Coaches

With more than 20 years of coaching experience, Dale continually strives to: “help athletes become the best they can be; to reach their full potential, in sport and in life.” He, like many other coaches, enjoyed a successful track career at the national level before coaching to give back to a sport that empowers its athletes both on and off the track. As such, Dale takes the time to make sure his athletes keep focused on all of their goals, whether athletic, academic, or otherwise. Athletes who train with Dale receive the benefit of his focus on developing the best possible technique and conditioning through workouts that challenge limits and deliver performance results. His technical focus, an especially important consideration for hurdlers, comes from his own days as an alumnus of the Regina Athletic Track Club and the Calgary Spartans, where he perfected his own hurdling technique until he earned the nickname “the Technician”. Dale spends countless hours at the track, whether coaching, building equipment, or coordinating equipment at meets. His selfless dedication helps make Calgary’s Track & Field scene a better place for athletes. The real value of sport is not the actual game played in the limelight of applause but the hours of dogged determination and self-discipline carried out alone, imposed and supervised by an exacting conscience. The applause soon dies away, the prize is left behind, but the character you build up is yours forever. When Dale is not at the track, he operates D and S Creations, specializing in home and office renovations and designing and building track and field equipment. Dale is a valued member of the Calgary Track Council as Equipment Manager and Vice-President.

Jess brings combined athletic and educational experience to her coaching work with UCAC. Jess, a former UCAC athlete herself, has represented Canada on 15 national teams across track & field, cross country and road running, highlighted by appearances at World Athletics championships and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. She is the former Canadian record holder in the indoor 3000m and 2 mile events and is a 17x national medalist. Jess holds a BS in Exercise Physiology from West Virginia University and an MSc in Health and Exercise Physiology from the University of Calgary. She is also a CSEP Certified Exercise Physiologist with High-Performance designation and NCCP Performance Coach. Jess serves as the distance and cross country coach of the University of Calgary Dinos and has coached a USports Rookie of the Year, Canwest champion, and contributed to the Women’s team placing 3rd at USports Track Nationals in 2024. Aside from track coaching, Jess co-owns and operates an online run and strength coaching business and has worked with hundreds of individuals from beginner to world champion, targeting a range of endurance athletes. Jess loves to empower her athletes with the wisdom she learned through her own experiences in 17 years of competitive track and field. Her coaching philosophy emphases a prioritization of wellness with a belief that athletes who are happy thrive.

NCCP Certified Performance Coach (Level 3) Jumps Coaching Association of Canada – Registered Coach Jane has coached High School Track & Field for 15 years in Ottawa and Calgary, both as a Jumps Coach and Head Coach at several schools. She began working with the long and triple jumpers at UCAC and the University of Calgary Dinos in the 2015-2016 season. As an athlete, Jane started with Calgary Track West and then competed for the University of Alberta Pandas from 1989-1991. A three-time All-Canadian, she is a former CIAU (now U Sports) record holder in Women’s Long Jump and a Canada West/CIAU medalist in the 60m, Long Jump and 4x200m relay. Pandas Sport Hall Of Fame

Kristian was born and raised in Calgary and after playing baseball for a few years he began throwing heavier things in the 8th grade. He quickly fell in love with the sport of track and field, in particular the throws. He joined a club and went on to win many Provincial high school championships in the shot put, discus and javelin. After high school he received track scholarships at the College of Southern Idaho and Southern Utah University going on to win numerous conference championships and All-American honors. After university Kristian began working in the restaurant/bar industry and has been doing so ever since. He can currently be found serving great food and craft beer at a local micro brewery and taproom in north Calgary. After stepping back from the sport for a few years Kristian began coaching the throws at Crescent Heights high school in 2013. Over the next eight seasons the program grew to over 50 athletes producing numerous individual city and provincial champions. The throwers also led the school to dozens of division banners and 8 consecutive overall point titles at the city championships. Kristian is really looking forward to his increased commitment to track and field in Calgary with the UCAC. He knows that anyone has the potential to throw far and have fun. He also knows that throwing REALLY far is REALLY fun! Kristian also coaches the University of Calgary Dinos, many practices will be integrated with the varsity program, allowing novice athletes the opportunity to train alongside high performance athletes. Kristian seeks to increase the number, caliber and diversity of the throwers in Calgary. His holistic approach to throwing far is rooted in keeping aware of the latest developments in technique, conditioning and lifestyle from around the world. While at the same time taking into account the individual athletes physical and emotional reactions to prescribed training and constantly adjusting programs to suit needs of the individual athlete. Major athletic achievements Western Canada Games Team 91,95 Canada Games Team 93 & 97 Pan-am Junior Team 1993 CAN-USA Dual Meet 1992 NJCAA- 6 time All American: Shot, Disc, Hammer 1994-96 NCAA Div I- Mid Continent Conference Newcomer of the year and 5 time conference Champion 1996-99 Senior boys City high school discus record: 49.91m, 1991, retired 2015 Senior Boys Provincial High school discus record: 49.51, retired 2015 Southern Utah University Weight throw school record: 19.76, 1999-present Event bests Discus-54.97m Shot-16.08m Hammer-57.90m Weight-19.76m Javelin-57.81

Competition Coach – Development – In Training Performance Coach Pilot, Jumps (2013) Athletics Performance Coach Pre-learning (2019) Performance Coach, Sprints & Hurdles (2019) 32 years teaching Physical Education and coaching with the Calgary Board of Education. 16 years coaching Horizontal Jumps, High Jump, Sprints, Hurdles, and Combined Events with the University of Calgary. 18 years coaching Jumps, Sprints, Hurdles, and Combined Events with UCAC. 12 years assisting with Les Gramantik’s Combined Event Training Group.

