Shani Davis
US Olympic Long Track Speed Skater – Olympic Gold Medallist and World Record Holder
Shani Davis has won gold in the 1,000 and silver in the 1,500 in back-to-back Olympics (2006 and 2010). He has set a total of eight world records and still holds three of those world records including the 1,000m (1:06.42), the 1,500m (1:41.04) and 145.742 points (all around points total). He has won six World Single Distance Championships titles, nine career Overall World Cup titles, two World Allround Championships and one World Sprint Championship. Derek Hansen currently provides dry-land training expertise to Shani during the off-season in preparation for the 2014 Olympics in Socchi, Russia.
BMX Canada
National Team – Olympic Development and Preparation
We are currently providing Strength and Conditioning Services to the BMX division of the Canadian Cycling Association, working with all of their top National Team athletes. Under the supervision of Head Coach, Ken Cools, great strides are being made in improving the overall strength, power and speed of these BMX athletes.
Benicio Del Toro
Academy Award Winning Actor
Derek Hansen has had 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. Derek has worked with Benicio on location in both Spain and Puerto Rico on the Che Guevera biopics Guerilla and The Argentine. More recently, Derek was working on location with Benicio in Detroit for Jimmy P. and in Panama for Paradise Lost. To find out more about Benicio and his work, visit www.beniciodeltoro.com.
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.
Nathan Taylor
Canadian 100m Sprinter – 2006 Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist – 4×100m Relay
Nathan was one of the top 100m sprinters in Canada, placing 8th at the 2006 Canadian Championships. His time of 10.36 seconds ranked 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 2006. This was Canada’s first relay medal at a major games since 1997.
Gael Mackie
Canadian Olympic Gymnast – 2004 Athens Olympics
Gael was 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.
Charlotte Mackie
Canadian Gymnast – 2007 Pan Am Games Bronze Medallist
Charlotte followed closely in the steps of her older sister, Gael. At age 14, Charlotte made her mark on the national and international scene, with a bronze medal in the Pan Am Games held in Brazil. Charlotte made 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.
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.
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.
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 served as a recruiting coach for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, testing and recruiting some of Canada’s top talent from British Columbia. Significant efforts were 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 consulted 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/Facilitator
Derek Hansen has been an instructor with the NCI Vancouver and the NCCP program 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).
