Cecil and Hart putting TPH student-athletes in a position to succeed

Nashville, TN – TPH Sports Dietitian, Breanna Cecil and Strength and Conditioning Coach, Staci Hart, have a key principle for their working relationship. That principle is communication. Their use of constant communication over the school year and the benefit of working closely together has shown that nutrition and strength-training coincide well together.

For this well-oiled machine to work, they need to have a game plan in place. “We start with a game plan, but then sometimes you need to adjust the plan with different types of programming that may emphasize power, speed, or conditioning based on what the athlete needs to improve upon. Sometimes this means incorporating even more injury prevention or corrective exercises as well. I like to modify as we go. This allows for specific needs of each student-athlete to be targeted,” Hart said.

Another thing that makes them work well together is their experience in their respective fields. Both Cecil and Hart have been in DI collegiate programs, so they know how those programs are structured and that is the atmosphere they want to deliver to the TPH program. Everything is planned out and accounted for with each student-athlete.

Coach Staci Hart working with TPH Center of Excellence student-athletes at Ford Ice Center Bellevue.

Hart graduated from The Ohio State University where she got her bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. After that, she spent 2 years at Lipscomb University where she earned her master’s degree in Exercise and Nutrition Science. While at both Ohio State and Lipscomb, she interned and served as a Graduate Assistant with the Strength and Conditioning staff. After she received her Master’s, she became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and has spent the last several years training Professional, Collegiate, Junior Level, and Youth Hockey Athletes.

Breanna Cecil works with TPH Center of Excellence student-athlete

Cecil is a Registered Dietitian and attended the University of Kentucky where she received her Bachelors in Dietetics and worked with the Football team under their Sports Dietitian. From there, she completed her master’s in nutrition at Texas Woman’s University and completed 1,200 hours of Supervised Practice for her Dietetic Internship. After earning her Supervised Practice, she was an intern at Vanderbilt University where she worked with the baseball, football and basketball teams. Cecil has also worked with numerous Division I athletes across the country in various sports.

In partnership, Cecil works with Jesse Brown, Chef at Eat Fresh Ready Meals, for some of the athletes to keep them fueled throughout their season. Since the start of the school year, Hart and Cecil have been tracking the progress of the TPH athletes and the progress speaks for itself. Of the 90 athletes that have trained with Cecil and Hart, here is some of the progress that 4 different athletes have made:

Progress that 4 different athletes have made working with Breanna and Staci at the TPH Center of Excellence in Nashville.

In total, Hart and Cecil’s 16U and 15U athletes have gained a total of 101 pounds of lean muscle mass and converted 123 pounds of body fat into muscle. That is a very strong feat considering it was all done in-season as opposed to off-season. The on-ice coaches have taken a notice to the progress as well. One on ice coach said, “Staci and Bre are a great combination. They work really well together understanding the student athletes and their needs and customizing plans to make sure we maximize their gains across the year. Our team this year significantly benefited from having them. Our lost-man days due to injury dramatically reduced across the season despite the fact that we played more games and I really put that back to them working together to make sure our team was moving in the right direction.”

“These results are a testament to how nutrition coupled with strength and conditioning can take you from an average athlete to an elite athlete,” Cecil said. “(Coach) Staci and I are in constant communication with each other. We have both been in D1 collegiate programs, so we know the structure and atmosphere we want to deliver to this hockey program. Everything is planned out and accounted for with each student-athlete”. Going forward, Cecil and Hart want to turn this program into one of the best in the country to help their student-athletes excel in their sport.