(River Falls, WI) — University of Wisconsin-River Falls strength and conditioning coach and Atlantic graduate Jake Anderson was part of the first ever national championship for the Falcons when they took down North Central 24-14 on Sunday. It was already a historical season for the UWRF Falcons as they made their first Division III playoff appearance since 1996 where they lost in the regionals to Wisconsin-La Crosse. In this year’s playoffs, the Falcons got past Chapman University, Saint John’s University, Wheaton College, and John Hopkins in the semi-finals to qualify for the grand stage. Anderson summarizes the team’s success this year:
Anderson made his impact in a lot of places before heading to River Falls. Before taking the job in 2023, Anderson lived in Turkey where he started the International Sports Initiative (iSPORTSi). Prior to moving across the pond, Anderson had an eight year stint with Central College where he coached a large spread of different programs and sports. Anderson’s education started at Northwest Missouri State University then finished his third and fourth years at Iowa State. Anderson would go on to the University of Iowa to finish his master’s degree as well as work with the football program in 2002 and 2003. Anderson on his time at Atlantic High School:
In his college years, Anderson learned under other coaches how to develop strong connections with his players and to create proper buy-in. Anderson says that you’ll always be able to learn the basics of running a strength and condition program, such as speed, agility, and recovery, but in order to create an efficient program, it requires more preparation:
Complete Interview with Strength and Conditioning Coach Jake Anderson:
