HICKORY, NC - As the famous saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. Despite having an already extremely successful athletics program, Lenoir-Rhyne has made a jump into the elite category these past few years, finishing in the top-35 in the Learfield Directors Cup for four consecutive years. It is no coincidence that the success directly coincides with the promotion of Trent Caldwell to the Director of Strength and Conditioning in 2019, and the completion of the Neill McGeachy Performance Center in September of that year.
"The vision of a new weight room, nutrition bar, and full strength staff almost sounded too good to be true," said Caldwell. "It was a leap of faith coming on board here at LR but I trusted that the vision was real and we've ended up in a great spot."
Announced in 2018 and completed in September of 2019, the Neill McGeachy Performance Center is a state of the art weight room that puts LR in the conversation for the best in NCAA Division II. Sitting at just over 10,000 square feet, there are 14 inlaid platforms with 14 double sided racks. On top of that there are plenty of free weights, machines, bikes, etc., to get the job done. At the far end of the room is a turf area that has a garage door with access to the practice field behind Moretz Stadium. What sets the weight room apart from everyone else is the state of the art nutrition bar. Thanks to the funding of the Bears Club, the nutrition bar gives Lenoir-Rhyne athletes an edge both on and off the field. It also helps the Strength and Conditioning staff educate athletes on the importance of proper nutrition.
The Strength and Conditioning program is the backbone of any successful collegiate athletics program. They know the athletes better than anyone else on campus and work with them every day. Caldwell believes that "your vibe attracts your tribe," and no one does it better than Lenoir-Rhyne Strength and Conditioning. Beginning in June, the weight room has a summer internship program that attracts a lot of LR athletes who can then bring what they learned in the summer to their teams. During the year Caldwell, the rest of the full time staff, and GA's continue building that relationship with the athletes and coaches to the point that many of their conversations don't revolve around athletics, just about life.
"There are countless times kids come into my office asking for advice and talking about stuff not involving their sport. If what we do in here can help them be prepared for a world after college then I know we've done good job."
Caldwell was once in the same shoes as these athletes, as he is a former collegiate football player himself. He jumped into the unknown after high school and joined UNC Pembroke for their first year as a program.
"College taught me the value of the role player. I played a lot early but struggled to get playing time as I got older. It made me realize how important everyone is on a team and that everyone needs to be treated with the same level of respect as the stars."
Following his collegiate athletic days Caldwell worked with Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Notre Dame, Troy, and Furman before landing in Hickory. As a piece of this fast growing industry, Caldwell continues to learn and grow, even venturing out to other schools across the midwest and south to learn how they do things and overcome challenges. He makes it a point to spend each summer updating the weight room so when student-athletes come back in the fall they are greeted with a high quality strength and conditioning experience.
"I am so proud to be at Lenoir-Rhyne. My voice has value and this school does things the right way. I'm never satisfied and am excited to see how my staff, the athletes, coaches, and administrators all continue to grow."
