Acadia Athletics's Axe Report Podcast

A physical education graduate of Acadia and Axewoman basketball player, Jen Lloyd was one of a long list of female players from Cobequid High School in Truro, NS who attended Acadia under head coach Laura Sanders.Lloyd played several years of basketball in Europe after graduating at Acadia and when she returned she began a teaching career that still continues to this day. She also explored coaching at with the NS Provincial programs and at College level and eventually made her way into officiating basketball. After her coaching success, the Canadian Association of Basketball Officials (CABO) then recruited Jen to become a basketball official.She is a regular site at AUS women's basketball games and she has been known to officiate men's games as well. She also is on the officiating crew of the NBL.

Named the 2016 AUS Community Service Award winner for Men's Basketball, Shaquille Smith took his experiences from attending Acadia and has applied it to everyday life.Shaquille was named as 1 of 8 nominees for the U SPORTS Mitchell Family Alumni of the Year Awards this past spring for his work in his hometown of North Preston, NS where he applied his passion of helping others to bring a community basketball court to North Preston.His service to the greater community of basketball was amplified by the creation of the Futures Program that mentors young athletes in their choices in life around mental health, education and athletics.

We chatted with Sonny Wolfe about his early start in coaching football and his time now spent retired from the game he loves.We covered his time at Acadia from his first university head coach position in 1984 with the Axemen to his return to McGill in 2007.Sonny Wolfe completed his 24th and final season as a U SPORTS head football coach in 2011 after five years at McGill, capping a 19-year career at Acadia during which he and his wife Denise became an integral part of the local community. He won three AUS championships at Acadia – in 1984, 1995, 1998 – and his 24 seasons as a head coach ties him with the legendary Gino Fracas for the seventh-highest career total in U SPORTS football history.

A dual-sport athlete while at Acadia, Sean Stoqua excelled in football and basketball over his four seasons at Acadia. During his years at Acadia and beyond, Sean mastered resilience following ankle and knee injuries that sidelined his participation in several seasons.After graduating from Acadia, Sean focused on a becoming a physiotherapist and brining his skills and experiences to the forefront of helping athletes recover from injury.Sean played his last year of eligibility with the UOttawa Gee Gees in 2019-20, overcoming a list of physical setbacks.

A product of Horton High School, Jasmine Parent left the Valley for supposed greener pastures but returned and suited up for the Acadia Axewomen in 2009. Parent was part of the build up to an eventual 2012 AUS championship win that changed the coming years of Acadia's women basketball team.Her experience at Acadia set her up for the changes that she would eventually make in her life and launch a career in the health and fitness industry.

Lindsay Harris was among a group of Horton High School basketball grads that changed the landscape of the Acadia women's basketball team. She grew up around sport with a father who was a physical education teacher and basketball became her passion.After a great high school career, she joined the Axewomen in 2009 and helped shape a championship team that captured their first AUS title in over 50 years.Named to the AUS All-Rookie team in her first season as an Axewoman, Lindsay was honoured as an AUS First Team All-Star in her last season.Lindsay chatted about her decision to head to Acadia and the influence her Dad had on her choice and university basketball career.

Len and Eric chat with former Soccer Axette Wendi Wells about her time playing soccer and growing up in Wolfville as the daughter of then Athletic Director Don Wells.Wendi was a two-time CIAU (USPORTS) All-Canadian and captured 5 AUAA (AUS) titles and a 1990 CIAU National Championship.She was inducted into the Acadia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 as one of Acadia's many great female athletes.

Len and Eric chat with former Football Axeman Kevin Garbuio from Fort McMurray, AB where Kevin is a teacher at Father Mercredi High School. Kevin Garbuio is helping provide students with special needs with skills to achieve some form of independence in adulthood.Along with his duties as a teacher, Kevin has gone well beyond his job scope as the school's head football coach along with serving his community.He is involved with the Special Olympics and has hopes to get more involved with sports programs available in the Wood Buffalo region.Kevin was named to the Your McMurray Magazine's Top 50 under 50 in 2020.This past fall, Kevin created the idea of hosting a mental, emotional health event for student athletes after COVID-19 forced schools to shut down in March 2020. As classes moved online and teams cancelled games, Garbuio said he watched students in the football community struggle.

