Committed to enriching the lives of Albertans with an intellectual disability through sport.

Team of The Year

Edmonton Tigers
Award: Team of the Year
Meet the team
Back row, from left: Conrad Clement (Head Coach), Ryan Dowling, Gordon MacIntyre, Brent Toner, Zachariah Stewart-Kruize, Nathan Palace, Jesse Bouchard, Dan McLaughlin (Associate Coach)
Front row, from left: Joel Carson, Alex Spencer, Justin Driscoll, Eileen Mooney, Thomas McLaughlin, Jordan Deren, Amanda Trenchard (Associate Coach)

All about the team
We caught up with Head Coach Conrad Clement and asked him a few questions about the team

How long have the Edmonton Tigers been together?
I’ve coached several of the athletes for 7 years. The entire team came together the year of qualifiers so we’ve been a consistent unit for 3 full years. From October 2017 to July 2018, the team trained together 3 times per week. We have competed in the following major competitions together:
Edmonton Qualifier 2016
Provincial Summer Games Medicine Hat 2017 (Gold Medal)
National Summer Games Antigonish, Nova Scotia (Bronze Medal)

How would you describe the culture of the team? How do the players show sportsmanship?
The team bonded well. The players are supportive of one another and always put the team’s success ahead of their personal interest. We always had fun at practices, conditioning and team events
What were a few of the top moments the team experienced at nationals?
The top moment at Nationals is when I realized after the first day of competition that the playing formation (2-3-1) we utilized over the past year would not prove successful against the top teams from Ontario and British Columbia. We held a team meeting one night to inform the players that the Striker model they we’re accustomed to needed to change and we introduced a Sweeper/Stopper role (1-2-3 formation). Following the team meeting, we headed to the soccer field at 8 pm and demonstrated how the positioning would flow. The players adjusted quickly to the new player formation during the next day’s competition and this change was instrumental in the team winning the Bronze medal.Another key moment occurred when one of our defenders sprained his ankle and a player who previously played as striker replaced the injured defender solidifying our defense for the balance of the tournament.Finally, the team competed in in extreme temperatures averaging 38 degrees Celsius.

Learn more about the athletes
To learn more about the amazing athletes on the Edmonton Tigers, you can visit the Team Alberta roster HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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