERSHIP – UNDER ARMOUR
Our business manager, Armand, has been working tirelessly on a few projects, particularly the readdress of our AP Program. Initially, we approached a few different athletic clothing companies to partner with, including Lululemon. Unfortunately, Lulu did not align with our vision for the future and what we are attempting to accomplish here at Speed Mechanics. However, we were able to land a partnership with a very reputable company that aligned with our values, vision, and brand. As a result, we are very excited to announce our new partnership with Under Armour!
Our first major project with UA is to revamp the look and feel of our AP Program and the training tiers that accompany them. You may ask, how will it work now? We have five different levels – Activate, Boost, Challenge, Dominate, and Elite – represented by the colours White, Blue, Red, Black, and Gray, respectively. The first four levels represent our AP Program. In contrast, the Elite colour represents our Momentum (Collegiate/National team/Professional) Program. As such, everyone will be receiving a new technical training shirt for their current level based on our last testing period (January 2022). Moving forward, when our athletes meet all the program requirements to move to the next level, we will celebrate and award new shirts within the first week of each month, beginning in March. If athletes would like to purchase extra training shirts for their level or lower levels, they are welcome to do so, as we will have extras on hand. We encourage everyone to rep their levels during each training session. Wear them with pride and as a badge of honour. You’ve earned it!
As a result, all of our previous AP shirts are on sale for $5 plus GST. We have white/red, yellow/black, and red/black shirts available in a variety of sizes. Purchase at the front today!
APEX Institute Updates
Next up, we have been working hard, preparing for the APEX Institute to start on September 2022 – for the upcoming school year. We will be hosting an information night on March 9th, with further details posted on our website very soon. Registration for the information night will be going live on February 9th. If you are unfamiliar with APEX, this is Speed Mechanics’ high-performance option for student-athletes to gain the most out of their training and class credits. Athletes can train during school hours with a sports-specific program, with time allocated to studying. Our new classroom provides optimal space for athletes to stay on top of their studies. There will also be a teacher on-hand to make sure each student can complete their assignments and assist them in staying on task, so classwork is completed on time. If you’re a top-performing athlete in your sport and looking to hone in on training (while having time to excel in school and free up evening time for sports practice), the APEX Institute is the right fit for you! The first step will be registering for the information night.
New Facility Updates
Lastly, on to the big construction zone that is our new facility. There has been a lot going on in January since everyone returned from the holiday break. We have our new rubber flooring and turf down in the gym, and it is beginning to look like an actual training facility now! Additionally, we have launched our new Continuum website showcasing our new practitioners and Integrated Support Team (IST). Our IST includes physiotherapists, a chiropractor, a registered dietitian, provisional mental performance consultant, clinical counselor, and athletic therapists/kinesiologists. Check out www.continuumhealthcentre.ca and book your appointments today. This month we are expecting some significant moves to be happening upstairs! As we look to finish up our space, keep an eye on our social media pages for pictures and updates.