A graduate of the Acadia University and the men's basketball program in 2002, Saj Joseph was an AUS All-Star in his last season with the Dave Nutbrown led Axemen.Saj talks about his time as an Axemen and the effect that Acadia and Nutbrown had in shaping his leadership in the business world. Joseph's impact on the basketball program during his time at Acadia is seen by his selfless leadership as the program's leading single season in assists and third in career assists.

This week we chat with former Acadia swimmer Jill Leon who graduated in 1979 after winning two National Championships in a row with the Axettes - an unprecedented achievement by any national championship team from Acadia.Later in life, Jill challenged her swimming stamina in crossing the Northumberland Strait from Nova Scotia to PEI in 2013.Join us as she talks about being coached but the late Jack Scholz and her experience as a National Champion at Acadia in 1977-78 and 1978-79.

Len chats with former hockey Axeman Greg Clancy about his time at Acadia and his four seasons that led to 1996 National Championship.Clancy captained the Axemen to their second National Championship. Greg remains the Axemen's Career Points leader with 87 goals, 125 assists for 212 points in 97 regular season games and is 10th in the AUS.After his university hockey career, Greg played professional hockey for four seasons in the UHL, IHL, ECHL and in Scotland.

We chat with recent Axemen hockey graduates Mike Cazzola and Remy Giftopoulos about their time at Acadia and what led to them being on the same team in the Alps Hockey League in Italy.A graduate of 2016, Mike ventured to the UK for school and hockey, while Remy traveled to Italy after finishing with the Axemen and graduating in 2018.The former teammates are on the same team - Cortina and they are both major contributors to the team's scoring. Mike leads the league in points, while teammate Remy is third in points.

We chat with former Basketball Axewomen Haley McDonald and Allie Berry who are both in Germany playing professional basketball. McDonald and Berry play in the same conference - Bundesliga-2. Haley plays for the Bad Homborg, while Berry plays for ASC Theresianum Mainz.Berry, a graduate of Acadia in 2018, captured an AUS championship in 2018. Berry was fifth year veteran who experienced basketball at Acadia under former head coach Bev Greenlaw and current coach Len Harvey.McDonald and Berry were teammates in 2018 and the following year, McDonald led the Axewomen to their second AUS championship in a row in 2019. 2019 was a record setting year for Haley that included an AUS record of 51 points in a single game vs UPEI in the AUS semi-finals at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.

From Port Hood, NS, Bruce wasn't exposed to football until his arrival at Acadia University in 1987. From a humble beginning where most of his time spent was tending to the family farm, Bruce was captivated with the game of football.He would spend five seasons with the Axemen developing his skills as an offensive lineman. While with the Axemen, Bruce was a three-time AUS All-Star tackle and three-time CIAU All-Canadian before being drafted eighth overall by the BC Lions of the CFL in 1991.Bruce played 13 seasons in the Canadian Football League for five different teams. He was named CFL All-Star three times and was a part of two Grey Cup championship teams with the Edmonton Eskimos.

A native of Elmhurst, New York, Konchalski played at Archbishop Molloy High School before embarking on a university career at Acadia in 1962. He guided the Axemen to its first ever national title in the CIAU in 1965. Known mostly as a coach, Kochalski as a player set a single game high 41 points and 17 field goals, while being presented with the Jack Donohue Trophy as the tournament Most Valuable Player. His career 1,479 points were more than any player had scored in the history of the program when he left. Konchalski graduated from Acadia in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts and subsequently enrolled at Dalhousie Law School.He worked as assistant coach at Loyola College in Montreal for four years and in 1975 accepted the position as head coach of the St. Francis Xavier University men's basketball team.[8] He coached the X-Men to national titles in 1993, 2000 and 2001, while receiving CIS Coach of the Year honours in 2001. He was named Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Coach of the Year in 1983, 1991, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006.Konchalski was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 1993, the Acadia Sports Hall of Fame as an athlete in 1994. In 1999, he was the recipient of the Frank Baldwin Award for dedication to basketball in Nova Scotia.Courtesy of Wikipedia

