Monument Health strength and conditioning coaches help student athletes excel

Jaden Guthmiller is a student-athlete at Spearfish High School who has spent the last couple of years kicking up dust on the track. He’s a five time state medalist who has set multiple meet and school records. He’s also the all time South Dakota 100 Meter Dash record holder with a time of 10.45. Jaden is a talented young man, but that isn’t the key to his success. What has made him successful? Hard work.

“Jaden has been a mainstay in my weight room since I took the position. Not only has he worked immensely hard but he’s an outstanding young man,” said Eric Santure, Performance Enhancement Specialist and Director of Strength and Conditioning at Spearfish High School. “I spent a lot of time working with him. We did some individualized programming and sometimes he was the only track athlete in the room while other teams were training. We are seeing it pay off this season.”

Not only has Jaden set records on the track, he’s also recently signed with the University of South Dakota, and will be joining their track team after he graduates. He’s excited for the opportunity to take his running to the next level, but he’s also got more long-term plans. He said, “I’d like to study something in either the medical field or exercise science. I just want to be like Coach Santure. Maybe become a strength and conditioning coach and help kids get back to doing what they love and make them stronger in what they do.”

Josh Guthmiller, Jaden’s father is proud of his son, and grateful for the strength and conditioning coaching that Monument Health has made available in Spearfish. “We’re really blessed to be in a community the size of Spearfish and have the opportunities that our kids have had, especially in the weight room, training with Monument Health trainers,” he said. “I don’t think there is a community on the planet as lucky as ours to have those trainers working with our kids since they were little. We’ve really encouraged them to be dedicated to it, and their hard work shows.”

“He has a steadfast work ethic and is a joy to coach as he asks great questions, always has a joke, isn’t afraid of a challenge and has a great level of self-efficacy,” Eric added. “He’s a great athlete and a fantastic young man.”

Jaden is also quick to point out that Eric isn’t just there for him — the entire team and school benefit from his coaching. “We receive so much help from Coach Santure, as a group and a team, not just me. We go in and talk to him and he explains what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, which really motivates us in the gym. He pushes us to work hard and achieve our goals.”

In addition to Eric at Spearfish High School, Monument Health has strength and conditioning coaches at Black Hills State University, Chadron State College and South Dakota Mines, helping students perform to the best of their abilities. Jaden’s success on the track illustrates the difference that performance coaches, like Eric, can have in the development of young athletes.