By Chase Austin

For The Newberry Observer

Erik Schwager is the new strength and conditioning coach at Newberry College.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_athletic-profile.jpgErik Schwager is the new strength and conditioning coach at Newberry College. Chase Austin | For The Newberry Observer

NEWBERRY — Among many changes to the Newberry College athletic department, a more recent one was the hiring of a new strength and conditioning coach.

Prior to his work at Newberry College, Coach Erik Schwager was the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Limestone College. Schwager is a Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist with the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

He is also a certified Speed and Explosion Coach with the National Speed and Explosion Association. Schwager has served as the state director in Connecticut for the latter organization.

He has a master’s in Exercise Science from California University of Pennsylvania. He also has bachelor’s degree in Recreation Management with a concentration in Fitness Management from Lock Haven University.

Schwager was not looking for another job while he was at Limestone, but when he received a call over the summer and spoke with Head Football Coach Todd Knight and Athletic Director Matt Finley, he saw Newberry as his next home. Schwager said what really drew him to Newberry was that after speaking with Knight he would be able to build a program how he saw fit.

Schwager got to work immediately. As soon as he was hired he began making immediate changes, showing up to the weight room at 5 a.m. every morning and spending his own money to rearrange the weight room, repaint, and reorganize. Schwager reorganized the weight room to accommodate more volume and a fast paced environment. This included removing racks, moving other equipment around and adding newer equipment.

Schwager said he has begun to change the program and the culture into what he believes in and what the coaches approve of. He wants to instill a fast paced environment, unity, discipline and accountability. He has improved the scheduling of things around to where it was done in groups before, but now it is whole teams training together. Believing in the phrase “teams that train together, play together.”

Long term goals, Schwager said, are to create a successful strength program that creates respectful young adults and championship athletes. He would like to eventually be able to hire a full time assistant as well as a part time intern.

He also wants to be able to add more new equipment to the weight room, as well as be able to individualize strength programs for different teams and reduce chance for the risk of injury.

Knight said he is pleased with the new strength coach and the change he is making to the program so far and believes the new changes have been good.

“When you get in a rut, things get stale,” Knight said.

Knight said changes are good for a program and new ways of looking at things gets the athletes excited. Changes have included working out outside in stations instead of always in the weight room, doing different kinds of exercises with bands as well as battle ropes concentrating on speed and explosion.

Knight says that he can see a difference already and that Schwager’s different perspective has had a positive impact on the program already.

Chase Austin is a student at Newberry College.