The Ankermann family, united by a love for baseball, not only shares a passion for the game, but for learning and giving back to their community.
Dave Ankermann (Engineering Design and Drafting Technology 1993, Agriculture Technology 1988) grew up on a dairy farm outside of Iron Springs, Alta. After marrying his wife Katie, Dave shifted from agriculture to pursue his true passion. Dave enjoyed drawing when he was young and enrolled at then-Lethbridge Community College for engineering. During this time, Dave and Katie also welcomed their eldest son, Mitchell (Civil Engineering Technology 2014, Engineering Design and Drafting Technology 2013).
Dave says he vividly remembers the day Mitchell was born, as it was the same day as a trigonometry exam. Running on little to no sleep, he approached his instructor and asked to take the exam another day. Initially, the answer was no, but when Dave explained, his instructor immediately said not to worry and that he could take the exam another time. “I still laugh when I talk about that,” Dave says.
After graduation, Dave spent 27 years working for a well-known Lethbridge architect, and in 2021 started his own business, Dave Ankermann Drafting Services. Dave and Katie also grew their family, welcoming sons Nicholas (Exercise Science 2016) and Lukas (who attended the University of Lethbridge).
Growing up, Dave recalls having little time for anything outside of farm work. So, as a father, he wanted his sons to be involved in activities that showed the importance of gratitude, respect and responsibility. Mitchell started playing baseball at age five and Nicholas and Lukas followed as soon as they could. All three would eventually play for the Lethbridge Prairie Baseball Academy (PBA).
Inspired by his dad, Mitchell enrolled in the polytechnic’s engineering program. During this time, he also played three years for the PBA from 2010 to 2013. “I think all three of us learned valuable lessons at PBA,” Mitchell says. “I wouldn’t say I was even really an athlete until I started playing college baseball. Like, yeah, I was a baseball player, but until you get there you don’t really realize what else goes into sports …the work you have to put in.”
Influenced by his older brother, Nicholas enrolled in the polytechnic’s Exercise Science program and played for the PBA as a student-athlete. After completing his diploma, he furthered his education and time on the field at Eastern New Mexico University.
When their careers as baseball players came to a close, their time at Lethbridge Polytechnic provided the foundation for what came next. Mitchell is a certified engineering technologist, and Nicholas is a physiotherapy and occupational therapy assistant.
“There’s always the risk of spending thousands [of dollars] to go to post-secondary only to graduate and do something completely different,” says Dave. “But, when something you enjoy is made possible by post-secondary, it makes the journey that much more satisfying.”
The Ankermann family remains involved in baseball and the Lethbridge community. Mitchell and Nicholas coach at Catholic Central High School, are members of the PBA Alumni Association Board and continue to do their part in contributing to the PBA’s ongoing success. Nicholas is also head coach for the Lethbridge American Legion Miners Baseball team. In 2014, the 2011 Lethbridge Giants team, for which Mitchell played, was inducted into the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame. The Ankermanns’ youngest son Lukas has also spent time coaching at Catholic Central High School, and with Lethbridge Little League and Lethbridge American Legion Baseball.
“It’s nice to be able to pay it back,” reflects Nicholas. “All the years of coaching that I’ve had, to pay it back to the younger kids in high school who are still wanting to learn and develop and who have the same goal that I had of going down to the U.S. to play post-secondary baseball.”
The Ankermanns also created the annual Field of Screams Halloween event – a haunted house at Spitz Stadium that helps fund player scholarships – and the Ankermann Family Scholarship, which supports student-athletes in pursuit of their dreams, on and off the field.