Colton’ experience with Track and Field began in 2013 when started running with the Dinos’ as a student athlete. Since then Colton has graduated from the U of C with multiple master’s degrees in exercise physiology. Colton’s transitioned to coaching in 2022, working primarily with varsity middle distance athletes. Colton embraces a simple coaching philosophy “happy = fast”. Further, Colton integrates both ‘practice based evidence’ and ‘evidence based practice’ into his coaching practices. When working with Colton, athletes can expect individualized training programs and race plans – as every athlete is different, these differences are represented in training programs. Finally, Colton in a Certified Exercise Physiologist with a High-Performance Specialization and an Athletics Performance Coach in training.

NCCP Club Coach Sprints & Hurdles (presently working on his Level 3) A former Nationally ranked athlete in Track and Field as well as a member of the Canadian Bobsleigh Team, Ricardo Greenidge comes with an extensive background representing Canada in high level sport. Achieving recognition as a multiple Canadian Sprints Champion in Track and Field as well as competing in the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan for Bobsleigh, Ricardo developed a solid foundation of experience as an athlete that he now brings to his role as a coach. Beginning as an Assistant Coach overseeing the Sprints program with the Airdrie Aces Athletics Club (AAAC) in 2011, Ricardo then went on to take over the position of AAAC Head Coach in 2015. During his time with the Aces Club, Ricardo has coached many athletes to medal wins both at the Provincial and National level. At the start of the 2017/18 indoor season, Ricardo was offered the position of Assistant Coach (Sprints/Hurdles) of University of Calgary Dino’s Track and Field Program and he now brings his knowledge and enthusiasm for sport and coaching to his University level athletes. Ricardo Greenidge Wikipedia Page

NCCP Performance Coach Middle & Long Distance Doug started coaching track & field in 1977 with the Calgary Board of Education. He taught Junior High Physical Education for over 20 years and, during that time, coached school and club track & field athletes. Doug coached with Calgary Spartans, Calgary Track West and now works with UCAC. Doug was also active at the provincial and national levels as an event coach and a head coach for several provincial and national teams. Doug retired from teaching in 1999 to become the Director of the Southern Alberta Track & Field Centre.

NCCP Certified Level 5 Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC) Les Gramantik was born in Transylvania, Romania and began his athletic career in the Sports School System in Romania. Continuing with his passion for athletics and sports, he turned to coaching where he has now accumulated over 40 years of international coaching experience in Romania, Israel and Canada. He has coached over 50 Canadian National Champions and medalists in a variety of speed and power events. Since 1984, he has been selected to coach with the Canadian National team in various roles including: six Commonwealth Games, three Pan American Games, eight Olympics/Paralympics and eleven World Championships. He was selected as the head coach the Canadian National team for the following events. 2008 Beijing Olympics 2003, 2007, 2011 Pan-Am Games 2006, 2010 Commonwealth Games 1999, 2001, 2007 World Athletic Championships Les possesses a BA in Education, BA in Physical Education and Masters of Coaching Science from the University of Bucharest and holds all levels of coaching education from NCCP to NCI. He has lectured at the University of Calgary and at numerous clinics around the world for both coaches and athletes. He is a leader of developing education programs, writing the Competition Development curriculum for athletics and a key member among a group of experts in developing the Long-Term Athlete Development model for Athletics Canada. Personal Achievements 1991 CIS and six time Canada West Coach of the Year (Head coach of Athletics at the University of Calgary from 1987-2005) 11 time Alberta High Performance Coach of the Year lesgramantik.com

NCCP Certified Performance Coach Jumps Raised in Calgary, Alberta, James was introduced to sport at a young age, becoming a competitive soccer, hockey and badminton player, and golfer. Prior to entering university, he discovered the sport of Athletics, and excelled in all the speed and power events, and specifically the decathlon. James competed internationally in the decathlon for Canada for 11 years. After his retirement from competition in 2007, his passion for the sport evolved into coaching, and he has been guiding young athletes since 2008. James has coached the decathlon, the heptathlon, and the pole vault for men and women internationally, including the 2022 World Championships of Athletics in Eugene, Oregon. Professionally, James is a Senior Analyst at Sport Canada, the branch in the Department of Canadian Heritage responsible for the advancement of sport across the country. His responsibilities include managing the relationship and funding framework for the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network, collaboration and delivery of four Sport Legacy Funds, and High Performance Coaching Education in Canada. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Calgary and a Masters degree in Human Kinetics from the University of Ottawa.