Sports Performance Staff Announces Hirings, Promotions

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida bolsters its sports performance staff with the hiring of Nick O'Brien, Caitlyn Benedik and Griffen Rohr-Clark. Additionally, Marcus Richardson is promoted to associate strength and conditioning coach as announced by Assistant AD for Sports Performance Brian Bert.

With these hirings, the UNF Sport Performance Department is at an all-time high for total staff members. The sport assignments are listed below:

Brian Bert - Men's Basketball, Volleyball, Men's Golf
Marcus Richardson - Men's Soccer, Softball, Men's Tennis, Men's and Track Field - sprints/jumps
Caitlyn Benedik - Women's Basketball, Volleyball, Women's Golf
Nick O'Brien - Baseball, Women's Soccer, Beach Volleyball
Griffen Rohr-Clark - Women's Tennis, Swimming, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Cheerleading

Bert is in his eighth season at North Florida, while Richardson will complete two years with the Ospreys in November of 2023.

"We are excited about the expansion of our staff and the continued support from our athletic administration," Assistant AD for Sports Performance Brian Bert said. "Nick, Caitlyn and Griffen all bring unique skill sets to our department. Coach Richardson's experience and leadership has promoted him to the associate strength and conditioning coach role, giving him more oversight duties and responsibilities."

Nick O'Brien - Assistant Strength & Conditioning (BSB, WSOC, BVB)
Nick O'Brien joined the UNF strength and conditioning staff at the start of the fall 2023 semester and is assigned to the baseball, beach volleyball and women's soccer programs.

"I am excited to join the Osprey strength and conditioning staff," O'Brien said. "I am thankful for the opportunity and I look forward to working with all the student-athletes, coaches and staff at UNF."

O'Brien most recently worked on the other side of town at Jacksonville University, assisting with the men's lacrosse, men's soccer and volleyball programs since 2021. Prior to his time in the River City, O'Brien garnered experience in two different full-time roles in the field across the collegiate sports landscape.

From 2016-21 he was at Fresno State, working as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the baseball, women's lacrosse, wrestling, volleyball and softball teams. He was on the east coast from 2014-16 at Loyola Maryland, taking on handling the men' soccer, men's and women's tennis and men's golf programs.

A native of Oceanside, Calif., O'Brien earned his master's degree in applied health psychology as well as his bachelor's in exercise science from Salisbury University where he was also a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach. O'Brien made stops at the volunteer and internship level with American University, San Diego State, Loyola Maryland and Georgetown.

O'Brien is a national level highland games and strongman competitor, holding SCCC, CSCS, USAW-L1, USAPL and FMS certifications. O'Brien has worked with professional athletes across the MLB, MiLB, MLL, PLL, NLL, MLS, USL and other national team levels. He also competes as a national level strongman competitor.

Caitlyn Benedik - Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach (WBB, VB, WGOLF)
Caitlyn Benedik joined the North Florida Sports Performance in August of 2023, working primarily with women's basketball and women's golf while sharing the development of the volleyball program and having oversight of the women's tennis team.

Benedik also brings the unique experience of having served as a men's basketball coach, doing so for two years with Division III Salisbury University in Maryland. While at the dominant DIII program, Benedik worked as a sports performance intern and later in the same role with Georgetown women's basketball this past summer.

She also holds experience in sport performance with Holy Innocents Episcopal in Sandy Springs, Ga., and Exos Human Performance in Gulf Breeze, Fla.

Benedik has held positions at a number of levels and in different environments, having worked with collegiate and high school athletes as well as in the private and professional sector. She most recently worked with the Minor League Baseball Umpires Association as a performance coach.

Her basketball background extends past her time at Salisbury as she also had two other positions in coaching and player development roles. From 2020-21, Benedik worked with Holy Innocents Episcopal as a men's basketball assistant coach. From 2019-21 she held a player development coach role with Nike Elite Hoops in Atlanta.

A native of the Florida Panhandle, Benedik was a four-year women's basketball letterwinner at Pensacola Christian College where she earned her bachelor's. She ranked fourth in the NCCAA in three-point percentage and was an all-region selection. She went on to earn her master's in health and human performance from Salisbury in 2023.

Benedik is AED and CPR certified while also possessing a NSCA CSCS certification.

Griffen Rohr-Clark - Women's Tennis, Swimming, M/W Cross Country, Cheer
Griffen Rohr-Clark joins the North Florida Sports Performance staff after a two-year stint in Gainesville working with the University of Florida as a graduate intern. Rohr-Clark will work directly with the women's tennis, swimming, men's and women's cross country and cheerleading programs.

