The recipient of the inaugural 2022 Gatorade CSCCa Young Achievement Award is Mark Uptegraff, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Wittenberg University. Coach Uptegraff was nominated by Coach Greg Warner, Head Strength & Conditioning at Virginia Tech University.
Nomination Letter for Mark from Coach Werner
I am delighted to nominate Mark Uptegraff, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Wittenberg University, for the 2022 Gatorade Young Achievement Award through the CSCCa. Coach Uptegraff oversees program design and implementation for all 23 varsity sports teams at Wittenberg. Coach Uptegraff directs the hands-on implementation of the comprehensive annual strength and conditioning programs for Football, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Baseball, Softball, and Men’s and Women’s Tennis. Mark began his work at Wittenberg in June of 2021 after two years as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Virginia Tech. Prior to VT he completed his undergraduate work at The University of North Carolina. While at UNC Coach Uptegraff served as the strength and conditioning intern and a student coach for the Tar Heel football team during the 2017-2018 school year. From 2014-2017, Uptegraff was an offensive lineman on the UNC football team. Coach Uptegraff has numerous professional certifications, including CSCCa-SCCC, NSCA-CSCS, USAW-L1 (USA Weightlifting-Level1) and RPR (Reflexive Performance Reset). I believe Mark is deserving of this award because he has stayed the course from collegiate athlete to undergraduate internships, to earning a graduate assistantship and now to earning and excelling as a Head Strength and Conditioning Coach — Mark is a great example for young people desiring to enter our profession. I give Coach Mark Uptegraff my highest recommendation and nomination for the 2022 Gatorade/CSCCa Young Achievement Award.
