Strength & Conditioning

Meet the Coach

Alex Charette joined the Gryphons Staff as Strength and Conditioning Coordinator in August 2023. Previously, Alex was Coaching the Oakville Titans U18 Football club and running team off-season training for multiple programs through his business AC Athletics. He started getting into strength and conditioning 5 years ago as a Certified Personal Trainer running youth athlete programming during his offseason from the CFL. 

When Alex was a Gryphon, he was awarded the Donald Forster Trophy in 3rd year and The Kyle Walters Award in 4th year including a 2nd Team OUA-All Star Honor as was part of the beginning of the Gryphon dominance from 2011-2014 missing the Yates Cup team because he was playing his rookie season for Montreal. 

After 2 seasons in Montreal Alex was released after week 1 due to hamstring injury and then was fortunate to join the Toronto Argonauts and was part of the 105th Grey Cup Championship team. 

“What does being a Gryphon mean to you?” 

“Being a Gryphon the biggest feeling that is evoked is PRIDE. Coach Bill Brown instilled that PRIDE through an acronym that I can still name off to this day. Pressure, Relentless Intensity, Discipline and Effort. That encompasses what it means to be a Gryphon. I have the logo tattooed on my body, it’s meaningful to sit and look back at the era I had as a player and regardless of winning a National Championship, I have PRIDE in what was accomplished during the time as a player. Now, I’m bringing that same passion back to Guelph as a Coach and the Strength and Conditioning aspect of the program”

What our S+C Program is all about

At Guelph, I teach the Holistic Athlete approach. This means we look at all aspects of performance when it comes to the off-season. This includes but is not limited to: Mobility, Recovery, Sleep, Nutrition, Optimal Performance for Speed, Plyometrics and Olympic Lifting, along with our fundamental strength training principles. We investigate mental health regarding sports psychology and performance anxiety as-well. The programming is position specific and individualized using various scientific parameters and testing information to adjust and make sure the program is optimal for each individual athlete. There is no “cookie-cutter” approach here. The program is constantly evolving with new scientific methods that are discovered. 

We do team testing multiple times a year which includes a full body composition analysis using very high-tech accurate equipment and various other measurements including a functional mobility screening created for football players to look at specific areas of concern based on football injury data. 

We also use the catapult GPS system to track our athlete’s performance and metrics as another data feedback for our athletes regarding optimal performance. With all these measurements we can assure that each athlete gets a full analytical and sports science approach to their individual athleticism and performance.