He Made His Mark

Developing strong relationships with athletes and colleagues was his number-one priority. That, he knew, was the secret sauce that would allow him to provide the young men and women entrusted to his care with the necessary skills not just for their sports of choice but for life.

 

Combining his depth and breadth of strength and conditioning knowledge, intentionality, humble and respectful manner, and nurturing, guide-on-the-side style, he put into practice his heartfelt calling.

 

“I grew up in a small rural town without a ton of opportunities,” said Peoples, a multi-sport athlete at Reidsville Senior High School and an All-USA South Conference receiver at Division III Methodist University, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. “We grew up outside playing sports, but we didn’t get a lot of formal training. Zero [sports performance] training.

 

“In college, we had a year-round strength and conditioning program. I saw the benefits it gave me. It made me stronger, faster, more explosive, and more durable, so I developed a passion for training. I wanted to get back to the high school level and provide opportunities for kids that I never had.”

 

During his first four years at Collegiate, he served as Will O’Brien’s assistant, then, when O’Brien moved on, assumed leadership of the program while working collaboratively with assistant Sports Performance coach Justin Brown.

 

Now, Peoples is moving on. June 21 is his final day.

 

He’ll become a sales account manager for JGR Equipment Co., a position that will provide him more flexibility to share family time with his wife Danielle, an administrator at Chalkley Elementary, in Chesterfield County, and their children Parker, a Manchester High School freshman, Noah, a 3rd grader, and Lauren, a 2nd grader, both of whom attend Grange Hall Elementary.

 

“Leaving Collegiate is bittersweet,” Peoples said one recent morning as he prepared to direct a training session in the Kathy Watkinson Ivins Sports Performance Center on the Robins Campus. “I’ve loved my time here, I love what I do here, I love the people here, but at the end of the day, my three kids are growing up. Their schedules are busy. They’re involved in sports and other activities every single season.

        

“I’ve coached other people’s kids for a very long time. As a father, I want to coach my own kids, influence my own kids, and help my own kids. That’s where I am in my life right now. It was definitely a family decision.”

 

During the past three years, Collegiate’s Sports Performance program has undergone much positive change with the support and blessing of the athletic department administration.

 

“I’ve tried to incorporate technology in the weight room to catch up to the 21st Century,” Peoples said. “We added TVs in each facility (on the North Mooreland and Robins Campuses). We’re able to show film of certain exercises. We display workouts so the kids have ownership of what they’re doing and work more fluidly and efficiently.

 

“We can also use the TVs for a timing system. We can put up PowerPoints so we can talk about [subjects] like nutrition. It’s been great to incorporate them into our daily workouts.”

 

He’s also introduced a strength and conditioning app called TeamBuildr.

 

“It’s a way for tracking information and data for the kids: making sure they’re getting their workouts in and tracking maxes,” Peoples said. “As a staff, we can use these numbers to influence [workout-planning] decisions. There’re other things you can do like remote train. Kids are busy during the summer, but with the app, we can provide their workouts for them. It’s been great.”

 

In all that they do, Peoples and Brown also focus on character development.

 

“As a coach, that’s our role,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re developing great people, ones who care about each other. We’ve implemented a rewards program for kids who are committed to working hard. We give them wristbands or stickers or shirts or shout-outs on social media. Maybe it’s an individual who’s a good teammate, who steps up and works hard. We want to show them that we appreciate their effort.”

 

Peoples is a member of the National High School Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, which, he says, has provided him education, empowerment, and certification as well as the opportunity to serve as a statewide board member.

 

It also recognized three 2023 graduates —Jordan Gross, Madelyn Curtis, and Hayden Rollison — as All-Americans for their standard-of-excellence performances in an athletic training context as well as in the classroom and community.

 

“We nominated kids who were committed to the program long term,” he said. “All three were always working extremely hard to get better at their sports and as athletes.”

 

Peoples’s raison d’être, though, hasn’t been just to train All-Americans and college-bound athletes but to inspire all who step into the weight room, their talent level notwithstanding, to value fitness and pursue a healthy lifestyle. Becoming the best possible version of himself has been a bonus.

 

“What has given me the most joy and why I got into this profession is the kids,” he said. “Working beside Will O’Brien and Justin Brown couldn’t have been a better experience. I enjoy growing as an individual, being the best strength coach, the best team member, and the best husband and father I can be. I’m leaving a place where I’ve really enjoyed the experience, but I know I’m making the right decision for my family.”

~Weldon Bradshaw