Matt Thome, MS, CSCS, is in his second year as Director of the Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory (NAPL) and third year in the Nebraska Athletic Department. In his role at Nebraska, Thome oversees the direction of the Applied Sport Science Team by working with coaching and performance staff members on the integration of sport technologies, training strategies and return-to-play processes to promote athlete development and health with the goal of optimizing performance.
Prior to joining the NAPL, he worked as a Sport Scientist for Olympic-level sprinters at ALTIS Training in Phoenix, Ariz. He was responsible for the organization of a monitoring framework for elite track and field sprinters. Thome managed daily monitoring data, conducting research in an applied sport setting as well as programing and coaching strength training in the 100-meters and 110-meter hurdles.
Thome worked as a Head Strength & Conditioning Coach and Lecturer at Michigan Tech from 2012 to 2018. He directed strength and conditioning programs for all 14 sports while also teaching within the Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology Department. He began his coaching career as an Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Richmond from 2011-12.
Thome earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science (2008) at Grand Valley State University and his master’s degree in exercise physiology (2011) at Indiana University. He is currently a PhD candidate in Sport Science at Edith Cowan University, where his research is focused on monitoring training load and response to load on the group and individual levels in elite sprinters.
Matt and his wife, Amber, have two children, Luna and Milo.