KAMLOOPS – The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack took a massive leap forward today both on and off the field of play, as director of athletics and recreation Curtis Atkinson announced that Aaron Chew will be joining the department as its first-ever full-time strength and conditioning coach.
 
Tasked with creating workout and movement plans and overseeing student-athlete strength and conditioning programming, Chew will eventually be based out of the Varsity Athlete Performance Centre when renovations are completed in the TRU Gym. The new space will feature a full-size high-performance lifting facility as well as a sprint, agility and plyometric area as the WolfPack continue to build towards becoming a top department in the nation.
 
"We are thrilled to welcome Aaron as our first full-time strength and conditioning coach and believe he will have a tremendous impact on our program. Aaron brings an incredible blend of education, experience, passion, and results. We know our athletes will benefit from his expertise and we are excited to see our athletes develop with his leadership in this area," said Atkinson.
 
"When assessing our program this past year, we identified this role as a priority area, and felt that further investment in strength and conditioning would yield positive results. We feel fortunate to be able to take this next step with Aaron, and know our athletes will learn a great deal from him."
 
Originally from Port Moody, Chew holds a master's degree in kinesiology from UBC, is a NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist and also a registered massage therapist.
 
"It is a rare thing for these jobs to become available, there are limited opportunities - especially in Canada – for roles like this," said Chew. "The fact that I get this opportunity, especially with the circumstances of the WolfPack building a new facility and me being familiar with Kamloops in general given my past time there, I am super excited for sure."
 
Most recently working for Humber College in Ontario, Chew boasts a wealth of experience as a strength and conditioning coach in both the professional and collegiate ranks.
 
His past stops at the amateur sport level include the University of Washington, Simon Fraser University, Capilano University and Kwantlen College as well as Basketball BC. In the professional ranks Chew has worked for both the BC Lions and Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.
 
"The great thing about the collegiate environment is that as a strength coach I get to do a lot more teaching and developing of the athletes. I pride myself on being an educator as well, so working in more of an educational setting is great for me," said Chew. "Professional sport is all about winning, whereas in the collegiate environment it's nice to focus on the people, to focus on the growth of the individual and developing not only better athletes, but better people."
 
Chew, who is also a contemporary medical acupuncture provider, has just completed a Summer with Canada Basketball.
 
Relishing the opportunity to shape the new Varsity Athlete Performance Centre, Chew will help guide the development of the renovated facility that will allow WolfPack student-athletes a dedicated facility to train in.
 
"The building of the new facility is very exciting; it's kind of every strength coach's dream job to be able to build a facility how they see fit and set up a space to make it the most beneficial for the athletes and the flow of the training sessions," said Chew. "It's great to be involved in that planning stage. To be able to step in here with a blank slate and with the trust of the school, Curtis and the coaches is something that I'm super excited for."
 
While at Humber, Chew helped power one of the most successful athletic departments in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association. With the Hawks for one season, Chew aided the men's basketball team on their way to a CCAA National Championship while also helping Humber take provincial gold medals in men's and women's basketball as well as men's and women's volleyball on the same night.
 
"It was a great environment with a great tradition of winning and treating people well," said Chew. "That was my biggest takeaway from Humber is that they do so well because they treat everybody so well. That's something I'm looking forward to drawing upon while working at TRU."
 
 Familiar with Kamloops from his three years with the BC Lions, Chew is looking forward to returning to a place played a pivotal role in the start of his career.
 
"This is kind of a big full circle moment for me to come back and be able to make an impact on a community that jumpstarted my career when I was with the Lions," said Chew. "I have a lot of fond memories in Kamloops and the TCC and I'm very excited to have an impact on the community and make it my home."
 
Arriving in Kamloops in August, Chew will bring a complete student-athlete wellness approach to the new role.
 
"The athletes have their own sport coaches and I'm a coach myself teaching them how to support their health and performance outside of their sport," said Chew. "There's obviously the physical development side of things with the training, recover, nutrition, sleep hygiene etc.., but I'm also a big advocate for mental health and view myself as a resource for athletes as someone they can talk to if they need support. I'm always here to help."
 
Chew's desire to help foster high performance athletes reach their goals doesn't end with the WolfPack however.
 
"The facilities at TRU are amazing and there is already world class talent that trains there. I would eventually love to host some events, invite people to the community and make Kamloops a destination training hub were people can come from all over to learn, grow and get better."