SHC Athletic Performance

workin’ it out

Athletic Performance Coach Colin Peuse sets the bar high for SHC student athletes By Mark Pardini ’88 & Jonathan Lim

In the basement of SHC’s Student Life Center lies the Athletic Performance center. Occupying the same spot as the old Sacred Heart weightroom, the current site takes up the old adjoining coach’s room/uniform space as well, providing SHC student athletes with a bright, expansive space in which to train. Murals featuring past SHC Division I athletes and program philosophy adorn the walls, along with boards celebrating current athletes and their achievements. This is where Director of Athletic Performance Colin Peuse plies his craft. Arriving at SHC in 2006, Peuse has overseen a revamping of both the physical space as well as the philosophy that animates it. This space, which has benefitted from updated equipment and improved understanding of the program’s purpose and goals, is integral to the formation of SHC’s student athletes. In many ways, Peuse has a daunting task: convincing young men and women that to achieve their athletic potential, they must perform tedious, often demanding duties to increase strength, agility, and endurance. This can be especially difficult for a 14-year-old to comprehend, being used to competing based on pure athletic ability alone. It’s also a challenge for those athletes who aren’t stars, who may not even make their teams, to show the commitment to regularly attend off-season workouts regardless of the ultimate result. Historically only utilized by the football, basketball and volleyball programs, Athletic Performance is now an integral part of each of SHC’s 19 athletic programs, from girls lacrosse to track & field. Previously known as “Strength & Conditioning”, the program made the intentional name change around six years ago with an eye to emphasizing what is truly important. With that in mind, Peuse must understand each sport’s unique requirements: he accentuates the individual athlete and their skill level, focusing on achievable, personal, and sport-specific goals, treating each student athlete as both a unique athletic entity and as a future adult. As Peuse puts it, “Training students is what I do every day, but my life’s work is the relationships I build with student athletes and the core values I try to impart to them.” Peuse grew up in Santa Cruz and went to the University of San Diego and Occidental College in Los Angeles, playing football at both schools. After graduation, he gravitated towards coaching as a career, guided by his own coach at Occidental, Dale Widolff, who helped mentor Peuse. When he was in graduate school at San Jose State, he saw a training internship with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. He showed up to his interview 30 minutes early. That same day Jeff Fish, his boss with the Raiders, said that he could tell immediately Peuse would be the right person for the job based on his showing up so early for the interview. While working for the Raiders for two years was a great experience, Peuse was still refining the idea of what kind of coach he wanted to be. Eventually, Peuse realized he would have the most potential for impact as a coach at the high school level. In coaching high school athletes, Peuse saw the opportunity to change the trajectory of others at an early and formational stage. Peuse saw the job posting he had been looking for in 2006 and has been a coach at SHC ever since. It was at SHC that he found a place to couple his passion for training with his purpose of working with youth. He loves what he does and feels that his mission is to help as many people as possible, as a true servant leader. SHC was the place for him to do that, in partnership with athletes, coaches and their families. “Kids are the rockstars of the program and they are the most important piece. I oversee it and build the culture, but they are the ones that have to make the tough choices, they are the ones that have to commit and sacrifice. If I don’t have them, I don’t have anything.” Colin’s program is built on the bedrock of a set of core values: integrity, accountability, discipline, effort, focus, determination, persistence, and dedication. “This work is a passion of mine, and to build young people to be successful whether or not they play sports at the next level.”