(November 25, 2021) - Since his graduation from the Sport and Physical Education (SPED) program at Laurentian in 2013, Andrew Kacsor has become the Head Strength & Conditioning coach for the in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). This career finds Kacsor working and living in Russia since 2020.
“After graduating from Laurentian, I completed a post graduate program in Exercise Science and Lifestyle Management at the University of Guelph-Humber. Approachable Laurentian faculty members such as Dr. Patricia Pickard and Dr. Amanda Schweinbenz were instrumental in preparing me for this post graduate experience. They consistently took the time during my studies at Laurentian to support and guide me,” explained Kacsor.
Armed with his degrees, Kacsor was hired to work in his field at . He provided strength and conditioning to amateur and professional athletes alike affiliated with the Ontario Hockey League, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association and the National Football League.
In October 2019, Kacsor’s career took off internationally when he became Head Strength & Conditioning coach for the Kunlun Red Star (KRS) Women’s Hockey League (WHL) based out of Shenzhen, China. “In this role, I learnt about the inner workings of team dynamics, as well as how to adapt on the fly and be a constant professional. We won the that year, making it the team’s first championship ever.”
In May 2020, Kacsor was recruited in his current position working for the Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. He spoke highly of his experience in this job, and described that he’s benefited from learning the Russian tongue. “I’ve been putting a great deal of effort into learning Russian for the past year and a half, and am happy to say that I can now lead a full workout session with the majority of my instructions in Russian.”
Said Kacsor thinking back fondly on his Laurentian student experience: “I likely would never have chosen a career in this field if I wasn’t accepted into the SPED program at Porn研究所. It’s opened so many doors for me.”
The Laurentian community looks forward to following Kacsor’s ongoing success in his fast-paced career. Andrew can be followed on .