I have been in love with sports for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories include playing shinny in the driveway or learning how to skate on the local outdoor rink. Like most kids, I started playing soccer when I was 6 or 7 and looked

forward to lacing up my cleats every summer. The real fun started when I started playing ringette at the age of 8.

Coincidentally, I decided I was going to be a kinesiologist when I was 8. I’m sure you’re thinking “What 8 year old knows about kinesiology?”. Our neighbour’s oldest daughter went into kinesiology that year and my parents explained it to me as “a major where you get to play sports”. Well, to a tomboy that sounded like the best job ever. After this ringette and kinesiology became closely intertwined. Back then, kinesiology had not developed much as field yet so I was thinking about massage therapy or physiotherapy.

I was also moving up in the world of ringette. When I was 10, I decided I wanted to play AAA ringette by the time I was 17. I was deadset on doing everything I could to achieve that goal. A few weeks before my 17th birthday I made the North Western Region AAA team. That’s the summer that I decided I wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach. I found it absolutely fascinating how exercise could be prescribed to manipulate different systems in the body to improve performance.

I decided to move across the country to attend the University of Calgary and pursue a Bachelors of Science in Exercise and Health Physiology from the Faculty of Kinesiology. I picked U of C because of their ties with high performance sport and the strong ringette program. During my degree, I got to play for the Dinos Ringette team which exposed me to new coaching styles in sport and I was trained by some amazing strength coaches at the Olympic Oval. During this time, I also completed practicums with many prominent strength coaches around Calgary. I believe that these combined experiences greatly influenced my approach to training. Each trainer has a different style and I think I learned great technicals skills and some of the softer skills from each of these strength coaches.

During my undergrad degree, both of my grandfathers passed away from cancer. Because of this, I started volunteering with the Thrive Centre, which is a free exercise facility for cancer patients. During my fourth year, I completed a practicum with head and neck cancer patients.
It was incredibly humbling to get to spend a few hours a week with these warriors, some of whom had literally dragged themselves out of bed to come exercise. Some of these participants had never formally exercised before and the camaraderie of the group was amazing. This was extremely different from working with athletes where you could push them to their limit all day and they would come back the next day.

Over the past five and a half years I have a strong foundation as a personal trainer. Because of my science background and thirst for knowledge, I value staying up to date with the current evidence and making sure I am always using the best techniques for my clients. I don’t believe in fads and quick fix options, but I also try to keep exercise and physical activity as fun as possible. I know that not everyone enjoys the same types of activities I do, but I believe there is something out there for everyone. Although I have high expectations of my clients, I understand that I need to meet them where they’re at each day. I appreciate that sometimes the win is just showing up at the gym when you really didn’t want to get off the couch that day.

I love seeing the change in my clients and the “Aha!” light bulb moment when they learn a new skill or master a new exercise. Being able to see that excitement and joy in their faces everyday is why I love my job. I believe that everyone is capable of leading an active life, and although that might look different for each person, it is my job to help them reach their full potential.