At UF he assisted with men's and women's track and field, cross country, men's and women's swimming and diving, gymnastics, soccer and volleyball.

A 2021 graduate of Michigan State, Rohr-Clark got his start in the industry on the athletic training side with the Spartans. From 2019-21 he worked with a number of MSU teams as an athletic training student.

Rohr-Clark has NSCA CSCS, BOC-ATC and NASM CSC certifications. He earned his master's in applied physiology and kinesiology this past spring as well as his bachelor's in athletic training from Michigan State in 2021.

Marcus Richardson - Associate Strength & Conditioning Coach (MSOC, SB, MTEN, T&F - sprints/jumps)
Marcus Richardson joined North Florida as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in November of 2021, bringing a variety of experience within the field and with experience as a professional football player.

Richardson most recently served in multiple roles at Edward Waters University between 2016 and 2021. Over those five years, Richardson served as the director of sports performance and associate athletic director for sports performance with the Tigers. He also assisted on the NCAA Transition Board as Edward Waters transitioned from its NAIA to NCAA Division II affiliation. Richardson aided in a myriad of areas including assisting with team travel, budgeting, working with coaching staffs and other administrative duties.

Prior to his time at Edward Waters, Richardson spent three seasons as the head strength and conditioning coach with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League, directing a staff of three. Richardson and his staff helped develop over 15 athletes that moved on to either the National Football League or Canadian Football League. His team paced the AFL in fewest ankle and knee injuries.

Richardson also had internships with Orlando City Soccer (MLS), Minnesota Twins, Troy University and Bommaritto Performance Systems. Prior to these positions, Richardson played as an outside linebacker and safety in the National Football League (NFL) with the Houston Texans (2008-09) and Indianapolis Colts (2009-10). He made a stop with the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League (2010-11).

He possesses a bachelor's of science from Troy University and touts CSCS, USAW-L1 and FMS-NSCA certifications. Richardson earned his master's of education in athletic administration from North Florida in 2020.

Brian Bert - Assistant AD for Sports Performance (MBB, VB, MGOLF)
Brian Bert joined the UNF athletic department at the University of North Florida in August of 2016. Since then he has continued to elevate his position in the department to his current role of Assistant AD for Sports Performance.

Under Bert's direction, multiple teams have won and competed for conference championships, including men's basketball in 2020 and beach volleyball in 2021.

In May of 2023, Bert earned the distinction of master strength and conditioning coach (MSCC) through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa). Bert has presented at multiple strength and conditioning clinics throughout the state of Florida during his tenure at UNF. Some of the topics he's presented include "Assessing the Basketball Athlete" and "Performance Data and Implementation in a Small School Setting."

Bert comes to the Ospreys following a stint as the Assistant Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the University of Pittsburgh, where he worked primarily with the Pitt baseball and track & field programs.

Currently certified as a CSCS and a RSCC through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, Bert spent two years as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Hofstra University. While at Hofstra, Bert worked exclusively with the men's basketball, men's soccer, softball and men's and women's tennis teams, while assisting with all other varsity sports. He also developed and supervised the strength and conditioning internship program for the Pride.

Prior to Hofstra, Bert earned his Master's in applied health physiology as a Graduate Assistant at Salisbury University. At Salisbury, Bert was the strength coach for the 2011 and 2012 National Championship lacrosse team, while also working with the nationally-ranked football and field hockey teams, along with working with men's and women's basketball and volleyball. He also assisted with the strength and conditioning internship program and the management of the campus physical activity center.

Upon graduating from Springfield College in 2008, Bert worked as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Rhode Island from April of 2008 to December of 2009. His primary duties included working with the Rams' women's swimming, women's tennis, softball, volleyball and men's and women's track and field teams. He also assisted with URI's football and basketball programs, and all other varsity sports with an emphasis on baseball.

Bert spent his final semester at Springfield College doing an internship at the University of South Florida. While working with the Bulls, Bert assisted with all varsity sports, with a special emphasis on baseball and track & field.

Along with being a strength and conditioning coach, Bert was an adjunct professor at both Hofstra and UNF. He also assisted in the presentation on Alternative Paradigm Training at Georgetown University in 2012 and on ACL prevention and rehabilitation at Springfield College in 2009, both of which were NSCA recognized Strength and Conditioning clinics.

A four-year member of Springfield College's football team, Bert earned his undergraduate degree in applied exercise science in May of 2008. Bert resides in Jacksonville, Florida with his wife Jackie, his son Brycen and his step kids, Elijah and Logan.

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