A three-time AUS Defensive Player of the Year, AUS MVP and 3-time U SPORTS All-Canadian, former basketball Axeman Owen Klassen continues to play basketball after his 2014 graduation from Acadia.Playing in Europe, the CEBL and for Canada Basketball's Sr. Men's Team Canada, we caught up to Owen in France where he is playing professional basketball during a COVID-19 pandemic.We chatted with Owen about his time at Acadia and his experiences beyond Acadia.

A Woodstock, NB native, Laura Sanders arrived at Acadia in 1984 to coach women’s varsity basketball, field hockey and soccer, which had not yet achieved varsity status.Laura would coach basketball at Acadia for 20 seasons and although her basketball teams had their moments, her greatest success would come on the soccer pitch where the Axettes won a 1990 National Championship.Len and Eric chat with Laura about her time before arriving at Acadia and her 20 year career coaching at Acadia.

The 1992-93 men's hockey team was the first university team in Nova Scotia to win the CIAU (U SPORTS now) National Championship and they did it easily with a 12-1 win over Toronto.In the 90's, the Axemen showcased some of the top teams in CIAU for nearly a decade and it began with the in the late 80's. Colin Gregor and Dennis Sproxton were members of the 1993 National Championship team and they chat with Len and Eric about the season and what got them to becoming the best university hockey team in the country.

A Windsor Regional High School graduate, Ted Upshaw landed on the Acadia campus in 1976. A highly recruited by former Axemen Brian Heaney (head coach at Saint Mary's) and Steve Konchaski (head coach at StFX), Upshaw chose Acadia and never regretted his choice. A two time CIAU All-Canadian and AUAA Most Valuable Player, Upshaw played with many greats and became a great himself, capturing a 1976-77 National Championship. During his five seasons, he and the Axemen had three visits to the National Championship Game.

From a basketball family, Erin McAleenan graduated from Acadia in 2003 and went on to follow her passion of coaching. After her time at the University of Alberta as an assistant coach while working on her Masters degree, Erin landed a job as head coach of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns that eventually led to where she is now at York University leading the women's basketball team.Len and Eric chat with Erin about what made Acadia her choice and what her goals are now as the head coach of the York Lions women's basketball team.

The AxeCast host Len Hawley chats with Acadia's Executive Director of Athletics Kevin Dickie about this past fall and what may await us in the winter months along with a discussion around the World Junior Hockey Championship during the pandemic.

A four time AUS All-Star, AUS MVP, AUS Rookie of the Year, an AUS Community Service Award winner twice and the CIAU TSN Community Service Award winner, Lori Beth was Acadia volleyball's first CIAU All-Canadian in 2004.Inducted into the Acadia Sports Hall of Fame, Dwyer spent 6 seasons as head coach of the Holland College Hurricanes women's volleyball team. During her six seasons, she posted a 86-45 record after the team had only had one win prior to her arrival.

Graduating from Acadia in 2012, Jake Thomas had an outstanding university career with the Axemen culminating in the 2011 season as the AUS Lineman of the Year, AUS All-Star for the second time and named as a U SPORTS (CIS) All-Canadian.Drafted by the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers 29th overall in the draft, Jake is the longest serving Blue Bomber of 8 seasons and became a Grey Cup Champion in 2019. He was the first to hoist the Grey Cup after their win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

A graduate from Acadia in the Class of 1961, Ann Mosher was the first person and woman to be named Acadia's Athenaeum Athlete of the Year. Inducted into the Acadia Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, Ann shined in basketball but was also a volleyball and field hockey player. Ann was named to the U SPORTS Top 100 women basketball players of all-time last year.

