Athletic Development Team

Alex Potts

Alex has been a Sports Scientist since 2010 after graduating from Liverpool John Moores University in the UK with his Bachelor of Science Degree, focussing on the physical and physiological demands of Football. He then went on to complete his Master's degree in Strength and Conditioning at the University of Teesside as well as his Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Nutrition with the International Olympic Committee.

Alex has extensive experience working with professional footballers and elite-level youth players. Before moving to Canada, Alex worked as the Lead Academy Sports Scientist for Middlesbrough Football Club in England for six years, overseeing the Sports Science program for their Premier League Academy. Day to day, Alex predominantly worked with the club's U23 team, playing an essential role in the Athletic Development of many young players that have gone on to play professionally in Europe.

In 2018 Alex moved to Canada to become the Head of Sports Science for Cavalry FC and Calgary Foothills Soccer Club. As well as being the Director of Athletic Development at Elite, Alex continues to be the Head of Sports Science for Cavalry FC.

Alex is passionate about the Athletic Development of professional and aspiring young players. His unique qualifications and experience enable him to prepare players physically for the increased demands they will face in the next stage of their careers.

 

Chase Wetherell

After graduating in 2014 from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, majoring in exercise and health Physiology, Chase has been honing his skills as a strength and conditioning coach. He has extensive experience working with athletes from all backgrounds ranging from soccer and hockey to martial arts. Growing up, he spent his time playing soccer and participating in Kickboxing. He was awarded his black belt from the International Kickboxing Federation in 2014.

In 2019, Chase received the opportunity to live, work and fully immerse himself in the world of Track and Field with the world-famous team at ALTIS in Phoenix, Arizona. At ALTIS, he assisted world-class sprinters and their coaches in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Chase continues to evolve and apply the knowledge he gained during this experience to help his athletes develop better mechanics in acceleration, top speed, and overall running while assisting them in transferring those skills to their specific sport.

Professionally, Chase’s experience helping athletes return to activity from injury and helping build robust, strong athletes in the long term is second to none. Today, Chase works as a Manager of Athletic Development at Elite, helping to develop Olympic hopefuls and high-level soccer players across Alberta.

 

Carla Vandenberg

Carla is an Exercise Physiologist who loves working in youth sports. She is passionate about empowering young athletes through Strength and Conditioning to support successful Athletic Development but also to help build solid foundations for continued sport and activity participation into adulthood.

Originally from Ottawa, Carla grew up playing soccer and rugby before moving to Nova Scotia to complete her Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics at St. Francis Xavier University. During her undergraduate degree, she played on the Women’s Rugby team and worked as a student athletic therapist with the Women’s Soccer team.

After graduating from St.FX, she moved to Calgary to complete her Master of Science in Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. Shortly after, she obtained her Clinical Exercise Physiologist and High Performance Specialization certifications through the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.

In addition to working as a Lead Athletic Development Coach at Elite, Carla is currently completing her PhD at the University of Calgary, where she is studying the menstrual cycle in female athletes. She also works as a researcher in sports injury prevention, supporting youth sports studies and running professional development workshops on neuromuscular training programs for coaches and teachers across Canada. She has had the opportunity to collaborate with researchers internationally, including through presentations at the International Olympic Committee conferences.

 

Benjamin Beirens

Benjamin graduated in 2014 from Ghent University in Belgium with his Bachelor of Science and Master’s of Science in Physical Education and Movement Science. During his studies, he also obtained his UEFA B coaching licence from the Royal Belgian Football association. Subsequently, Benjamin worked at the Flemish Trainer School where he managed and organized courses for soccer and basketball coaches. This experience allowed him to gain essential knowledge on how to improve not only others, but also his own coaching skills.

After moving to Switzerland in 2016, Benjamin worked as a teacher and manager at the Klewenalp Swiss Ski School. This provided him with skills to teach in an open, more challenging environment where safety and injury prevention was essential. As a junior researcher at the Swiss Paraplegic Research where he worked during the summer seasons, Benjamin applied his scientific knowledge to improve injury prevention in individuals with spinal cord injury, further underscoring his interest of using an evidence based approach in daily life and sports. Injury prevention remains a key focus that Benjamin values and applies throughout his coaching sessions.

Benjamin has coached at high level youth soccer clubs in both Belgium and Switzerland. In Switzerland, he was also responsible for the soccer specific athletic development of his teams.

Benjamin has been a Lead Athletic Development Coach at Elite since he moved to Calgary in 2020. His other passions include snowboarding, skiing, cycling and golf.

 

Erika Vecchio

After a successful 5 year soccer career at MacEwan University whilst studying psychology in the Bachelor of Arts program, Erika decided to broaden her understanding of sport science by obtaining her personal training certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She has since worked extensively with all age groups of athletes and players from differing sports. The bulk of her work comes in the form of physical conditioning and technical sessions for young soccer players looking to take their game to the next level. She has used her personal experience in sport to help young athletes hone their skills and strengths individually as well as in a team setting.

Erika also has an extensive coaching background dating back to 2014 which included mentor coaching for the Alberta Soccer Association. As well as being a Lead Athletic Development Coach for Elite at our St. Albert location, she works as an assistant coach for MacEwan University. She continues her playing career serving as a midfielder for St. Albert Impact FC UWS team.

Erika is passionate about not only helping youth athletes obtain their goals but making sure they have a positive and safe training environment to grow within. She believes in creating an engaging training environment in which players can improve upon their strength, agility, conditioning or any facet of sport science that will allow them to reach their full potential within their respective sports.