Staff Updates, Resource Enhancements Announced for UNF Sports Performance Team
10/6/2022 5:00:00 PM | General, Sports Performance
Improvements Made To Further Effort Towards Building Athlete-Centered Performance Model
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - From promotions, hirings, resource enhancements, facility upgrades, fundraising success and collaborations with partners on the UNF campus, North Florida Athletics announces a series of exciting improvements as part of the greater vision for the North Florida Sports Performance Team.
Embedded in the UNF Athletics mission statement, the North Florida athletics department strives to provide the best experience for its student-athletes, on and off the platform of competition, to foster excellence in all areas of life. One of the strategic priorities of the recently released strategic plan features "the pursuit of student-athlete health, well-being and peak performance."
Sports performance resources, including strength and conditioning, athletic training, nutrition, mental health and facilities, is a critical piece of building the all-round experience for UNF student-athletes and in achieving this strategic priority.
"As outlined in the UNF Athletics Strategic Plan, "The Pursuit", the Ospreys have announced the enhanced development of the Sports Performance Team," Director of Athletics Nick Morrow said. "The advancement of the Sports Performance Team is designed to invest in an athlete-centered '360' performance model utilizing resources to empower athletic training, strength and conditioning, nutrition, mental health, mental performance and data driven exercise science."
The UNF sports performance staff includes strength and conditioning, athletic training and partnerships with nutrition and counseling services on the UNF campus.Â
Nutrition Enhancements and Collaboration With the Brooks College of Health
On the wings of a record-setting fundraising effort in the latest 904 Weekend last month, UNF Athletics raised over $53,000 from the help of nearly 200 donors, all of which will go towards enhancing nutritional services and counseling.Â
The money raised allows UNF Athletics to put more resources towards meal plans, nutrition education and counseling and consumables for student-athletes. Fueling stations and nutrition options will be improved for student-athletes as they recover from and prepare for workouts and competitions.Â
As part of this effort, UNF's sports performance team will partner with the Brooks College of Health, namely the nutrition and dietetics department and instructor Jill Snyder, to provide nutritional counseling for student-athletes.Â
Already being implemented, the sports performance staff will continue its relationship with the Brooks College of Health and Dr. Caleb Williams to accumulate and distribute sports science data relevant to coaches and student-athletes to ensure health and insight on gaining a competitive edge. Some of these data-driven efforts includes working with Dr. Shyam Paryani to analyze the performance of student-athletes with wearable technology. Dr. Paryani not only has claim to being an engineer, nuclear physicist and physician, but is a graduate of UNF and has served on the UNF Foundation Board, College of Health Dean's Council and Health Administration Advisory Board.
Mental Health and Performance
OspreyPERCH, standing for "Prevention, Early-Intervention, Resiliency through Counseling and Holistic Health", serves the UNF student body with clinical mental health counseling. OspreyPERCH will be a resource for all UNF student-athletes, addressing mental and physical health and wellness needs. UNF Athletics will continue to strengthen its partnership with OspreyPERCH and its staff, led by Dr. Carlene Taylor, to further expand outreach and support.
Furthermore, the partnership with OspreyPERCH and Brooks College of Health extends its ability to serve all 19 Osprey teams through mental health training. Dr. Jessica Stapleton leads a team designed to optimize the performance and well-being of student-athletes, coaches and staff. The education and support from mental health and mental performance provide the tools necessary for student-athletes to reach their peak performance.
Facility Enhancements
One of the most notable facility upgrades in a slew of facility improvements made on the UNF campus over the past year has been the addition of the J. Blacker Gym. The J. Blacker Gym, a facility made possible thanks to the generosity of Julie Brazil, houses a weight room used for team strength training sessions. In addition to the weight room, Brazil also contributed funds used towards recovery equipment such as bicycles, Normatec Recovery Boots and massage guns.
The additional space, located in the UNF Arena, has already alleviated significant scheduling and spacing pressure previously placed on the Hodges Stadium Strength and Conditioning room. The J. Blacker Gym enables student-athletes to have better training windows and ultimately another option to get workouts in throughout the year.
Dating back to the success and theme of the fall 2021 904 Day effort, "Lift Us Up", brand new dumbbells and two state-of-the-art Keiser machines were added to the UNF weight rooms.
