A Fighting Chance with Josh Hagen

In the thirteenth episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with Canadian judoka and long time friend Frazer Will. Frazer won the 2006 and 2007 Pan American Judo Championships, and placed 7th in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After retiring from Judo, Frazer moved back to his home Province of Saskatchewan where he now operates multiple successful businesses.  

If you don’t recognize him by name, you’ll surely recognize the sound of his voice. In the twelfth episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with iconic Canadian Sports Reporter, Steve Armitage. He was the voice on television during Hockey Night in Canada for the Vancouver Canucks broadcasts for nearly 30 years. As well as the Canadian Football League and Grey Cup for about 30 years too. Armitage also worked with the CBC to host the 2007 FIFA World Cup. Not to mention the 2008 Olympics for skating, as well as 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics for events such as speed skating, swimming and diving.

In the eleventh episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with eating disorder recovery advocate as well as author and founder of Running in Silence, Racheal Steil. Steil has been coaching for nine years now. She is committed to empowering the athletic community to talk about eating disorders by educating coaches, parents, and athletes about this topic. Since sharing her first blog post in 2012 about her own experience struggling with eating disorders as a track athlete, Steil has inspired countless athletes to stop suffering in silence, speak out, and seek help.   

As a coach himself, Josh appreciates learning all about developing recreational and competitive athletes of all ages. We hope you do too! Because in the tenth episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen talks everything about coaching with Peter Gardiner. Gardiner was recognized as one of the best junior coaches in the world in 2005 by IJF Education. The head coach of Denmark for five years, he presented the video 101 judo games, and has been the director of Sportif based out of Scotland for the past 20 years. With a resume like that, who better to talk with about innovative coaching strategies?

In the ninth episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with “Canadian Gun Slinger”, Shady El Nahas. Excitement always surrounds the 24 year old judokas matches. The passion he brings onto the mats at every competition, his powerful technique and signature hip throws have brought him a lot of success in the sport. El Nahas is a three time Pan American Champion, CommonWealth Games Champion and participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. In today’s podcast, he speaks with the young athlete about his experiences thus far in his athletic career and also learns a little more about his recent experience on the French reality tv show, Ile de l’Amour.

In the eighth episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with former Canadian short track speed skater from Yellowknife, Michael Gilday. Michael went on to represent Canada on the World Cup circuit for a number of years, attending a total of 48 World Cups throughout his career. After barely missing the spot on the Vancouver Winter Games team in 2010, he made the olympic in 2014 for the Sochi Winter Games. More recently, he was inducted into the Sport North Hall of Fame and was the on air analyst for the CBC Sportsnet TSN at the PyeongChang and Beijing Olympics. After retiring from competitive sport, Gilday continues to contribute his time at the local rink in Yellowknife, Helping to develop and mentor both grassroots and competitive level athletes.

In the seventh episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with “OG Online Video Content Creator for Judo”, Matt D’Aquino. D’Aquino is a two time Australian judo champion, gold medalist at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and represented Australia in both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, as well as the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. By coaching and posting technical judo related videos across his social media platforms, D’Aquino has built an empire that has reached many people around the world and helped improve their quality of judo.

In the sixth episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with Canadian reporter, broadcaster and Olympic Artistic Swimmer, Karin Larsen. Josh had the honour of being able to call Karen a coworker during his time working as an on air analyst for the 2020 Olympic Games for the CBC Sportsnet and TSN. Larsen participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics, was inducted into the BC Swimming Hall of Fame in 2001 and in the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

In the fifth episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with personal performance coach, national level choreographer for figure skating and cofounder of Skating for Success, Jadene Ferriera. Ferriera holds a degree in psychology and was awarded the coach achievement award from Skate Canada in 2018. Her passion for art, dance, and music was able to develop into a career in which she built the stellar reputation as one of North America’s most in demand Figure Skating Coaches.

In the fourth episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen had the opportunity to speak with Rezayee (not once, but twice). At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the world met Afghanistan's first female Olympian. Her name is Friba Rezayee, and she competed in Judo. The discussion follows her journey with judo, the impact her participation in the Olympic Games had, her pursuit of education here in Canada, how that education empowered her and how education continues to empower Afghan girls even after the Taliban took over once again.

Click the link below if you are interested in supporting Friba and this amazing mouvement.  

I hope you're ready to learn all about the science and statistics that makes up judo at the international level. Today in the third episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with performance analyst and creator of JudoData Emidio Centracchio. Centracchio is a former high level judoka who holds a PhD in physical education and sports science. He previously worked as the Italian’s team performance analyst before launching JudoData, a website used by Judo Federations across the world to analyse fights at the international level. JudoData revolutionised a new way of thinking about and viewing judo.  

In the second episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with well known Dene artist Antoine Mountain. Antoine is a writer, social activist and is currently working towards a PhD from Trent University. His powerful memoir From Bear Rock Mountain: The Life and Times of a Dene Residential School Survivor, describes his experiences as a victim of cultural genocide and the failed attempt to destroy indigenous peoples at the hands of the church and Canadian government. In today's podcast we continue this important discussion.  

In the first episode of A Fighting Chance, host Josh Hagen speaks with Canadian Volleyball legend Paul Duerden. He played professionally for 15 years competing for the Canadian Men's National team from 1993 to 2008. Once considered the best volleyball player in the world, he is now CEO of InnoSoft Canada Inc. Josh was introduced to Paul while working as an on air analyst for the 2020 Olympic Games for the CBC Sportsnet and TSN. The two waste no time before jumping into a discussion about identity and their struggles with identity after retiring from competitive sport.