YQL Stories

In this episode, Ainsley sits down with Todd Caughlin, Athletic Director of the Kodiaks, to talk about his career, coaching philosophies, and proudest accomplishments. Todd shares stories from his early days in sport, his coaching journey in the U.S., and what makes Kodiaks culture so unique. Please join us in listening to an exciting and passionate conversation with the Lethbridge Polytechnic ath...

In this episode, Ainsley sits down with Neil Langevin and JJ Ondrus, founding members and long-time coaches of the Pronghorns Women’s Rugby team. As the program marks its 25th anniversary, they reflect on how it all began, the early challenges of building a team from scratch, and the unwavering community support that helped it thrive. They share stories of national championship runs, the impact of...

Welcome back to a special bonus episode of YQL Stories, hosted by yours truly, Alex Engel. We at the Lethbridge Sport Council were fortunate enough to get invited to the Lethbridge Judo Club where I got to sit down with Olympians Christa and Kelly Deguchi during their tour across Canada!  The Deguchi sisters blazed a path to the Olympics that was very unique and inspiring. With their Mother from J...

In our season 2 final episode of YQL stories we are very excited to present world renowned Track and Field coach, Larry Steinke. Coach Steinke continues to build his legacy in producing Olympic athletes who are not only elite in their respective sport, but more importantly are good people. Larry is the head coach of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns athletics and has also been a part of the...

On this episode of YQL stories we are fortunate enough to hear from Joe Meli, a decorated Judoka hailing from Lethbridge Alberta who initially pursued a promising career in hockey, ended up transitioning to the sport of Judo in which he represented Canada at 4 summer Olympic Games. Joe is a sport enthusiast, a local legend, and most importantly a family man who has exemplified how to represent Can...

Today, we have the pleasure of hearing from Micheal Barwegen, a soccer referee who represented Canada on the world stage at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Starting his career at just 12 years old in Coaldale, Micheal has since risen to the top of international refereeing, officiating major events like the CONCACAF Gold Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, and more. In this interview, we’ll explore his Olympic...

For this episode of YQL stories I had the privilege of sitting down with Kacie Bosch, a Lethbridge native who not only made waves playing professional basketball in Europe but also proudly represented Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games this past summer. Kacie’s journey from excelling at the University of Lethbridge to becoming an Olympian is truly inspiring. In this episode, we’ll dive into he...

In this episode of our YQL stories series, our guest is Rachel Nicol, a Canadian National Team Swimmer, three-time All-American, Olympian, and Pan-American Games champion. Rachel has also successfully obtained her masters degree in Kinesiology. We discussed her competitive swimming career from the grassroots level all the way to the top of the international stage. Throughout our discussion we also...

This YQL story features the now-former Mayor of Lethbridge Chris Spearman. Chris served as the mayor of Lethbridge from 2013 until 2021 and shared his personal and parental experience with active living with us. 

For this edition of Your Quality Life we were lucky enough to have a chance to talk with Husky First Charger. Husky comes from the Blood reserve outside of Lethbridge. He is a skateboarding enthusiast and proud father.

For our fourth edition of Your Quality Life we were lucky enough to have a chance to talk with Lori Harasem. Lori works at the City of Lethbridge in the Recreation and Culture Department and is part of a very active family with a husband that is an ultra-distance runner, and three active children. Lori didn't have much experience with sport and active living through much of her adult life until th...

For our third edition of Your Quality Life we were able to talk to Chad Chiefmoon. Chiefmoon comes from the Blood reserve outside of Lethbridge and serves on the Lethbridge Sport Council Board of Directors. Chad has been very open and willing to talk about many of the struggles he has faced in life, and the paths he has taken to overcome them. For Chad, his experience with the sport of lacrosse ha...

Welcome to the second edition of our YQL series. The story for this installment comes from our interview with Caroline Reimer also-known-as “Coach Meow”. Caroline Reimer has spent the past 11 years of her life involved with the sport of Roller Derby at the Lethbridge Roller Derby Guild. 9 years ago Caroline began coaching and for the last 5 years Caroline has taken up the head coaching position. H...

For our first ever issue, we were lucky enough to interview Chantelle Erickson. Chantelle is a certified personal trainer at Kinetic Indoor Cycle and Fitness, has been there for the last 7 years and worked as a fitness professional for 8. She is also a freelance writer for Canadian Running magazine and works as a running coach at Personal Peak. Outside of her professional career Chantelle has also...