Brian Bert - Promoted to Assistant AD of Sports Performance
A major reason for the continued growth of North Florida strength and conditioning and sports performance has been the leadership, expertise and commitment from Brian Bert. Bert, who joined North Florida over six years ago in the role of head strength and conditioning coach, was promoted to Assistant AD for Sports Performance during 2022.Â
"Coach Brian Bert has been an integral part of developing our High Performance Team and in his new role as Assistant AD he will be tasked with managing the improvement of our nutrition and sports science divisions," Associate AD for Sports Performance Fred Burnett said. "Bert will continue to be a great resource for our student-athletes and assist in leading our Sports Performance team."
Bert has been an integral part of the creation and implementation of the high-performance model utilized at UNF. Starting in 2017, Bert initiated focused discussions within the athletic department as well as with campus partners. Since collaborating with Associate AD for Sport Performance, Fred Burnett, upon his return to North Florida in 2019, the duo has perpetuated efforts in establishing a performance team that better serves UNF's student-athletes. Bert strives to continue developing the high-performance model and collaborating with UNF's Brooks College of Health's nutrition, exercise and data analytics services.
Bert directly serves the men's basketball, women's basketball, volleyball and men's golf programs, while managing the budget, staffing and overall operations of the strength and conditioning staff.Â
The Rhode Island, native, has well over a decade of service in the industry, gathering varied experience at multiple institutions including Pittsburgh, Hofstra, Salisbury, Rhode Island and USF.
Athletic Training Staff Profile
The North Florida athletic training staff features many new faces making up the seven-person team of full-time staff members. Led by Associate AD for Sports Performance, Fred Burnett, UNF athletic training welcomed Hannah Ogle, Samantha Murray, Logan Yost and Claire Darnell within the last calendar year.Â
Matt Adams, who works directly with women's basketball and women's golf, joined the Ospreys in the fall of 2021, as did Katie DeLost, the athletic trainer for the volleyball and beach volleyball programs.Â
Staff Profiles Snippets
Fred Burnett (Men's Basketball & Men's Golf)
Embedded in the UNF Athletics mission statement, the North Florida athletics department strives to provide the best experience for its student-athletes, on and off the platform of competition, to foster excellence in all areas of life. One of the strategic priorities of the recently released strategic plan features "the pursuit of student-athlete health, well-being and peak performance."
Sports performance resources, including strength and conditioning, athletic training, nutrition, mental health and facilities, is a critical piece of building the all-round experience for UNF student-athletes and in achieving this strategic priority.
"As outlined in the UNF Athletics Strategic Plan, "The Pursuit", the Ospreys have announced the enhanced development of the Sports Performance Team," Director of Athletics Nick Morrow said. "The advancement of the Sports Performance Team is designed to invest in an athlete-centered '360' performance model utilizing resources to empower athletic training, strength and conditioning, nutrition, mental health, mental performance and data driven exercise science."
The UNF sports performance staff includes strength and conditioning, athletic training and partnerships with nutrition and counseling services on the UNF campus.Â
Nutrition Enhancements and Collaboration With the Brooks College of Health
On the wings of a record-setting fundraising effort in the latest 904 Weekend last month, UNF Athletics raised over $53,000 from the help of nearly 200 donors, all of which will go towards enhancing nutritional services and counseling.Â
The money raised allows UNF Athletics to put more resources towards meal plans, nutrition education and counseling and consumables for student-athletes. Fueling stations and nutrition options will be improved for student-athletes as they recover from and prepare for workouts and competitions.Â
As part of this effort, UNF's sports performance team will partner with the Brooks College of Health, namely the nutrition and dietetics department and instructor Jill Snyder, to provide nutritional counseling for student-athletes.Â
Already being implemented, the sports performance staff will continue its relationship with the Brooks College of Health and Dr. Caleb Williams to accumulate and distribute sports science data relevant to coaches and student-athletes to ensure health and insight on gaining a competitive edge. Some of these data-driven efforts includes working with Dr. Shyam Paryani to analyze the performance of student-athletes with wearable technology. Dr. Paryani not only has claim to being an engineer, nuclear physicist and physician, but is a graduate of UNF and has served on the UNF Foundation Board, College of Health Dean's Council and Health Administration Advisory Board.
Mental Health and Performance
OspreyPERCH, standing for "Prevention, Early-Intervention, Resiliency through Counseling and Holistic Health", serves the UNF student body with clinical mental health counseling. OspreyPERCH will be a resource for all UNF student-athletes, addressing mental and physical health and wellness needs. UNF Athletics will continue to strengthen its partnership with OspreyPERCH and its staff, led by Dr. Carlene Taylor, to further expand outreach and support.
