Prairie Speedworks didn't start as a performance training company. It started in 2010, on the track in Neepawa, Manitoba — and in the hallways and gym through the winter months. A small group of multi-sport athletes with a keen interest in track and field, only a few of them hockey players, became the founding group of Prairie Storm Athletics: a track and field club built from nothing but a handful of kids and a coach willing to figure it out.
A Club Bigger Than Anyone Expected
Over the next several years, Prairie Storm Athletics grew into something none of us saw coming when it started. Athletes began traveling from all over western Manitoba to train with the club, which eventually reached roughly 25 full-time athletes, training 48 weeks a year. The club became known provincially and nationally, with athletes reaching the podium across nearly every event on the board — the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1200m, 1500m, long jump, high jump, triple jump, and relays.
Provincially: gold in the 100m, 200m, 400m, high jump, triple jump, and 4x100m relay — with silver and bronze finishes across the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1200m, 1500m, high jump, triple jump, long jump, and relays.
Many of those athletes went on to compete at the university level — Oregon State, the University of Alberta, the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Manitoba, and the University of New Brunswick, among others. Some chose to play university hockey instead, stepping away from the opportunities they'd earned in track and field. One former athlete made Canada's national bobsled team after switching sports entirely, post-university.
Somewhere along the way, coaches and parents outside the club started asking a different question — not about track, but about athletic development and performance. Whenever we could, we worked with athletes from other sports on speed, biomechanics, and energy system development. Looking back, that was the first sign of what Prairie Speedworks would eventually become.
The Pivot
As my own kids grew up, running a full-time track and field club at the level it demanded stopped being realistic. Then the pandemic hit, and organized track and field disappeared in Manitoba for close to two years.
During that stretch, whenever it was possible, I kept training athletes — just not for track and field specifically. That's where Prairie Speedworks was actually born: not as a rebrand, but as what was left once everything else was stripped away. We officially launched in 2022.
Where We Are Now
Our roots are in track and field, and we're proud of them. But running a track club full-time was never going to be sustainable long-term — and Prairie Speedworks was always meant to be something broader anyway.
Today, we work with 30 to 60 athletes a year, across rugby, hockey, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, and basketball. Some are just starting out in youth sports. Others are playing in the WHL, BCHL, MJHL, NCAA, U Sports, or professionally. We train one-on-one, in small groups, and with teams.
Prairie Speedworks is more than speed development. It's biomechanics. It's strength. It's power — built not just on the track, but in the gym, with weights and medicine balls and everything in between. It's a holistic, long-term approach to athletic development, because that's what actually lasts.
“I keep doing this because it's who I am. Working with athletes isn't work — it's a passion, and it's about the relationships it creates that last a lifetime. I've had the chance to work with some athletes from the time they're 12 until they're 20 or even older, and they become like family. I run into former athletes and catch up, and it's rewarding.”
— Coach K, Founder, Prairie Speedworks