AC Grand Rapids is an MLS NEXT Pro expansion club preparing to launch in 2027. We are building more than a professional soccer team. We are building a club that reflects the pride, ambition, resilience, and identity of West Michigan while creating a model for what the future of professional soccer can become in the United States.
Our vision is not simply to compete. Our vision is to create a club where performance, development, culture, and community are inseparable. We believe sustainable success is built when exceptional people are united by a common purpose, aligned around clear standards, and committed to continuous improvement.
Every decision we make is guided by a simple belief: We exist to help people become the best version of themselves while pursuing excellence together. This philosophy influences how we recruit players, develop talent, coach teams, build culture, serve our community, and define success.
Position Summary
The Performance Coach serves as the strategic architect of AC Grand Rapids' human performance system ecosystem, leading the club's efforts to maximize player availability, physical readiness, recovery, resilience, and long-term athletic development.
This role is responsible for designing and implementing a comprehensive high-performance model that seamlessly integrates sports science, athletic training, strength and conditioning, performance monitoring, nutrition, recovery, and return-to-performance processes into one aligned philosophy centered on helping players consistently perform at their highest level.
Success in this role requires the ability to blend science with practical application, objective data with coaching intuition, and long-term athlete development with the immediate demands of professional competition. The ideal candidate understands that high performance extends beyond injury prevention. It is about creating an environment where players are consistently prepared to train, compete, recover, and improve throughout the season.
The Performance Coach will work closely with the VP of Sporting Operations & Strategy, Head Coach, Manager, Team Operations, Equipment Manager, technical staff, medical providers, performance specialists, and players to ensure every aspect of human performance supports the club's competitive objectives.
The successful candidate will play a foundational role in establishing one of the premier high-performance environments in North American professional soccer.
Primary Responsibilities Human Performance Strategy
- Design, implement, and continuously evolve the club's integrated high-performance philosophy
- Develop systems that maximize player health, readiness, resilience, and performance throughout the competitive calendar
- Align performance methodology with the club's soccer philosophy and competitive objectives
- Build scalable performance systems capable of supporting the club's long-term growth
- Establish departmental standards, operating procedures, and best practices
- Foster a culture where high performance is viewed as an organizational responsibility rather than a departmental function
Performance Optimization
- Lead the physical development of all First Team players
- Oversee strength, power, speed, agility, mobility, conditioning, and movement quality programs
- Individualize physical preparation plans based on player profiles, positional demands, injury history, and developmental objectives
- Optimize training periodization throughout preseason, regular season, and postseason
- Collaborate with coaching staff to balance physical loading with tactical objectives
- Continuously evaluate training effectiveness and adjust programs accordingly
Player Availability
- Develop proactive strategies that maximize player availability throughout the season
- Monitor workload, fatigue, recovery, and readiness using objective and subjective performance measures
- Identify potential performance risks before they become injuries
- Collaborate with coaching staff regarding training modifications and player management
- Implement evidence-based interventions that support consistent player availability
- Track and analyze player availability metrics to inform continuous improvement
Performance Intelligence
- Lead the club's sports science initiatives
- Utilize GPS, wearable technology, force plate testing, wellness questionnaires, and other monitoring tools to evaluate player performance
- Analyze workload trends and performance data to support decision-making
- Translate complex data into practical recommendations for coaches and players
- Develop performance dashboards and reporting systems
- Promote a culture where data enhances, rather than replaces, coaching expertise
Recovery Systems
- Design and oversee comprehensive recovery protocols for training, matches, and travel
- Develop individualized recovery plans based on player needs and workload demands
- Integrate sleep, hydration, nutrition, soft tissue therapies, cold and heat modalities, compression, and regeneration strategies into daily operations
- Evaluate recovery effectiveness and continuously improve recovery systems
- Educate players on recovery as a competitive advantage
Return to Performance
- Oversee all return-to-performance processes following injury
- Collaborate closely with medical professionals to ensure safe progression from rehabilitation to full competition
- Develop objective performance benchmarks for return to training and match readiness
- Ensure players return prepared to perform, not simply cleared to participate
- Continuously evaluate post-return performance and reintegration
Player Health, Nutrition & Education
- Promote habits that support long-term health and professional longevity
- Develop educational initiatives related to nutrition, hydration, sleep, recovery, supplementation, and lifestyle management
- Provide players with practical resources that improve daily performance behaviors
- Encourage athlete ownership and accountability for personal performance
- Foster an environment where education supports sustainable excellence
Department Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Lead and develop all high-performance personnel
- Foster collaboration among athletic training, strength and conditioning, sports science, medical providers, nutrition consultants, and coaching staff
- Ensure role clarity and communication across all performance disciplines
- Build trusted relationships throughout the organization
- Support staff development through mentorship and continuous learning
Required Skills & Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science, Sports Science, Strength & Conditioning, Athletic Training, Physical Therapy, Kinesiology, or related field preferred (master’s degree preferred)
- Minimum five years of experience in elite professional, international, collegiate, or academy high-performance environments
- Demonstrated expertise in sports science, physical preparation, and athlete monitoring
- Strong understanding of GPS technology, workload monitoring, force plate testing, and performance analytics
- Experience leading multidisciplinary performance teams
- Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills
- Ability to integrate scientific principles into practical coaching environments
- Current professional certifications appropriate to discipline (CSCS, ATC, SCCC, or equivalent)
- Legally eligible to work in the United States
- Ability to travel extensively with the team
- Must pass pre-employment screens
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience within MLS, MLS NEXT Pro, USL Championship, NCAA Division I, or international professional soccer
- Experience building or leading integrated high-performance departments
- Experience implementing athlete management systems and performance technologies
- Knowledge of FIFA and MLS competition demands
- Demonstrated success improving player availability and performance metrics
- Experience supporting multidisciplinary professional staff