Furthermore, the partnership with OspreyPERCH and Brooks College of Health extends its ability to serve all 19 Osprey teams through mental health training. Dr. Jessica Stapleton leads a team designed to optimize the performance and well-being of student-athletes, coaches and staff. The education and support from mental health and mental performance provide the tools necessary for student-athletes to reach their peak performance.
Facility Enhancements
One of the most notable facility upgrades in a slew of facility improvements made on the UNF campus over the past year has been the addition of the J. Blacker Gym. The J. Blacker Gym, a facility made possible thanks to the generosity of Julie Brazil, houses a weight room used for team strength training sessions. In addition to the weight room, Brazil also contributed funds used towards recovery equipment such as bicycles, Normatec Recovery Boots and massage guns.
The additional space, located in the UNF Arena, has already alleviated significant scheduling and spacing pressure previously placed on the Hodges Stadium Strength and Conditioning room. The J. Blacker Gym enables student-athletes to have better training windows and ultimately another option to get workouts in throughout the year.
Dating back to the success and theme of the fall 2021 904 Day effort, "Lift Us Up", brand new dumbbells and two state-of-the-art Keiser machines were added to the UNF weight rooms.
Brian Bert - Promoted to Assistant AD of Sports Performance
A major reason for the continued growth of North Florida strength and conditioning and sports performance has been the leadership, expertise and commitment from Brian Bert. Bert, who joined North Florida over six years ago in the role of head strength and conditioning coach, was promoted to Assistant AD for Sports Performance during 2022.Â
"Coach Brian Bert has been an integral part of developing our High Performance Team and in his new role as Assistant AD he will be tasked with managing the improvement of our nutrition and sports science divisions," Associate AD for Sports Performance Fred Burnett said. "Bert will continue to be a great resource for our student-athletes and assist in leading our Sports Performance team."
Bert has been an integral part of the creation and implementation of the high-performance model utilized at UNF. Starting in 2017, Bert initiated focused discussions within the athletic department as well as with campus partners. Since collaborating with Associate AD for Sport Performance, Fred Burnett, upon his return to North Florida in 2019, the duo has perpetuated efforts in establishing a performance team that better serves UNF's student-athletes. Bert strives to continue developing the high-performance model and collaborating with UNF's Brooks College of Health's nutrition, exercise and data analytics services.
Bert directly serves the men's basketball, women's basketball, volleyball and men's golf programs, while managing the budget, staffing and overall operations of the strength and conditioning staff.Â
The Rhode Island, native, has well over a decade of service in the industry, gathering varied experience at multiple institutions including Pittsburgh, Hofstra, Salisbury, Rhode Island and USF.
Athletic Training Staff Profile
The North Florida athletic training staff features many new faces making up the seven-person team of full-time staff members. Led by Associate AD for Sports Performance, Fred Burnett, UNF athletic training welcomed Hannah Ogle, Samantha Murray, Logan Yost and Claire Darnell within the last calendar year.Â
Matt Adams, who works directly with women's basketball and women's golf, joined the Ospreys in the fall of 2021, as did Katie DeLost, the athletic trainer for the volleyball and beach volleyball programs.Â
Staff Profiles Snippets
Fred Burnett (Men's Basketball & Men's Golf)
- Over 10 years of combined experience at North Florida
- Also spent time at the University of Texas (seven years) and Auburn University (three years)
- Previous Position: Athletic trainer at Indiana University
- BA - Athletic Training (Anderson University, '19)
- Previous Position: Athletic Trainer at the University of Akron
- BA - Athletic Training (University of Alabama), MS - Health & Human Movement (Utah State, '17)
- Previous Position: Athletic trainer with Utah State
- BA - Exercise Science (Sale College (N.C.)), MS - Athletic Training (UNF - '21)
- Previous Position: Athletic trainer with Appalachian State University
- BS - Health Science (USF), MS - Athletic Training (UNF)
- Previous Position: Athletic trainer at Christopher Newport University
- BS - Athletic Training (Radford University), MS (Salisbury University)
- Previous Position: Athletic trainer with Indiana University
- BS - Exercise Science (Southern Illinois University), MS - Athletic Training (Indiana University)
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