MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- In pursuit of building a campus of champions and dedication to enhancing the student-athlete experience, the North Central University (NCU) Athletics department proudly partnered in August of 2018 with Team EXOS, a strength and conditioning organization that trains athletes at various levels including professional, collegiate, and high school, to reach their full potential and achieve more in their respective sport. The relationship was initially built following the partnership between NCU Athletics and Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine. The two organizations feed off each other to provide several types of training and resources to athletes, such as nutrition, strength and conditioning, and mental preparedness.

Team EXOS was founded in the late 1990s and has been designed with the belief that reaching optimal human performance is capable within all athletes, regardless of their talent and the level they compete at. The organization has continued to grow in overall size and stature throughout the decades, resulting in a heavily diversified athlete clientele who have widely stated that EXOS has continued to be instrumental in their on-court or on-field performance and success. In a recent example, EXOS was selected as the official training partner for the NFL and its 130 draft prospects in preparation for the NFL Combine that takes place in late April. An ESPN story on the partnership can be found here.
Adam Maronde, MS,CSCS is a veteran in the field of strength and conditioning and has served as the Team EXOS training representative for NCU Athletics and its 14 NCAA Division III teams since the founding of the partnership in 2018. During his tenure as an EXOS Performance Specialist, he's managed to work with world-class athletes on a weekly basis, which has been foundational to the way he trains North Central's athletes and the annual plans that he builds.

"Working at EXOS truly is an incredible opportunity. I have been fortunate to work with Olympians, NHL All-Stars, NFL Pro Bowlers, a 1st round NFL Draft pick, WNBA MVP's, and many other professional athletes.  I think the common thread between the more successful athletes is their desire to be coached, which stems from their desire to improve and to be the best at what they do. I feel that at times I can hold back from truly telling the athlete how far off from ideal their performance is and ultimately accepting an average effort for fear of hurting their confidence. Working with these high achievers has reminded me that it is my job to push the envelope as close to excellence as possible."
In his role, Maronde spearheads all training aspects for NCU's varsity programs by connecting the athletes with the same dynamic resources that professional athletes also receive from EXOS. When asked specifically what aspects of Exos he thinks NCU athletes benefit from the most, Maronde highlighted the organization's ability to diversity their training based on the needs of each individual program.

"Each program is created by taking an analysis of the needs involved in each individual sport. From there, once we have the chance to meet and assess the athletes during their initial few training sessions, we will determine the specific needs of that team or group. Therefore, the level of variety in the training programs between sports really depends on a combination of those factors. When dealing with athletes who have a low training age, or not much experience with strength training, the level of variety between sports is generally pretty low as all of these athletes would benefit from a focus on a general increase in strength and mobility.  However, as athletes progress and reach higher levels of general physical preparedness, the differences between programs between sports begin to vary greatly."

Maronde and his team at EXOS put together annual strength and conditioning plans that are tailor-made to each program, but also each individual NCU athlete as well. He states that coordinating plans with this type of intentionality and dividing it up between off-season and in-season is vital for athletes to improve in areas that are essential to being successful in their specific sport.

"The program is built on the basis of an annual plan for each sport. The program is then broken down into specific phases that correspond to the significant events in the calendar year (i.e. pre-season, in-season, off-season, etc.). This ensures that our focus is always on allowing our athletes to physically perform to the best of their abilities during the most crucial times of the year when conference and national championship competitions occur. Once that framework has been laid, we assess where our teams are at and then structure the program according to our current level of physical preparation and where we believe we can be by the time those crucial competitions take place."

Maronde has already taken notice of the development in NCU's athletes and the specific areas they have been able to improve in as a result of the EXOS training over the past couple of years.

"The two areas I have seen the most improvement in during our time working with the athletes at NCU are improvements in strength and power, and also increased movement competency. The primary goal of performance training is to support the on-field or on-court performance for our athletes. With sloppy technique in the weight room, athletes expose themselves to a greater risk of injury which reduces the amount of time they can practice our specific discipline and leads to a decrease in performance. The ability to safely and competently perform each exercise decreases our risk of injury as does the improvement of strength and power. Both of those factors are instrumental in the improvement of athletic performance for North Central athletes."

When looking ahead to the future of North Central athletics, Maronde is a firm believer that there is no ceiling when it comes to the performance the university's athletes.

"In the upcoming years I see the athletes at NCU making physical preparation a part of their natural routine. Each year I have had the chance to work with the teams at NCU, we have seen more and more athletes taking part in these performance training sessions. I truly feel that the more we can get the athletes to "buy in" to putting in the work outside of practice in the pre-season/off-season, the more they have invested in the process, and the harder it is to surrender when the going gets tough in competition."

As stated previously, Maronde works with world-class athletes on a consistent basis at EXOS, but he continues to love working with North Central because of the dedication he sees within each athlete to improve on a daily basis.

"The thing I enjoy the most about working at NCU is the athletes. The athletes at NCU are truly special in the high level of character they possess. In general, the athletes have a deep appreciation for each other and are invested in helping their teammates succeed not only in competition, but in the classroom, and as people. That is what makes NCU special."