Where Performance Begins

The science behind
the athlete.

Athletic development takes more than training. SPIRE Performance brings together strength and conditioning, mindset, nutrition, recovery, and sports science to help student-athletes improve and build habits they can carry into college and beyond.

CONNECT WITH PERFORMANCE REQUEST INFO

SPIRE / PERFORMANCE

WHAT IS PERFORMANCE?

Every part of development works together.

How athletes train, fuel, recover, and respond to challenges shapes their progress.

At SPIRE, Performance connects training and athletic development with mindset, recovery, nutrition, injury prevention, performance optimization, and sports science. These areas work together to support the demands of each athlete’s sport and stage of development.

For families, that means an approach that considers both athletic progress and the habits needed to sustain it.

WATCH

Meet COACH JAY

Go beyond the weight room and learn more about SPIRE Director of Performance, Jay McMichael's journey, coaching philosophy, and vision for the program.

FOCUS AREAS

What supports your progress

Six distinct disciplines, run inside a real elite-training environment, producing data that informs everything from training regimens to product design.

Strength & Conditioning

Develop the strength, speed, power, and movement skills your sport demands.

Strength & ConditioningBuild training habits that support continued athletic development.

Mindset Development

Practice focus, confidence, and preparation for competition.

Mindset DevelopmentDevelop strategies for responding to pressure and setbacks.

Nutrition

Understand how fueling and hydration support training and recovery.

NutritionBuild practical habits for the demands of a student-athlete’s day.

Recovery

Understand the role of rest and recovery in athletic progress.

RecoveryBuild consistent routines around training and competition.

Injury Prevention

Develop movement quality and physical preparation.

Injury PreventionLearn why managing training demands and communicating concerns matter.

Sports Science

Use assessments to understand current capabilities and track change.

Sports ScienceConnect findings to coaching decisions and development priorities.

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

Build strength.
Build an edge.

Strength and conditioning is built around the demands of each sport, with individualized training designed to build strength, speed and resilience while helping prevent injury. Certified performance coaches work with athletes year-round in SPIRE’s 25,000-square-foot Performance Training Center, continually adapting training to support peak performance.

MINDSET DEVELOPMENT

Train your mind.
Elevate your game.

Mental-performance coaching builds the focus, confidence, and resilience that separate good athletes from great ones. SPIRE’s Mindset program begins during the first week of school and continues throughout the year with dedicated weekly time in Peak Performance classes, Residential Life, Performance and Athletics, exploring what it takes to succeed in sport and in life.

Mental toughness is a trained skill, not a personality trait. SPIRE translates sports psychology into measurable goals: emotional control, focus duration, performance consistency. Workshops cover high-pressure focus, visualization, leadership, and mindfulness.

NUTRITION

Fuel your game.
Fuel your future.

Nutrition is a key component of performance. Sports nutritionists at SPIRE provide each athlete with personalized nutrition and hydration plans, including practical snacking strategies, to fuel training, enhance performance and build healthy eating habits that support them today and for the future.

RECOVERY & INJURY PREVENTION

Recover smarter.
Perform better.

On-site athletic training, recovery and sports medicine work together to minimize injury and keep athletes performing at their best. With Geneva Family Health Center ARMC on campus, SPIRE combines proven practices, advanced recovery tools and individualized return-to-play protocols to help athletes recover safely and get back in the game stronger.

PERFORMANCE

MEASURED, EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

Return-to-play testing

Muscle stimulation & recovery

Body composition scanning

OUR APPROACH

Test. Train. Re-test.

01Test: understand the starting pointAssessments help coaches understand an athlete’s current capabilities and identify development priorities. Performance staff translate those findings into training goals, while SPRI contributes research and measurement expertise.

02Train: put the findings to workCoaches use assessment findings alongside daily observations to guide athletic development. Training, mindset, recovery, and nutrition support the work, with attention to managing physical demands and reducing injury risk.

