Steve Larsen
Canadian Olympic Bobsleigh Athlete – 2006 Torino Olympics
Steve was a member of the 2006 Canadian Winter Olympics Team that competed in Torino, Italy in the Four-Man Bobsleigh competition. The Canada-Two sled that Steve pushed finished 17th overall in the Olympics. Steve has competed at a world class level in bobsleigh for both of the two years he has participated in the sport. Previously, Steve competed as a 100m and 200m sprinter, capturing the provincial 100m championship for three consecutive years (2002, 2003 and 2004) in BC. He has placed in the top 10 at the National Track and Field Championships for a number of years in both the 100m and 200m. Steve is currently working hard, under the supervision of Derek Hansen, to make a gold-medal charge for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver in bobsleigh.
Nathan Taylor
Canadian 100m Sprinter – 2006 Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist – 4×100m Relay
Nathan is one of the top 100m sprinters in Canada, placing 8th at the recent Canadian Championships. His time of 10.36 seconds ranks him 7th overall in the 100m event in Canada. Nathan was also a member of the bronze medal winning 4×100m relay team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne, Australia in March. This was Canada’s first relay medal at a major games since 1997. Nathan is working towards the 100m and 4×100m relay events for the 2008 Olympics to be held in Beijing, China. In 2007, Nathan will be working towards the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro and the World Track and Field Championships in Osaka, Japan.
Benicio Del Toro
Academy Award Winning Actor
Derek Hansen has the pleasure of working with one of the hardest working actors of our generation. Benicio Del Toro trained in Vancouver for nine weeks during pre-production and production of the Dreamworks film, Things We Lost in the Fire, in which he starred opposite Halle Berry. More recently, Derek has worked with Benicio on location in both Spain and Puerto Rico on the Che Guevera biopics Guerilla and The Argentine, respectively. To find out more about Benicio and his work, visit www.beniciodeltoro.com.
Gael Mackie
Canadian Olympic Gymnast – 2004 Athens Olympics
Gael is one of the leading female athletes in Canadian gymnastics. She won the Canadian national championships at age 14 and, despite some challenges with injury, was selected to represent Canada in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Gael also competed for Canada in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. She is working hard with Derek Hansen in an effort to improve her overall strength and power. Her goal is to compete among the best in the world in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. For more information on Gael and her many accomplishments, visit her website at www.gaelmackie.net.
Charlotte Mackie
Canadian Gymnast – 2007 Pan Am Games Bronze Medallist
Charlotte is following closely in the steps of her older sister, Gael. At age 14, Charlotte is making her mark on the national and international scene, with a bronze medal in the recent Pan Am Games held in Brazil. Charlotte is making significant gains in strength and power every week. Other athletes in the weight room — football and basketball players to name a few — are amazed at Charlotte’s strength given her size and weight. You can find out more about Charlotte at Gael’s website at www.gaelmackie.net/charlotte.htm.
Mia Kirshner
Actress and Writer
Mia Kirshner is a talented actress and writer who is currently working on the series The L-Word, which shoots primarily in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Derek Hansen worked with Mia on her running technique, as well as her general speed, strength and endurance to assist her with her recreational running pursuits.
Jennifer Beals
Actress
Jennifer Beals enlisted the help of Derek Hansen to assist with the running component of her triathlon training. When not working as an actress on the cast of The L-Word, Jennifer works hard training her individual disciplines of open water swimming, running and cycling.
Mike Giuffre
Canadian 100m Sprinter – BC Junior 100m Champion
Mike is the reigning 2006 100m BC Under-20 Champion, capturing the Provincial title in 10.87 seconds. Although Mike has only been seriously training in the 100m for the last two seasons, he has shown incredible promise. His times have improved significantly each year and his full potential is yet to be seen. Mike will be working toward an exceptional result in the 2007 Western Canada Summer Games and the 2009 Canada Games which brings together the largest collection of Canada’s future Olympic hopefuls.
Adam Braidwood
Edmonton Eskimos Defensive End – 2006 No. 1 CFL Draft Pick
In just his first season in the CFL, Adam Braidwood has quickly shown that he is one of the top defensive players in the league. After a successful career in the NCAA with the Washington State Cougars, Adam was the selected as the first overall pick in the 2006 CFL draft by the Edmonton Eskimos. After only a few games, Adam was thrust into the starting Defensive End position and did not disappoint. Much of Adam’s development as an elite performer has been under the watchful eye one of the Pacific Northwest’s top football specialists, Robert Holland of The Program. Derek Hansen has assisted with Adam and Robert to provide expertise in the area of speed development.
Charles Wlodarczak
Canadian Skeleton Athlete – 2006/2007 Americas Cup Team
Charles was a top provincial sprinter in British Columbia and has now made the jump to the winter sport of Skeleton. Charles has recently qualified for the Americas Cup Team for Canada which competes throughout North America. He is working diligently towards the goal of making the Canadian team for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
Players’ Edge
On-Line Performance Training Services
Players’ Edge designs Truly Personalized sport-specific training programs for athletes. Players’ Edge programs are designed to improve your strength, conditioning, speed, agility and balance. They are created by professional strength and conditioning coaches and are based on years of scientific research and empirical work with athletes in every sport. The Players’ Edge approach has proven successful for amateur athletes and professional athletes such as future NHL Hall-of-Famer, Luc Robitaille.
Derek Hansen is currently providing Players Edge with expertise for their interactive on-line training resources in the area of speed development. Find out more about Players’ Edge at www.playersedge.net.
Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton
National Recruiting Coach – British Columbia Region
Derek Hansen serves as a recruiting coach for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, testing and recruiting some of Canada’s top talent from British Columbia. Significant effort has been made to encourage BC athletes to participate in the development of Bobsleigh and Skeleton athletes in anticipation of the 2010 Olympics in British Columbia. Derek also consults with many of the BC-based bobsleigh and skeleton on their training. For more information on Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, visit www.bobsleigh.ca.
National Coaching Institute – Vancouver, Canada
Instructor – Level 4/5 Programs – Physical Prep and Recovery/Regeneration
Derek Hansen has been an instructor with the NCI Vancouver since 2001. His expertise in the area of athlete development has been passed on to coaches from all sports – both summer and winter. Many of the coaches who have participated in the NCI Vancouver program have gone on to top coaching positions throughout Canada and the world. Not only does Derek provide instruction to the NCI Vancouver’s regularly scheduled sessions, he also serves as a consultant that travels to sporting groups across British Columbia to provide concentrated instruction in the the area of Physical Prep (Task 2) and Recover & Regeneration (Task 6). For more information in the NCI program in British Columbia, visit web.uvic.ca/coach.
