Strength & Conditioning

The two basic goals of the Strength and Conditioning department are injury prevention and performance enhancement for the 20 varsity sports sponsored by the University of New Hampshire, and they have been key in guiding UNH student-athletes to NCAA appearances in both women’s and men’s ice hockey, field hockey, football, gymnastics, women’s volleyball, women’s lacrosse, skiing and track and field.

The first goal, injury prevention, revolves around reducing the likelihood of the student-athlete getting injured during games or practice by training the student-athlete as a unit and pinpointing weaknesses in the player that need to be strengthened.

The second goal, performance enhancement, centers on making the student-athlete a better student-athlete. This is done by educating student-athletes on a wide range of training from Olympic-style weightlifting to teaching the student-athlete how to move more efficiently while running or during an agility drill.

The Strength and Conditioning program plays a vital role in the success of UNH field hockey. The student-athletes train year-round to perform at their highest level throughout the season. The strength and conditioning program is a comprehensive training program that involves Olympic-style weightlifting, traditional strength training, plyometrics, agility/quickness training and sport-specific conditioning.

Paul Chapman enters his 11th year as the director of strength and conditioning at the University of New Hampshire. During his tenure at UNH, Chapman helped coordinate the building and subsequent expansion of the state-of-the-art Jerry Azumah Performance Center.

Chapman is a member of the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (strength and conditioning coach certified), USA Weightlifting (certified level 1 coach), the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and he was the state director of the National Strength and Conditioning Association in North Dakota from 1991-95. He has also authored four publications related to strength and conditioning and has trained and consulted several NFL, CFL and NHL athletes, and prospective athletes preparing for all-star games, bowl games and pre-draft testing.

Chapman is a 1990 graduate of Dickinson State University in North Dakota with a B.S. degree in Biology. He then went on to earn at M.S. in Exercise Science from North Dakota in 1994. An outstanding college athlete, Chapman was inducted into the Dickinson State Athletic Hall of Fame for his efforts on the football field. He was a two-time All-America First Team selection as well as an All-America Second Team honoree in his four-year playing career. Upon graduation, he was a fourth-round draft choice of the Saskatchewan Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League.

John Ciani is entering his 11th year directing the strength and conditioning program for the UNH field hockey program. After four years as an assistant coach in the University’s strength and conditioning office, Ciani was promoted to the position of Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning in 2006.

Ciani, a native of the San Diego, Calif. area, came to UNH after a stint as assistant strength coach at the University of North Dakota. In 2000, John began his career in strength and conditioning at Long Beach State as a graduate assistant working with the perennial national power women’s volleyball team, where he trained many All-American and national team level volleyball players, including Misty May.

Ciani received a B.A. degree in Psychology from Long Beach State and worked on his Master’s Degree in Exercise Science at the University of North Dakota.