Sport for Life Centre - bright , shiny , large and new
the staff is the same , so everything is just automatically better . It ’ s unbelievable . There is a lot of space and with all the elite athletes coming all the time , I love it . It ’ s a great place to work out .”
It was certainly a great place for Brendan Shinnimin this past summer . Shinnimin spent the 2016-17 season with Astana Barys in the Kontinental Hockey League and will head back to the second best hockey league in the world this fall . The Canada Games Sport for Life Centre was the perfect place for Shinnimin to prepare .
“ This place is amazing ,” Shinnimin said . “ Everyone around here has been talking about it for the last couple of years and now that it ’ s here it ’ s turned out to be exactly as advertised . It ’ s perfect for me .”
While the training areas in the Canada Games Sport for Life Centre are now bright , shiny , large and new , the two most important aspects of the place are the staff team and the training environment / culture .
When athletes get to the Centre , they will be guided by the best training staff in the province :
Adam Decker is the Senior Manager of Athlete Development for Sport Manitoba . He ’ s been working at the Sport for Life Centre for more than six years as the lead in athlete development for all of Manitoba ’ s Provincial teams .
Jeff Wood is a Sports Performance Specialist at the Performance Centre with more than 20 years of athlete training experience . Along the way he has supported several NHL players in their rise to the pro ranks including Jonathan Toews , Travis Zajac , Travis Hamonic , JP Vigier and recent 2nd overall draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers Nolan Patrick .
Neal Prokop is a Sports Performance Specialist . After playing five years in the Western Hockey League . Neal went on to McGill University to play for their CIS team while completing his Master ’ s degree in Exercise Science . Neal is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with a keen eye for developing hockey players .
Regional Training Centres Sport Manitoba also has three regional training centres around the province led by Brittany Bruinooge ( West ), Jacqueline Mazur ( East ) and Jordan Koroll ( North ), giving The Sport for Life Centre a province-wide reach to help athletes develop their athleticism and improve their performance at an elite level . Manitobans witnessed this improved performance at Winnipeg ’ s recent 2017 Canada Summer Games as Manitoba broke its medal record set in the 2013 games . With the new Centre as a legacy of the Games , Manitoba ’ s future will only get brighter on the national and international levels .
“ The Sport for Life Performance Centre offers truly elite-level services -- services that few other facilities in the country can offer their athletes ,” said Decker . “ Our athletes receive on- and off-ice training and testing , skill development with J . P . Vigier ( Pro Group ), Jeff Wood and Kyle Hampton , goalie development with Terry Patrick , customized meal plans , complete sport medicine assessments , sport psychology sessions , and individualized monthly training programs .
“ Our training group includes a fantastic mix of junior players , up-and-coming professionals and seasoned professionals from North America and Europe .”
The High Performance Hockey Program , which is held on-ice at Dakota Arena , East End Arena and Seven Oaks Sportsplex , is split into five groups : Professional , Junior / College ( WHL ), Elite Female ( National / College / AAA ), Midget AAA and Bantam AAA . Each athlete in these groups will
The Pro Group ( standing from left to right ) Adam Brooks , Brendan Shinnimin , Chase Harrison , Ryan Kubic , trainer Jeff Wood , Adam Hughesman and Kruz Listmayer . Seated , Bailey Bram