Janna is a two-time First Team All-Canadian and multiple years as an AUS All-Star. She played for the Axewoman from 2011 to 2014.Len and Eric chat with former Rugby Axewoman Janna Slevinsky about her time as an Axewoman and her experience so far with Rugby Canada's women's 15s national team as she prepares for the coming 2021 15s World Cup.

Host Len Hawley chats with two former football Axemen who were teammates on the 1981 CIAU Vanier Cup National Championship team. Don Clow and Keith Skiffington chat with Len about the 1981 team and their experience at the 1981 College Bowl (Vanier Cup) vs. Alberta at Toronto's Varsity Stadium.

Emma was a three time AUS All-Star and the AUS Rookie of the Year in her five year career with the Axewomen. After graduating, she played professional basketball in Germany for three seasons before returning to Canada. She has spent her time at the University of Windsor as an assistant coach while working on her masters degree. She was the intern head coach last season for the Lancers, filling the sabbatical of head coach Chantal Vallée.

Michael Cino and Glen Sullivan recall their days with the Soccer Axemen and in particular the 1996 AUAA championship Axemen - the only men's soccer team to capture a conference title to date.

Paul McFarland caught the coaching bug shortly after his graduation from Acadia in 2010. Named as an assistant coach with the Oshawa Generals in 2012, McFarland was named head coach of the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs in 2014 and then jumped to the NHL with Florida and Toronto before returning to Kingston as the head coach and GM this season.

From Upstate New York, Geoff Gates graduated from Acadia in 2013. During this time at Acadia he worked with the Axemen basketball team as the Operations Manager. Following graduation, Geoff made his way through several marketing agencies in the US before landing a job with Top Ranked Boxing as a Social and Digital Media manager. It quickly led to his current and dream job with the LA Lakers as an Associate Director of Social and Content.

A graduate of Acadia back in 2003, Matt Price played four seasons with the Axemen hockey team. Always interested in strength and conditioning, Matt began working in the field after his short pro hockey career with the Odessa Jackalopes of the now NAHL. After getting his graduate degree at the University of Calgary, Matt eventually wound up with the LA Kings of the NHL after his time with Alpine Canada.

One of the youngest Nova Scotians to make a National Team, Ann Dodge at age 16 years old, paddled her way from the world-renowned Cheema Aquatic Club to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.Ann attended Acadia in the 80s and then graduate work at UNB to finally return home to Acadia as a faculty member of the School of Kinesiology. Dodge is an advocate for equity in sport in Canada.

Acadia offers student-athletes an opportunity to grow as a person by combining academics, athletics, and community engagement like no other university in Canada. Acadia University, nestled in the heart of the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, complements the landscape of over 200 years of farming. One of only a handful of small Universities remaining in Canada, it's student-athlete population is nearly 10% of the institution's enrolment.

Credited with creating the men's volleyball team at Acadia in the late 1980's, Tracey McGillivray did so while a student-athlete at Acadia. Not only did she play for the Axewomen, but she also put her organizational talents to work in creating the men's team.In her life that followed, Tracey specialized in global operations, business development and account management. As a Vice-President and General Manager, she led the Managed Services divisions of two multinational corporations to the top of the technology services industry as measured by market analysts. Tracey recently retired from the position of Vice-President of Information Technology with Rogers Communications.

Mike Chiasson was an Axemen until graduation in 2011. Following his time as a student-athlete, Mike explored coaching and eventually joined the Axemen coaching staff as an assistant coach. Following his time with the Axemen as an assistant, Mike began working with the Pittsburgh Penguins' Hockey Development and Programming as a Manager of Youth Hockey and Goalie Development Professional.Len and Eric chat with Mike about his time at Acadia as a student-athlete and as a coach and what keeps him busy now in Pittsburgh.

From Acadia University's Class of 1969, Jim Prime has authored over 20 books that primarily focused on baseball and his beloved Red Sox.Len and Eric chat with Jim about his time at Acadia and his passion for writing about baseball.