NWC Performance Clinic

Justin Lima      
Coach and Owner of The Strength Coach Network

Dr. Justin Lima is a high-performance consultant based in the USA, who has worked with elite level American Football players across the country in the B1G, ACC, Ivy League, and CAA. Dr. Lima has his PhD in Health and Human Performance and is certified from both governing bodies of strength and conditioning (NSCA and CSCCa). He has worked with 30 NFL Draft Picks, 8 Super Bowl Champions, 12 NFL Pro Bowlers, and 7 All Pro. Additionally, he worked on the 12-0 Undefeated regular season with 2015 Iowa Hawkeye Football and coached in the Rose Bowl. Dr. Lima was most recently the Director of Football Performance at Towson University in Maryland where he helped the Tigers get back to the FCS playoffs. Finally, he has coached multiple All Conference Track and Field Throwers and Team Champions while working at Towson. Dr. Lima and his wife Megan reside in Ankeny, IA with their 2 sons Everett (5) and Tate (4). 

Matt Thome   
Nebraska Athletic Performance Lab Director, The University of Nebraska

Matt Thome, MS, CSCS, is in his second year as Director of the Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory (NAPL) and third year in the Nebraska Athletic Department. In his role at Nebraska, Thome oversees the direction of the Applied Sport Science Team by working with coaching and performance staff members on the integration of sport technologies, training strategies and return-to-play processes to promote athlete development and health with the goal of optimizing performance.

Prior to joining the NAPL, he worked as a Sport Scientist for Olympic-level sprinters at ALTIS Training in Phoenix, Ariz. He was responsible for the organization of a monitoring framework for elite track and field sprinters. Thome managed daily monitoring data, conducting research in an applied sport setting as well as programing and coaching strength training in the 100-meters and 110-meter hurdles.

Thome worked as a Head Strength & Conditioning Coach and Lecturer at Michigan Tech from 2012 to 2018. He directed strength and conditioning programs for all 14 sports while also teaching within the Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology Department. He began his coaching career as an Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Richmond from 2011-12.

Thome earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science (2008) at Grand Valley State University and his master’s degree in exercise physiology (2011) at Indiana University. He is currently a PhD candidate in Sport Science at Edith Cowan University, where his research is focused on monitoring training load and response to load on the group and individual levels in elite sprinters.

Ethan Miller      
Mental Performance Coach, Ethan Miller Mental Performance

Ethan Miller is recognized as one of the top up-and-coming Mental Performance Mastery Coaches in the country. Ethan has worked with numerous organizations all over the United States. His clients have collected conference, district, state, and national championships and companies who are ranked the best in their field in customer service and satisfaction. He has consulted with championship programs, coaches, and athletes who have earned State, Conference and National Player of the Year and Coach of the Year accolades, and countless athletes with all-state and all-American recognition.

8:00 – 8:30 am

Check-in

8:30 – 8:40 am

Welcome 

8:40 – 9:40 am

Session 1 | Matt Thome
What is Sport Science?
As data and technology become more prevalent in sports, there's often confusion surrounding the essence of Sport Science. While costly technologies and flashy dashboards can add value when used appropriately, they're not essential for practicing Sport Science. This session will outline how a grasp of the fundamental principles behind the problems we are trying to address allows for effective application of the scientific process regardless of budget constraints.

9:50 – 10:50 am

Session 2 | Justin Lima
The Power Complex: How to Remove Cleans in the Weight Room
For the longest time strength coaches have been using the clean and hang clean to train power and force production. But why? Is this what is most effective? Is it the most effective for team sport athletes? What if there is a better way to produce force AND allows coaches to keep their athletes on the field.

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Session 3 | Ethan Miller
Introduction to Mental Performance 
As a strength and conditioning professional many have learned the intricacies to developing physical performance. However, it is very much accepted that overall athletic performance is not only physical, but also a large part mental. In this session we are going to enhance the understanding for each of the mental performance principles and how to create systems & processes to put them into action.

12:00 – 12:50 pm

Lunch | provided in NWC cafeteria

12:50 – 1:00 pm

Afternoon Welcome     

1:00 – 2:30 pm

Session 4 | Justin Lima
Contact Prep: How to Keep Your Athletes on the Field in Collision Sports - Hybrid
Not all team sports are collision sports, but most team sports are a contact sport. With respect to upper body injuries, how can strength and conditioning coaches best prepare the athletes he or she works best. Yes, the weight room plays a role with lifting weights. But in sport contact occurs person to person - therefore it must be trained. But how?

2:40 – 3:40 pm

Session 5 | Ethan Miller
Building Confidence & How to Win Awareness 
Confidence is not merely based upon feelings but upon actions. The key is to be aware of what is taking place internally so that we have external behaviors that align with the outcomes that we are in pursuit of.

3:50 – 4:50 pm
 

Speaker Panel Q&A | Justin, Matt, Ethan
During this session, we will invite Justin, Matt, and Ethan for a moderated time of question and answer. During this time all attendees, both in-person and via livestream, will have the opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification or enter into a deeper conversation with our speakers. Live stream guests will submit their inquiries via Slido.

4:50 - 4:55 pm

Closing Remarks