University of Minnesota Athletics
Support Staff Spotlight: Corey Petersen
1/11/2021 9:06:00 AM | Soccer
Across the program's 27-season history, the Gopher Soccer team has compiled a 301-205-48 (.543) all-time record, highlighted by four Big Ten Regular Season Championships and three conference Tournament Championships. Also included are 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament, during which the Gophers advanced past the first round on seven different occasions.
In addition to talented players and an experienced coaching staff, there are countless support staff employees working behind the scenes to make such a degree of success both possible and sustainable. One such person playing a daily, vital role is assistant director of athletic performance Corey Petersen, who has been with the team since joining the University of Minnesota Strength and Conditioning staff in June of 2015. It has been a unique year as it relates to training, but Petersen has nonetheless utilized creative ways to keep the team focused and in shape heading into the spring 2021 season.
GS: How did you first get into your field?
CP: "I was pretty fortunate to be passionate about training, strength & conditioning, working out and lifting weights at a pretty young age. I probably knew that I wanted to do this since I was a sophomore in high school. For my ninth grade Christmas, I had done enough chores, cutting neighbors' grass and shoveling driveways to earn some money, and then my parents paid for the other half. We ended up buying a squat rack that I actually had in my room... Everyone always asks me what my dream job is, and I always say that I am living the dream."
GS: What is your favorite part about your job?
CP: "Honestly, watching the athletes develop and grow in so many different aspects. You get the opportunity to see them in every single environment that takes place. When you know that you can have an impact on someone on a daily basis, there's a lot of joy that comes with that. You get to help someone. Whatever their goals might be, that's why you do it."
GS: What do you like to do in your free time?
CP: "Reading or researching, those types of things. I do have a dog, so taking the dog to a dog park and hanging out with my dog. I like to do projects. Projects are my way to take my mind away from work."
GS: How was coordinating the team's strength & conditioning different this past fall?
CP: "The biggest thing when you look at training and everything was just the consistency. There wasn't much consistency this fall and what I mean by that is, they come in from the summer and they're all training, thinking we're going to have a season, and then we start training camp and then we had to hold back practices' intensity and volume and what we were able to do at practice due to the Big Ten recommendations... It's a lot of ups and downs. Riding the wave and riding the roller coaster. Honestly, I'm a big planner. This year, it was so day-to-day. You could have a meeting in the morning and what you know in the morning is different than what you know at night. Just trying to adapt and be ready, and I think that's probably the biggest thing."
GS: How would you gauge the focus of the team with their training so far?
CP: "There were certainly ups and downs, but I do think they came ready to go. A lot of the mindset was 'no day is guaranteed.' When you're out there during practice, just focus on this practice. Don't worry about tomorrow yet, because you don't even know what's going to happen by tomorrow. Get the most out of this practice or this training session today."
GS: Talk about some of the creative solutions you came up with this past fall.
CP: "In the summer, the team is so used to having captains' practices and being able to play with each other. What was different about this summer was that a lot of club teams weren't going or a lot of kids weren't able to get in club practices, which a lot of players do when they go home before they come back. They came back to campus and the big emphasis was 'soccer is the priority.' How can we make this an easy transition to where we can get everything in one place, so they can focus on soccer and we can train? What we did was we brought some racks, dumbbells, kettle begs, med bells, barbells, hex bars, different hurdles, different stuff out to the field. So when the team came, they came together as a team and we would warm up, do some speed and agility, and then they would do their captains' practice. I would leave and when the practice was done, we'd either lift or do fitness or anything we needed to do. It basically just allowed them to stay in one place the entire time… I'm trying to give you the same training that you would be getting in a normal year."
GS: How have you communicated training plans to players during their time away?
CP: "I try to touch base and at least have some sort of touch point every day with them. If not daily, for sure weekly. Just having different conversations and seeing how they're doing. I just want to make sure mentally they're doing okay. At home, life is okay. Training is going okay. Ultimately, just seeing how they're doing, but I do send them weekly training programs. I'm very, very big on communication, as far as them communicating whatever they need or whatever they have available. I'm going to do the best I can to get them something they're able to do and something that they can do at the highest level."
GS: How do you feel the team is prepared to attack the spring preseason and season demands?
CP: "This is probably the most excited they've ever been. It's been over a year and a half since they've played a game, so a lot of the team is just ready to get back together again and play with each other and practice with each other. We'll know more as soon as we get on campus and we can see what their fitness base is, what they're capacity is and take them through our screening process just to make sure everyone is in a good position, and then we build from there."
GS: What is your proudest moment with Gopher Soccer?
CP: "This is going on my fifth year with them, but I think just being able to watch them play. From my perspective, I get to see all the work they're doing. I get to see it day-in and day-out. I know the fitness they're doing; the hard stuff they're doing. So, just getting to see them play is rewarding, because if they're playing, they're healthy. Besides that, if a player does have an injury, it's getting to rehab that player back to not just where they were, but even better. That's always the goal."
GS: If you could trade jobs with another Gopher Soccer employee, who would it be?
