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&apos;s basketball games and she has been known to officiate men&apos;s games as well. She also is on the officiating crew of the NBL.

Acadia Athletics's Axe Report Podcast

The AxeCast - Ep. 11 - Season 2 - Former Basketball Axette Jen Lloyd

Named the 2016 AUS Community Service Award winner for Men&apos;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.

The AxeCast - Ep. 10 - Season 2 - Former Basketball Axeman Shaquille Smith

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.

The AxeCast - Ep. 9 - Season 2 - Former football head coach Sonny Wolfe

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.

The AxeCast - Ep. 8 - Season 2 - Former Basketball/Football Axeman Sean Stoqua

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&apos;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.

The AxeCast - Ep. 7 - Season 2 - Former Basketball Axewoman Jasmine Parent

Lindsay Harris was among a group of Horton High School basketball grads that changed the landscape of the Acadia women&apos;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.

The AxeCast - Ep. 6 - Season 2 - Former Basketball Axewoman Lindsay Harris

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&apos;s many great female athletes.

The AxeCast - Ep. 5 - Season 2 - Former Soccer Axette Wendi Wells

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&apos;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&apos;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.

The AxeCast - Ep. 4 - Season 2 - Former Football Axeman Kevin Garbuio

A graduate of the Acadia University and the men&apos;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&apos;s impact on the basketball program during his time at Acadia is seen by his selfless leadership as the program&apos;s leading single season in assists and third in career assists.

The AxeCast - Ep. 3 - Season 2 - Former Basketball Axeman Savior (Saj) Joseph

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.

The AxeCast - Ep. 2 - Season 2 - Former Axettes swimmer Jill (Taylor) Leon

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&apos;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.

The AxeCast - Ep. 1 - Season 2 - Former Hockey Axeman Greg Clancy

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&apos;s scoring. Mike leads the league in points, while teammate Remy is third in points.

The AxeCast - Episode 30 - Former Hockey Axemen Mike Cazzola and Remy Giftopoulos

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.

The AxeCast - Episode 29 - Former Basketball Axewomen Allie Berry & Haley McDonald

From Port Hood, NS, Bruce wasn&apos;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. 

The AxeCast - Episode 28 - Former Football Axeman Bruce Beaton

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&apos;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

The AxeCast - Episode 27 - Former Basketball Axeman Steve Konchalski

Join Len Hawley as he chats with those involved in Acadia Athletics including coaches, student-athletes and community members.

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Acadia Athletics's Axe Report Podcast

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