By: COLLIN MOORE ’18, Staff writer
LVC’s sports teams have made physical improvements in the weight room — thanks in part to Jared Hatz, LVC’s strength and conditioning coach.
Hatz’s role as the head strength and conditioning coach was earned from his hard work and dedication.
After receiving his master’s degree from Springfield College, Hatz started his promising career. Hatz accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an intern on the strength and conditioning staff.
“I worked primarily with the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams,” Hatz said. “I also worked with roughly 20 professional guys from the NHL, AHL and European hockey leagues that came back during the summer to train for ice hockey.”
After his tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was offered a full-time job at Westminster School.
“My first paid job as a head strength and conditioning coach was at Westminster School in Connecticut,” Hatz said. “My main responsibilities were for the girls and boys ice hockey prep teams, also including the majority of the varsity sports programs too.”
In 2015, Hatz accepted the position as the head strength and conditioning coach at LVC for all of the sports programs on campus.
“LVC gave me the biggest opportunity to put my stamp on what a strong, sound, strength and conditioning program should be,” Hatz said. “It allowed me to have the creativity and flexibility to create every aspect of the program.”
As Hatz works with more than 570 student-athletes during the course of a day, he is on a very rigid routine as he schedules all of the lifting programs for each team and provides instructions for each team in the weight room as well.
“Everyone deserves good coaching, which is why the time athletes are in the weight room with me is extremely valuable for creating a successful program,” Hatz said. “My main role doesn’t just boil down to training because I want to connect with my athletes and get them excited about getting better and being invested in their success.”
Over the years, the weight room has been enhanced with new machines, weights, medicine balls and props for people to use when they are exercising. The culture has changed too, as Hatz tries to motivate each person to have a purpose.
“He makes sure that everyone is working out and getting better every time you enter the weight room,” Javon Nelson, a senior football cornerback, said. “He wants to have fun but also wants everyone to be focused on achieving goals as well.”
As Hatz continues to be the head strength and conditioning coach at LVC, he hopes to find more people interested in his vocation who can assist him. He said he’s currently working with the chairman of exercise science who will assist him to find students wishing to learn