Alumni and Supporters

Master of Science, Strength and Conditioning (2010)

Winner of the ECU 2023 International Alumni Award

“When you meet an American in Ireland working for rugby, the number one question people ask, is how the heck did you get here?”

From Arizona to Ireland, Nick Winkelman’s journey to Head of Athletic Performance and Science for the Irish Rugby Football Union has been truly global, especially with a degree from a Western Australian university in the mix.

Graduating from ECU with a Master of Science, Strength and Conditioning in 2010, Nick has gone on to be an influential player in the elite sports coaching field. His years of experience has led to ‘coaching coaches’ – sharing his wisdom and knowledge on how to coach and communicate effectively.

“If you had told me when I was a young individual that I would work as a strength and conditioning coach and travel all around the world teaching other coaches how to coach, I would have said you were crazy,” Nick says. “If you had then said, not only that, but you will one day be the head of athletic performance for an elite international rugby team that would go on to spend quite a bit of time at number one and have a fighting chance to continually be one of the best teams in the world - I would have told you that the world is upside down. But here we are.

“And I think like many quotes and books will tell you - if you allow it, life will take you places that you didn't even know were possible until you arrive.”

After gaining an exercise science degree at Oregon State University, Nick had a short stint at the Pittsburgh Pirates before his career kicked off at EXOS (formerly Athletes’ Performance) in Phoenix, Arizona, initially as a strength and conditioning coach preparing aspiring college football players entering the National Football League (NFL).

He then went on to be the Director of Movement and Education, overseeing the development and execution of coaching educational initiatives, including mentorship programs and online courses taught around the world.

“I have always had a passion for coaching,” Nick says. “In 2009, I had the opportunity to do what I dreamed of doing at Athletes Performance, and that is to take over our NFL Combine development program as the coach at our flagship facility in Phoenix.

“That meant that I was going to get 30 top incoming NFL draft picks. And so my responsibility was to develop and support them over an eight week window for the biggest interview of their life. It was a huge scary responsibility and I loved it.”

“If you had told me when I was a young individual that I would work as a strength and conditioning coach and travel all around the world teaching other coaches how to coach, I would have said you were crazy,”

During his time at EXOS Nick decided to study at ECU, drawn to the curriculum and the professionals leading the degree.

“I was well into the workforce, but I always had this drive to better myself academically - not for accolades - but for understanding. I wanted the tools to think better,” he explains.

“I remember looking all around and I needed an online masters or a hybrid program, and Edith Cowan at the time was one of the only ones.

“And I also felt drawn to it because it was an international university in Perth, Australia - the other corner of the world.

“Ultimately going through the program was phenomenal. The educational experience and the practical experiences were invaluable. ECU will hold a special part in my life and in my heart forever.

“The thing that really made it special was how it ended. You go on site for a two-week practicum and they bring in all of the other students in your cohort that descend on Perth from all over the world.

“They bring in all of these strength and conditioning coaches and practitioners from all of these top teams - many of which have also graduated from this university. They come in with the same passion and they want to teach you applied strength and conditioning, things you can take from the academic arena and actually go and use in real life.

“And Edith Cowan University has been one of the forerunners in that.”

In 2016 Nick made the move to the Irish Rugby Football Union, where his primary role is to support the delivery and development of strength and conditioning and sports science across all national and provincial teams.

“A lot of it is coach development, it's leadership and support, it's working on strategic projects, it's implementing a new piece of technology, it's facilitating a new piece of methodology,” Nick explains.

“Whatever our teams need, I'm here to act as the facilitator to bring that together and act as a link then across all the other departments that operate with the exact same symmetry.”

His book The Language of Coaching was published in 2020, delving into the impact that a coach’s communication has on an athlete.

“It is the study and the impact of what we say and the way it manifests and how someone learns to move,” he says. “I think I'll probably commit the rest of my intellectual journey to that idea and trying to elevate how we coach to the same level as what we coach.”

Nick says he is extremely proud to be an ECU alum.

“When I look at those that have graduated and contribute to Edith Cowan University - we have some of the best thinkers and coaches across every ingredient that is strength and conditioning,” Nick says. “And to be one of those graduates, to be one of those contributors, for me, is without word.

“It means everything to me from a professional sense that I can be part of a legacy.”