CP: "Adam Bates in equipment. I would want it to be a game day, because I think it's awesome when equipment managers get to set out the uniforms the day of the game. Get their uniforms ready, put their jerseys on hangers and stage the locker room. I'm very big on details and presentation and how stuff looks. That's just who I am."
In addition to talented players and an experienced coaching staff, there are countless support staff employees working behind the scenes to make such a degree of success both possible and sustainable. One such person playing a daily, vital role is assistant director of athletic performance Corey Petersen, who has been with the team since joining the University of Minnesota Strength and Conditioning staff in June of 2015. It has been a unique year as it relates to training, but Petersen has nonetheless utilized creative ways to keep the team focused and in shape heading into the spring 2021 season.
GS: How did you first get into your field?
CP: "I was pretty fortunate to be passionate about training, strength & conditioning, working out and lifting weights at a pretty young age. I probably knew that I wanted to do this since I was a sophomore in high school. For my ninth grade Christmas, I had done enough chores, cutting neighbors' grass and shoveling driveways to earn some money, and then my parents paid for the other half. We ended up buying a squat rack that I actually had in my room... Everyone always asks me what my dream job is, and I always say that I am living the dream."
GS: What is your favorite part about your job?
CP: "Honestly, watching the athletes develop and grow in so many different aspects. You get the opportunity to see them in every single environment that takes place. When you know that you can have an impact on someone on a daily basis, there's a lot of joy that comes with that. You get to help someone. Whatever their goals might be, that's why you do it."
GS: What do you like to do in your free time?
CP: "Reading or researching, those types of things. I do have a dog, so taking the dog to a dog park and hanging out with my dog. I like to do projects. Projects are my way to take my mind away from work."
GS: How was coordinating the team's strength & conditioning different this past fall?
CP: "The biggest thing when you look at training and everything was just the consistency. There wasn't much consistency this fall and what I mean by that is, they come in from the summer and they're all training, thinking we're going to have a season, and then we start training camp and then we had to hold back practices' intensity and volume and what we were able to do at practice due to the Big Ten recommendations... It's a lot of ups and downs. Riding the wave and riding the roller coaster. Honestly, I'm a big planner. This year, it was so day-to-day. You could have a meeting in the morning and what you know in the morning is different than what you know at night. Just trying to adapt and be ready, and I think that's probably the biggest thing."
GS: How would you gauge the focus of the team with their training so far?
CP: "There were certainly ups and downs, but I do think they came ready to go. A lot of the mindset was 'no day is guaranteed.' When you're out there during practice, just focus on this practice. Don't worry about tomorrow yet, because you don't even know what's going to happen by tomorrow. Get the most out of this practice or this training session today."
GS: Talk about some of the creative solutions you came up with this past fall.
CP: "In the summer, the team is so used to having captains' practices and being able to play with each other. What was different about this summer was that a lot of club teams weren't going or a lot of kids weren't able to get in club practices, which a lot of players do when they go home before they come back. They came back to campus and the big emphasis was 'soccer is the priority.' How can we make this an easy transition to where we can get everything in one place, so they can focus on soccer and we can train? What we did was we brought some racks, dumbbells, kettle begs, med bells, barbells, hex bars, different hurdles, different stuff out to the field. So when the team came, they came together as a team and we would warm up, do some speed and agility, and then they would do their captains' practice. I would leave and when the practice was done, we'd either lift or do fitness or anything we needed to do. It basically just allowed them to stay in one place the entire time… I'm trying to give you the same training that you would be getting in a normal year."
GS: How have you communicated training plans to players during their time away?
CP: "I try to touch base and at least have some sort of touch point every day with them. If not daily, for sure weekly. Just having different conversations and seeing how they're doing. I just want to make sure mentally they're doing okay. At home, life is okay. Training is going okay. Ultimately, just seeing how they're doing, but I do send them weekly training programs. I'm very, very big on communication, as far as them communicating whatever they need or whatever they have available. I'm going to do the best I can to get them something they're able to do and something that they can do at the highest level."
GS: How do you feel the team is prepared to attack the spring preseason and season demands?
CP: "This is probably the most excited they've ever been. It's been over a year and a half since they've played a game, so a lot of the team is just ready to get back together again and play with each other and practice with each other. We'll know more as soon as we get on campus and we can see what their fitness base is, what they're capacity is and take them through our screening process just to make sure everyone is in a good position, and then we build from there."
GS: What is your proudest moment with Gopher Soccer?
CP: "This is going on my fifth year with them, but I think just being able to watch them play. From my perspective, I get to see all the work they're doing. I get to see it day-in and day-out. I know the fitness they're doing; the hard stuff they're doing. So, just getting to see them play is rewarding, because if they're playing, they're healthy. Besides that, if a player does have an injury, it's getting to rehab that player back to not just where they were, but even better. That's always the goal."
GS: If you could trade jobs with another Gopher Soccer employee, who would it be?
CP: "Adam Bates in equipment. I would want it to be a game day, because I think it's awesome when equipment managers get to set out the uniforms the day of the game. Get their uniforms ready, put their jerseys on hangers and stage the locker room. I'm very big on details and presentation and how stuff looks. That's just who I am."
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