03Re-test: measure progress, adjust the planFollow-up assessments help coaches and athletes see what has changed and where more work is needed. Performance and SPRI use measurement to inform adjustments and evaluate approaches to athlete development and performance optimization.

PERFORMANCE PARTNERS

Tech that changes the way you train

training decisions based on data, not guesswork

Through the SPIRE Performance Research Institute (SPRI), student-athletes train with professional-grade performance technology that measures how they move, how strong they are, how hard they work and how well they recover. Every athlete gets a baseline profile, a training plan built for them and regular retesting, so they can see their progress. The result: a complete, individual picture of every student-athlete, giving them a clear path to get stronger, faster and more resilient, plus the habits to keep improving long after SPIRE.

AIRO System

Endurance and Recovery

AIRO SystemControlled oxygen training helps athletes build endurance, recover faster and keep performing through repeated high-intensity efforts.

Onescrin

Movement Analysis

OnescrinAI-powered video analysis evaluates how athletes jump, sprint and change direction. It finds asymmetries and movement limitations early, so training can fix them.

AxIT by Strength by Numbers

Strength and Power Testing

AxIT by Strength by NumbersForce plates and strength testing measure power, force production and left-right imbalances. The results go into each athlete’s performance report card.

Beyond Pulse

Training Load Monitoring

Beyond PulseWearable sensors track effort and workload during practice. Coaches use the data to manage training intensity and keep athletes fresh and ready to compete.

Wictory.ai

Athlete Dashboard and FUEL Nutrition

Wictory.aiWictory.ai brings training, recovery and nutrition together in one athlete profile. SPIRE’s FUEL nutrition program is built on The Sports Nutrition Playbook by Amy Goodson, MS, RD, CSSD, LD. Performance staff teach athletes what to eat, when and why, so each athlete’s fueling keeps pace with how they train.

SPIRE'S PERFORMANCE STAFF

a world-class team

Performance, sports-science and mindset specialists working with every athlete on campus.

Jay McMichael

PERFORMANCE

Bennie Fielding

PERFORMANCE

Ryan Sarkisian

PERFORMANCE

Kyndia Matlock

PERFORMANCE

Dr. Zac Bruback

DIRECTOR OF MINDSET DEVELOPMENT

SPIRE PERFORMANCE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SPRI)

Tech Summit 2025

Advancing the future of athlete performance. Watch a recap from the FIRST SPRI Tech Summit hosted on campus.

DUAL FOCUS, SHARED INNOVATION

Work with SPRI

Universities and research labs. Sports-tech, health-tech and performance companies. Tell us what you want to test, prove or build.

Experience SPIRE for yourself.

See how academics, athletic training, and campus life come together. Get to know SPIRE and explore whether it’s the right fit for you.

APPLY NOW →REQUEST INFO PLAN A VISIT SIGN UP FOR A CAMP

“

SPIRE's supportive coaches, elite facilities, and welcoming environment have helped me grow and believe in my potential as an international athlete.

Minh Hoang

SWIMMING · CLASS OF 2026

Apply now ◆ Request info ◆ Plan a campus visit TODAY ◆ Register for A SPORT CAMP ◆ 2027–28 enrolling ◆ building the future of sport in geneva, oh ◆ Apply now ◆ Request info ◆ Plan a campus visit TODAY ◆ Register for A SPORT CAMP ◆ 2027–28 enrolling ◆ building the future of sport in geneva, oh ◆

The science behindthe athlete.

Every part of development works together.

Meet COACH JAY

What supports your progress

Build strength.Build an edge.

Train your mind.Elevate your game.

Fuel your game.Fuel your future.

Recover smarter.Perform better.

MEASURED, EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

Test. Train. Re-test.

Tech that changes the way you train

training decisions based on data, not guesswork

a world-class team

Tech Summit 2025

Work with SPRI

Experience SPIRE for yourself.

The science behind
the athlete.

Build strength.
Build an edge.

Train your mind.
Elevate your game.

Fuel your game.
Fuel your future.

Recover smarter.
Perform better.