Age: 39
Occupation: Co-owner and founder, Athletic Edge; Assistant coach and strength trainer, CTA West Basketball; Safety advisor, Propak
After his 12-year career with the Canadian Armed Forces, Ian Cantelo returned to Calgary in 2014 yearning for a sense of community. Coaching basketball at Western Canada High School was a good start, but he wanted to establish something of his own. So, he and former pro football player Lance Milton launched Athletic Edge, an athlete-development program. What began as just six participants training in a rental gym has grown into 400-plus athletes of varying ages and sports stepping up their game in Athletic Edge’s own facility every month.
The program takes athletes’ academic performance as seriously as their sporting goals, keeping tabs on participants’ grades to ensure they are set up for success when it comes to competing at a post-secondary level. “I love that I get to be a mentor in young athletes’ lives, and help to push them in the right direction,” Cantelo says.
Raised by a single mother in northeast Calgary, Cantelo understands that not everyone has access to the high-quality athletic training necessary to excel in their sport, and aims to make Athletic Edge’s programming as accessible as possible to those in need. Additionally, he works full-time as a safety advisor for Propak and coaches basketball at Canada Topflight Academy (CTA) West. Between CTA West and Athletic Edge, Cantelo has helped more than 125 athletes secure post-secondary scholarships.
In his time with the military and in sport, Cantelo has dedicated himself to serving others (in 2011, he was awarded the Sacrifice Medal for injuries sustained in combat while in Afghanistan). He has also been the honorary coin-tosser for Calgary’s high school City Championship football games for six consecutive years. “I just try to be an active member of my community and have a positive impact on as many people as I can,” Cantelo says.
Thank yous
“The brothers from Athletic Edge, CTA WEST and the greater Calgary athletics community; Lance, Adam and Lee, and Cooch; the Army for taking a boy with a chip on his shoulder and turning him into a man, a leader and someone with purpose; to Mom, Emry and Poppy (thank you for the opportunity to be your dado) and Alana.”
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