Today we are hosting a new group podcast with Dr. Tim Leszczak and Dr Bill Burgos to discuss Austin Peay State University Health and Performance Summit that you are organizing, which will take place on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at the APSU Health Professions Building in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Participants:
Dr. Tim Leszczak is the Department Chair and Professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at Austin Peay State University.
Dr Bill Burgos is an adjunct professor at Austin Peay State university. He is also an experienced NBA Strength & Conditioning coach. He has worked for many NBA teams (Orlando Magic, NY Knicks, Timberwolves..). He also worked in the MiLB with the Pittsburgh pirates. He is also the CEO of LONU a next generation AI based nutrition platform.
You can check out the agenda of the Austin Peay State University Health and Performance Summit, get your ticket for the summit by clicking on the link below and select register now:
For sponsorship information, attendees can visit the event website or contact Dr. Tim Leszczak, Chair of the APSU Health and Human Performance Department, at Leszczakt@apsu.edu.
You can watch the video interview below or you can listen to the audio interview above:
You can read the full transcript of the podcast interview located at the top of this blog post.
Here are some of the best quotes of our conversation with Tim and Bill:
Q1. To start, can each of you briefly share your background in sports and what led you to become involved with this summit?
Dr. Bill Burgos
“My career started at Austin Peay as a student athletic trainer, which exposed me to sports medicine and eventually strength and conditioning. That path led me from professional baseball to the NBA, where I spent more than a decade as a head strength coach. While my background is heavily rooted in basketball, I see myself as a human performance coach working with athletes across all sports. One of the experiences that had the greatest impact on my career was attending a summit, where I met a strength coach who helped open the door to my next opportunity. That experience showed me the value of networking and professional development, and it’s one of the reasons I wanted to help create this summit.”
Dr. Tim Leszczak
“My path into sports performance was somewhat unconventional. I originally studied accounting, but I eventually found my passion in fitness, wellness, and campus recreation while working at the University of Arkansas. I’ve always been interested in exercise, training, and nutrition, and that passion evolved into a deeper interest in human performance. Today, I teach foundational concepts related to sport performance and movement science at Austin Peay, helping prepare the next generation of professionals in the field.”
Q2. What inspired the creation of this summit, and what are the key goals you’re hoping to achieve for attendees?
Dr. Bill Burgos
“The summit was inspired by both my own career journey and a gap I noticed between what students learn in college and what they encounter in the workforce. While Austin Peay does an excellent job preparing students academically, I realized that many students still needed opportunities to connect with employers, understand emerging trends, and see how performance concepts are applied in the real world. Through this summit, we want to expose students and professionals to current innovations, create meaningful networking opportunities, strengthen relationships with Fort Campbell and the military community, and ultimately help attendees better understand what’s possible in their careers. More than anything, we want to make a lasting impact on students’ lives and professional development.”
Dr. Tim Leszczak
“The idea for the summit began with a desire to strengthen the connection between Austin Peay State University and Fort Campbell while creating a meaningful educational experience for a broad range of professionals. Our goal is to bring together strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists, coaches, military personnel, and students for a collaborative learning experience. We wanted to build a summit that covers the full spectrum of human performance—from mental performance and recovery to physical preparation and Olympic lifting—while providing practical information that attendees can immediately apply in their own environments.”
Q3. Can you walk us through the agenda and highlight some of the sessions, speakers, or topics that you’re most excited about?
Dr. Bill Burgos
“What excites me most about this year’s lineup is that every speaker brings a unique perspective while contributing to the broader theme of human performance. The summit blends expertise from professional sports, collegiate athletics, sports medicine, and the military, showing how these disciplines intersect and learn from one another. I’m especially excited about speakers like Dr Andy Barr, Ryan Metzger, Paul Robbins, and Sergeant Spencer Posey because each offers practical insights that can directly impact coaching, injury prevention, performance, and leadership. These are professionals I’ve learned from throughout my career, and bringing them to Austin Peay creates an incredible opportunity for attendees to gain knowledge that is both current and immediately applicable.”
Dr. Tim Leszczak
“We’ve put together what I believe is a very well-rounded and robust agenda. The day begins with Chris Dunaway of the Los Angeles Dodgers discussing innovation in performance and the importance of tailoring solutions to individual athletes rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. From there, attendees will learn about injury prevention, recovery science, Olympic weightlifting instruction, military performance, and mental performance strategies. Personally, I’m particularly interested in the Olympic lifting and mental performance sessions because they align closely with areas where I want to continue growing professionally. Overall, the agenda was intentionally designed to provide diverse perspectives across the entire performance spectrum.”
Q4. Who is this summit designed for, and why should coaches, practitioners, students, executives, and other professionals consider attending?
Dr. Bill Burgos
“This summit is for anyone who wants to continue learning and improving, whether they’re in their first year of practice or their twentieth. Coaches, athletic trainers, sports scientists, physicians, military professionals, and students will all find value because they’ll be exposed to experts from multiple disciplines working toward the same goal: improving human performance. Throughout my career, I’ve learned that the best practitioners are constantly seeking knowledge outside their own specialty. This summit helps attendees understand how different professionals collaborate, communicate, and contribute to athlete and tactical performance, making it valuable regardless of one’s specific role.”
Dr. Tim Leszczak
“Our target audience includes strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists, coaches, students, ROTC cadets, and other professionals interested in performance and wellness. We designed the summit to be broad enough that people from different backgrounds can benefit while still being focused on practical performance topics. Whether someone is trying to expand their network, learn about new trends in the field, improve their coaching skills, or simply gain exposure to new ideas, there will be valuable takeaways throughout the day.”
Q5. There are many conferences and events in the sports industry today. What makes this summit at Austin Peay State University different, and what unique experience or value will attendees take away?
Dr. Bill Burgos
“What makes this summit unique is the combination of collegiate athletics, professional sports, and military performance all under one roof. That’s a blend you don’t often find at other events. Austin Peay’s proximity to Fort Campbell creates a natural connection between these worlds, and we’ve assembled speakers who represent some of the best expertise across those domains. The result is a highly collaborative environment where attendees can learn not only from experts in their own field, but also from professionals whose experiences may challenge their thinking and broaden their perspective on performance.”
Dr. Tim Leszczak
“Unlike many large conferences that feature hundreds of presentations spread across multiple days, our summit is intentionally smaller, more focused, and highly interactive. Everyone will be learning together in the same room, creating a shared experience and stronger opportunities for networking and discussion. Most importantly, we’ve asked our speakers to provide practical strategies that attendees can immediately take back and implement the very next day. Our goal is not simply to inspire people, but to equip them with actionable tools they can use right away in their professional practice.”
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