PHILL WILKE WEARS MANY HATS.
He's Concordia Lutheran's assistant AD, strength and conditioning coordinator and was named the school's Teacher of the Year.
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Wilke, who has certification through the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association), also has a Masters in Fitness and Human Performance.
Wilke started at Concordia back in 1998 and has seen the strength and conditioning focus increase dramatically.
The primary weight room located off the track and stadium complex is 2400-square-feet with ten power racks, dumbbells and other equipment, while an additional indoor weight room adds seven more power racks and a rehab area utilized by the athletic training program.
"It's grown exponentially," he said of the focus on conditioning. "The new weight room has been a game-changer. It allows us to make the most of our time as we get four teams through a great workout in an hour and thirty minutes during out athletic period.
Concordia's strength and conditioning program strives to develop its athletes to be faster, stronger, and more resilient, both mentally and physically. Through training in strength and conditioning, the Crusaders are better prepared to handle the demands of the sport they play and avoid injuries.
His philosophy seems spot on for today's athlete.
"Our biggest goal is to 'bullet proof' our athletes," he said. "We are trying to make our athletes as strong as possible in a way that they can play games without getting injured. We want to keep them on the field through injury-prevention training.
"In the offseason, we don't want to play we are today, but the way we can be when the season starts. We want to build and build and build to be at their best when we start our seasons."
The Crusaders have bought into Wilke's program.
"Every day we walk into the weight room, we preach the fact that we aren't competing against each other, but the man or woman in the mirror," he said.
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