Lawrence Steinke

Head Coach Lawrence Steinke is a distinguished figure in track and field. He is one of only a handful of nationally certified Level V coaches in Canada across all sports and has been involved in track and field for over 45years. He has been named High-Performance Coach of the Year a record seven times. He is also the University of Lethbridge Pronghorn Head Coach and Under his leadership, Pronghorn student-athletes have won more than 55 U SPORTS Championship medals, 100 Canada West Championship medals and have set six Canada West and U SPORTS records. He has been part of the Canadian National Team Program for over 25 years. Athletes he has coached have earned 15 Olympic team qualifications, and he has coached at six Olympic Games and nine World Championships. His athletes have secured numerous international medals, two world records, seven Canadian records, over 50 provincial records and numerous Canadian National Championship medals.

As an athlete, Steinke was mentored by some of the best coaches in the world, including George Gemer during his university career, where he was a successful multi-event athlete. He excelled as a hurdler and long/triple jumper, later becoming a multiple national team member and national champion in javelin. He was named Athletics Alberta’s Outstanding Athlete of the Year and was nominated for this award numerous times during his career. He won 28 provincial championships in javelin, shot put and jumping events during his tenure as an athlete.

Well-respected by athletes and coaches, he is known for his motto:

“There is no failure but in ceasing to try.”