Lewis University Assistant President of Athletics
John Ashaolu has announced that Kwadwo Aikins is the first Strength and Conditioning coach for Lewis Athletics on July 25, 2025. Aikins joins the Flyers from Lindenwood University where he was an Athletic Performance Coach.
"As someone who grew up in the area, Lewis has always been on my radar," Aikins said. "I've always admired the university's strong commitment to athletics and developing student-athletes both on and off the field. In my coaching experience, programs rooted in core values and guided by a clear mission tend to attract individuals who are eager to grow and evolve into the best versions of themselves. That is the kind of environment where I thrive as a coach, where personal development is just as important as athletic performance."
"We are thrilled to welcome Kwadwo Aikins to the Lewis University athletic department as our new Head Strength and Conditioning Coach," Ashaolu said. "Kwadwo comes highly recommended and brings a passion for athlete development, a deep understanding of performance training, and a proven ability to build strong relationships with student-athletes. His experience and leadership will be instrumental as we continue to enhance the overall health, performance, and well-being of our teams."
This past school year at Lindenwood he designed and implemented programs for men's rugby, track and field, cross country and tennis. He also assisted with basketball training and support. In his role Aikins would conduct testing and evaluation of athletic abilities and progress, he maintained the operation and maintenance of facilities and utilized Hawkin Dynamic force plates, Arena timing gates, VBT units and Pitchero GPS units.
"We are excited to have Kwadwo join us as part of our athletics staff," Senior Associate Athletic Director/Director of Athletic Training/SWA
Jennifer Janczak said. "His expertise will help our athletes not only improve their strength and conditioning, but also help decrease some of the injuries we typically see from year to year. His energy and passion will be a great addition to our department."
One of the biggest challenges Aikins will face is putting together different strength and conditioning programs for more than 20 sports.
"As a strength and conditioning coach, my number one job is to physically prepare athletes for the demands of their specific sport—and those demands vary widely from sport to sport. To do that effectively, I start by reverse-engineering the sport. This means analyzing movement patterns, energy system usage, common injuries and their frequency, and the types of forces athletes need to produce or absorb. Training programs will begin with a focus on foundational qualities like movement competency, general strength, and work capacity. As we approach the competitive season, the focus will gradually shift toward more sport-specific traits and performance outcomes.
"Consistent communication with sport coaches and athletic trainers will be a priority throughout this process. That collaboration ensures that everyone is aligned, training goals are unified, and the athletes are getting a fully integrated performance plan that supports both their health and their success on the field."
Before Lindenwood Aikins was at St. Francis University-Pennsylvania as an Athletic Performance Coach, where he designed and implemented programs for men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's tennis and cross country, while assisting with football from January to May of 2024.
He began his career as the Strength and Conditioning Intern at Northwestern University. With the Wildcats he collaborated with the strength staff to implement programs for men's and women's soccer, tennis, wrestling, volleyball, field hockey, baseball and swimming and diving.
