In June, 40 participants gathered for HPNRI's High-Performance Coaching Clinic.
Rob Glass, assistant athletic director for athlete performance, led instruction. Dr. Jay Dawes, professor of applied exercise science, also taught at the clinic. Lance Walker, the Rick and Gail Muncrief executive director of HPNRI, joined them.
The clinic is one part of a broader effort by OSU-CHS and the Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute to bring evidence-based guidance into Oklahoma high schools. The work connects coaches and athletic trainers with advice they can use to prepare student-athletes and support their performance.
Virtual learning through Project ECHO is paired with in-person clinics. Community-based Performance Ambassadors extend the program into schools. Its practical focus includes athlete safety and movement preparation. Nutrition is another part of the work.
Strength and Conditioning ECHO drew 726 attendees in fiscal year 2025-26, and 77% returned. Virtual sessions connect coaches and trainers with sports medicine experts. Educators and clinicians also take part, alongside other professionals.
Melenda Knight, HPNRI associate director, said the return rate reflects the relevance of the program's content. She also credited a growing learning community with helping coaches put evidence-informed practices into action.
For Leo Krajewski, strength and conditioning coach and athletic trainer at Muskogee High School, the clinic linked concepts to their use in practice. He called it one of the best seminars he had attended. Learning alongside industry leaders, he said, showed how virtual theory could become practical coaching.
HPNRI's Performance Ambassador Initiative connects university expertise with the schools and teams its ambassadors serve. The network also reaches organizations and communities.
At Enid High School, sports performance director Fred Peery has shared ECHO and clinic resources with junior high instructors. He has also shared them with elementary instructors. In the high school weight room, Peery established a nutritional snack area and a beverage cooler to support post-workout muscle recovery.
Peery hopes to host an HPNRI regional clinic in Enid to reach nearby rural districts. His main goal, he said, is to pass what he has learned on to other coaches.
At Putnam City North High School, athletic trainer and performance ambassador Terry Noonan brought Walker and Glass in to lead a session for the coaching staff. Noonan emphasized correct warm-ups. Walker described a broader shift toward movement activation. He also discussed dynamic mobility and neuromuscular readiness.
Walker said movement preparation goes beyond getting warm. It gets athletes ready to perform and prepares them for the specific demands of the activity ahead.
The Boone Pickens Human Performance Innovation Complex is scheduled to open in early 2028. OSU says the facility will support interdisciplinary research. It will also support workforce development and community partnerships focused on human performance and health.
