There is a new face in the Northwood fitness center this year: Strength and Conditioning Coach Drew “Orca” Maiorca brings experience working with athletes ranging from the youth level to the professional and Olympic levels.

Coach Orca said his work at Northwood will help athletes develop “strength, power, speed, work capacity, movement efficiency, and the ability to produce and absorb force”.

He was attracted to Northwood because of the school’s emphasis on athletics and the number of students hoping to compete at the next level. He also saw an opportunity to expand and develop Northwood’s strength and conditioning program.

Strength and conditioning has been part of Maiorca’s life since childhood. His father worked as a professional strength and conditioning coach with elite athletes from several sports, exposing Orca to high-level training at a young age.

“That exposure is ultimately what led me toward the profession”, Maiorca said.

Maiorca later earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and worked with athletes at several competitive levels.

One of his primary goals for his first year is to establish a consistent approach to strength and conditioning across Northwood’s athletic programs.

“I want our training to be intentional and progressive, with a clear purpose behind what we do rather than simply training to create fatigue”, Maiorca said.

Maiorca plans to adapt each training program to the athlete and the demands of the athlete’s sport. He considers factors such as training experience, injury history and competition schedule when developing a program.

“The goal is never simply to make training harder. … Every component of the program should have a purpose and ultimately improve the athlete’s physical preparedness for their sport”, he said.

For Maiorca, strength and conditioning also involves teaching athletes to take responsibility for their development. He wants athletes to understand not only what they are doing in the gym but also why they are doing it.

Looking ahead, Maiorca hopes his work will have an impact beyond his first year at Northwood. His five-year goal is to establish a structured system through which athletes can progress throughout their time at the school.

“I want Northwood to have an established strength and conditioning system that is an integral part of the school’s athletic development process,” Maiorca said.

He hopes the work completed in the fitness center will contribute to a lasting culture of athletic development.

“I want what we build in the fitness center to contribute to a culture of high performance that continues long after individual athletes or coaches move on”, Maiorca said.