Athletic Performance
The goal of William Penn Athletic Performance is to serve student-athletes and the Athletic Department by providing innovative training programs that are specific to the demands of each sport, keeping in mind the mission of the University, specifically involving leadership and the Quaker principles. The progress that our department has made over a short time has been a direct result of the support from sport coaches, administration of the WPU Athletic Department, as well as support from the entire campus community. The atmosphere surrounding our program is reflected by the commitment and work ethic of our athletes, which is something that we as strength coaches have accepted as a norm for the training of our sports programs. A culture has been created to be a leading athletic performance program that can continue to be a NAIA competitor at the national level.
Our department has three primary goals when working with student-athletes:
1. Positively Impact the Lives of Student-Athletes
We treat each day as an opportunity to develop the character of student-athletes by holding them accountable using discipline and responsibility in a fun, yet competitive team environment. We also educate the importance of healthy lifestyle choices, including proper nutrition and rest and recovery habits, students can use beyond their short time as competitive athletes.
2. Prevent Injuries
During training we stress the importance of using safe and correct technique to decrease the chances of injury during preparation for the competitive season. Our programs are also designed to minimize injuries that occur during sport practice and competition. This includes correcting imbalances, strengthening problem areas (hip girdle/knee stability, low back/torso strength and stability, shoulder girdle strength and stability, posterior chain strength, and dynamic flexibility). By including general physical preparation and sport-specific conditioning, we also decrease risk of injury by asking athletes to adapt to the demands of their sport. Injuries will always occur, but athletes that are well prepared will recover faster and get back to competition much quicker.
3. Enhance Sport Performance
We implement a proper periodized training program that focuses not only on particular muscle groups but movement of the entire body. Keeping the demands of the sport in mind, our training will encompass strength, power, conditioning, flexibility, linear speed, lateral speed, and change of direction.
Our department has three primary goals when working with student-athletes:
1. Positively Impact the Lives of Student-Athletes
We treat each day as an opportunity to develop the character of student-athletes by holding them accountable using discipline and responsibility in a fun, yet competitive team environment. We also educate the importance of healthy lifestyle choices, including proper nutrition and rest and recovery habits, students can use beyond their short time as competitive athletes.
2. Prevent Injuries
During training we stress the importance of using safe and correct technique to decrease the chances of injury during preparation for the competitive season. Our programs are also designed to minimize injuries that occur during sport practice and competition. This includes correcting imbalances, strengthening problem areas (hip girdle/knee stability, low back/torso strength and stability, shoulder girdle strength and stability, posterior chain strength, and dynamic flexibility). By including general physical preparation and sport-specific conditioning, we also decrease risk of injury by asking athletes to adapt to the demands of their sport. Injuries will always occur, but athletes that are well prepared will recover faster and get back to competition much quicker.
3. Enhance Sport Performance
We implement a proper periodized training program that focuses not only on particular muscle groups but movement of the entire body. Keeping the demands of the sport in mind, our training will encompass strength, power, conditioning, flexibility, linear speed, lateral speed, and change of direction.
