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Mission Statement
The department's mission is to provide student athletes with the tools to compete, win, and achieve excellence through evidence-based training practices and design.

Philosophy
The NIU Sports Performance training plan consists of a year- round philosophy designed to improve strength, speed, agility, power, flexibility and coordination while developing energy systems. Each sport program will focus on different components based on the current phase, the nature of the sport and their competitive season.

Sports Performance Staff Directory
Name Position Email Address
Rhonda Watts Associate Athletic Director of Sports Performance rwatts4@niu.edu
Juney Barnett Director of Football  jbarnett@niu.edu
Chris Hightower Associate Director of Football chightower2@niu.edu
John Ghibellini Assistant Director of Sports Performance - Olympic jghibellini@niu.edu
Marcus Hartnett Assistant Director of Sports Performance - Olympic mhartnett@niu.edu
Steven Soltysiak Assistant Director of Sports Performance - Olympic ssoltysiak@niu.edu
Jace Martin Assistant Director of Sports Performance - Olympic jmartin13@niu.edu
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