Fort Lewis College Athletics

Sports Performance Mission Statement 

The Fort Lewis College Sports Performance and Wellness Department supports the athletics mission of graduating champions by developing educated, well-rounded student-athletes. We foster mentorship, personal growth, and an ELITE culture built on excellence and accountability.

Sports Performance Vision

Our Vision in Sports Performance and Wellness for our student-athletes is multi-faceted. We aim to:

• Help develop high-performance student-athletes through an objective, results-driven approach.
  • We utilize evidence-based practice to provide the best-quality training and coaching to our student-athletes. 
  • We test and assess year-round to ensure student-athletes stay goal-oriented and strive to improve at their overall performance each day. 
  • We look to help our student-athletes improve their overall performance throughout each year, such as strength, power, speed, agility, fitness, mobility, and stability. 
• Positively impact the lives of student-athletes and equip them with necessary life stills after sport. 
  • We prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes through an all-inclusive wellness approach: attacking recovery, sleep, nutrition, mental health, and load management. 
  • We stress the significance of attention to detail in all aspects of our department with student-athletes, coaches, and administration. 
  • We strive to challenge our student-athletes in many ways to help develop discipline, problem-solving skills, and the necessary skills to succeed in sports
  • We ensure student-athletes have the resources needed to assist with mental health and performance roadblocks through our holistic Wellness Coach.

Training Philosophy

Our ultimate training goal in Sports Performance is to train the athlete’s body to tolerate any loads necessary during competition to mitigate injury while providing the resources to be stronger, faster, more powerful, more agile, and more fit than their opponent. Our training programs begin with stressing the importance of movement and technique in the seven fundamental movements and unstable environments. 

To improve and assess what is needed for the student-athlete, we begin each season with a general phase that will assist in the “prep” of the athlete for the demands of training and sport, while then incorporating a work-capacity phase of unilateral and bilateral movements. The goals of strength, power, speed, agility, etc. will then be determined based on the season and sport by utilizing an evidence-based approach, following methods like Triphasic Training, French Contrast, plyometrics, acceleration, deceleration, and change of direction. Proper pre-activity preparation and recovery are included in every program to help maintain the health of each individual.

Sports Performance Staff

Darrian Stickney, Director of Sports Performance: Football, Men's & Women's Basketball, Men's & Women's Soccer

Lex Mohler, Assistant Director of Sports Performance: Volleyball, Men's & Women's Cross Country, Track & Field 

Justin Romo, Sports Performance Coach: Softball, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Basketball

Aidan Loberg, Sports Performance Coach: Men's & Women's Golf, Men's & Women's Cross Country, Track and Field

New CommonSpirit Sports Performance Center

Sports Performance Internships

Start/End Dates: Sports Performance Internships will begin on the first day of each semester. This will normally occur in the final week of August, the third week of January, and the First week of June. The internship will end on the Friday before finals week. The internship is 15 weeks long and will follow the internship curriculum. Interns are encouraged to take 3 credits for the semester, but may also participate just for experience. 

Benefits: Sports Performance coaching experience with NCAA Division II collegiate athletes; Funding for necessary coaching certification (CSCS, USAW, XPS, ISSA, etc.); CPR / AED Certification at the expense of Mercy Sports Medicine; Earned references/recommendations, when appropriate; Knowledge in the science and applied setting of all Sports Performance coaching; Sports Performance work gear, if earned.

Typical Hours: Hours are unique to each individual and will be determined before the internship begins. Hours typically range from 10 to 30 per week. 

Required Qualifications: Individuals must be in pursuit of/and or hold a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science, a similarly related field, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists®, or a Personal Training Certificate. 

How to Apply: To apply for a sports performance internship, please send your resume and a cover letter in a single PDF file to the Director of Sports Performance, Darrian Stickney, at dcstickney@fortlewis.edu

Student-Athlete Resources

Fort Lewis College Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Policy

Fort Lewis College Athletics also prohibits the use of tobacco products, alcohol, and cannabinoids, which also all fall under the NCAA banned substance list. Review the policy followed by all NCAA sports.

Follow us on Instagram!

Donate to the New Fort Lewis College Sports Performance Center

Meet the Mercy Sports Medicine Team

2026 SKYROX Challenge!

Check Out Our Partners!