APSU’s inaugural Health and Performance Summit connects students with sport and military performance experts

By: Christy Bastin November 2, 2026

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University brought students, coaches, health professionals, and military performance experts together Oct. 17 for its inaugural Health and Performance Summit, creating a space to explore how people train, recover, and perform under pressure.

Hosted by the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences’ Department of Health and Human Performance and presented by Deaconess Health System, the summit took place in the university’s Health Professions Building. It connected professional expertise with student learning through sessions on strength and conditioning, performance technology, recovery, and mental preparation.

“Seeing that energy in one room was exactly what we hoped this event would become,” Dr. Tim Leszczak, chair of the Department of Health and Human Performance and the summit’s organizer, wrote in a post reflecting on the event.

The speaker lineup brought perspectives from professional baseball and basketball, collegiate athletics, sports technology, and military human performance. Presenters included Chris Dunaway, Dr. Bill Burgos, Paul Robbins, Ryan Metzger, Spencer Posey and Dr. Seth Haselhuhn.

Topics ranged from improving performance outcomes and using training and recovery innovations to teaching Olympic lifting in group settings. Sessions also examined the connections between athletic preparation and military readiness, along with mental performance strategies for training, competition, and rehabilitation.

For students preparing to enter health and performance professions, the event offered an opportunity to connect classroom learning with the work of experienced practitioners and meet professionals across several career paths.

Dr. Bill Burgos, an Austin Peay alumnus whose career includes strength and conditioning leadership roles with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, and New York Knicks, emphasized the enduring importance of coaching fundamentals in a LinkedIn post previewing the summit.

“As technology and data continue to evolve, the fundamentals remain: sound methodology, interdisciplinary collaboration, and trust in the coaching process,” Burgos wrote. “Coach the human being first.”

The relationship between athletic performance and military preparedness added another dimension to the discussion. Spencer Posey, military and human performance lead for Garmin Health and an Army veteran, described the overlap and the differences between preparing athletes and preparing service members.

“Most athletes peak for a known event,” Posey wrote in a post ahead of his presentation. “Soldiers have to be ready on a date nobody knows, over a career that can span 20+ years, and an experienced warfighter can’t be replaced from the practice squad.”

Exhibiting organizations also allowed attendees to explore tools for assessing and supporting performance. These included strength and conditioning software, movement and reaction training, muscle fatigue assessment, and technology for tracking force and lifting speed.

Alongside presenting sponsor Deaconess, organizations supporting the summit included TeamBuildr, Upside, DetecFit, Quickboard, Aris, MYOCENE, and VALD Performance. Continuing education opportunities were available through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association.

Leszczak thanked students, faculty, alumni, speakers, and community partners for helping establish the event and expressed interest in building on its first year.

“This is just the beginning,” he wrote. “We’re already looking forward to building on this momentum next year.”

Students, practitioners, and potential partners interested in next year’s summit can visit Austin Peay’s Health and Performance Summit website and contact Leszczak to learn more about opportunities to participate.