Sports
Performance

About Me

Les Whitley is a native of Franklin, TN and a graduate of Battle Ground Academy. Les received his B.S in Exercise Science with a minor in Nutrition Science, as well as his M.S. in Exercise Physiology from Middle Tennessee State University.

Les credits his time with Johnson and Johnson, early in his career, for helping him gain a passion for injury prevention. In his tenure with the company, Les was the Health Director for General Motors Corporation based in the Spring Hill plant which included travel consultations throughout the United States. In addition, Les has created ergonomic injury prevention programs for large factories and their employees that are currently being utilized in over 20 factory locations in three countries.

Les created Whitley Performance in 1993 and opened his private studio in 2010. This allowed him to host clients in need of a more private setting and enabled him to focus solely on giving each client the best experience and outcome to their training.

Currently Les serves as the Manager of Sports Performance for Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance (TOA), overseeing the development and execution of training for all clients and athletes. As part of a team including nationally and internationally renowned surgeons, Les is directly responsible for outreach, education, and oversight of all performance training with TOA.

The foundations of Les’s training philosophy encompass learning to move better by correcting imbalances, becoming stronger using appropriate methods and improving conditioning to enhance your capacity to live your best life.

With 26 years of experience in the industry, Les has seen great success in training athletes in all sports. His resume includes over 50 NCAA athletes and players in MLB, the NFL, the NBA and competitors in MMA and UFC. Whether you are an athlete or someone of any age who wants to get stronger, lose weight, build a healthy lifestyle, feel better and/or move better, there is a place for you with TOA Sports Performance Center.

About Me

Katherine LaRose grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She attended Woodward Academy and was a five-year starter for the Varsity softball team, which included 8th grade. After breaking and setting numerous offensive and defensive records, Woodward Academy retired her jersey her senior year. Her travel ball team, the Atlanta Travelers, earned a berth to nationals the summer before her senior year where they placed 5th in the nation.

Katherine continued her softball prowess by attending the University of North Georgia (UNG) on a softball scholarship. She served as team captain her junior and senior year and made three consecutive trips to the Women’s College World Series. She received numerous accolades, including but not limited to, Female Athlete of the year for the UNG Athletic Department and All-American for the NCAA.

After graduation, Katherine followed her love for softball across the continent to coach in British Columbia, Canada. There, she spent her time coaching various teams and coaches along with giving private lessons. Her fondest moment was when her softball team, Team British Columbia U16, won the gold medal at the North American Indigenous Games and won the John Fletcher Spirit Award, which is given to the team who possesses exemplary character. This marked the first time in history a team at the North American Indigenous Games brought home the most gold medals and the John Fletcher Award.

After returning home from Canada, Katherine spent three years teaching and coaching in Atlanta, Georgia. She prepared student-athletes to compete by training them in her personal fitness classes. She moved to Middle Tennessee in the summer of 2017 to take over as a Wellness Instructor and Head Softball Coach at Battle Ground Academy. During her time there she developed and implemented strength programs for students and student-athletes in classes along with the summer workout program. She was awarded Coach of the Year for the 2019 softball season leading her team to the elite eight. Outside of the classroom and off the field she served on numerous campus committees including but not limited to the Strategic Planning Committee and the Interviewing Committee. She is passionate about health and wellness and has a heart to serve those around her. If she is not in the weight room, you can find her on a local trail or kayaking. She is eager to start this new journey with TOA and is excited to serve the Murfreesboro community.

About Me

Marci Beck, M.S., CSCS, CPT, TPI

Marci Beck is a Canadian native who has spent the last 10 years as a practitioner in the arena of performance, return to play, injury prevention, and health & wellness. Marci earned her dual Master’s degree in Sports Science & Rehabilitation from Logan University and has continued investing in her academic foundations with certifications as a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (NSCA), Certified Personal Trainer (NASM), and Titleist Performance Institute L1 Coach (TPI). As a high school multi-sport letterman in both Canada and the United States, and collegiate basketball athlete, Marci’s experiential foundations play a central role in understanding the psychology behind performance and the complexities athletes face.

Marci founded and operated a private performance facility in Detroit, MI, Champions Only Fitness & Performance - working with athletes from high school and collegiate athletics to retired professionals and general population clients of multiple demographics. Moving into the collegiate realm, Marci had the privilege to learn from seasoned strength & conditioning coaches at Vanderbilt University (SEC) and Middle Tennessee State (C-USA), working with football, men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, track (sprints & throws), cross country, swim, baseball, golf and volleyball. After these diverse experiences, Marci assumed the role as head strength & conditioning coach for soccer and softball and assisted with football at Northwestern State. Marci was able to apply her background in rehabilitation and injury prevention as the Return to Play Strength Coach for all 400+ student-athletes, working most closely with football, soccer & softball.

The approach Marci takes for both athletes and general population is holistic in nature, operating under the principles of building on sound mechanics and the highest possible movement quality. Marci believes the whole person needs to be progressed for optimal and sustainable results. Providing a multimodal and vertically integrated program with the proper dosage of each performance attribute, Marci helps facilitate positive outcomes in a safe, scientifically proven, and progressive fashion. These uniquely tailored programs must incorporate movement diversity as a significant consideration to prevent and mitigate potential chronic injury and acute injury regression.

Whether you are a healthy athlete or fitness enthusiast, someone coming from physical therapy and/or surgical intervention, Marci’s goal is to create an environment where people can learn to push beyond thresholds to gain a new perspective of their true abilities. This is done by assessing each athlete and general population client for movement dysfunction, conditioning deficits and other orthopedic predispositions. Marci takes all things into consideration when programming to provide the appropriate STRESS accompanied by the right RECOVERY to gain the desired ADAPTATION.

About Me

Evan Baldwin is a Sports Performance Specialist at TOA. A native of Indiana he received an undergraduate degree in exercise science from Ball State University and earned a master’s degree in Physiology and Kinesiology from the University of Florida. Evan is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength & Conditioning Association.

Prior to working at TOA he worked with athletes returning to sport and play after rehabilitation. He taught exercise science courses at Ball State University and has worked at the University of North Carolina athletic strength and conditioning department.

Evan focuses on training athletes to improve their speed, agility, power, and strength based upon the individual’s goals and sport specific needs. He believes that with proper performance training and coaching, individuals can improve upon their overall athleticism and quality of life.

Outside of work you can find Evan being active outdoors, exploring new places.

About Me

Rachel Mullen is a Registered Dietitian native to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Rachel grew up active, always participating in multiple sports throughout her adolescent years. She grew curious about performance nutrition throughout her high school years, but did not have the resources to learn how to fuel properly, resulting in years of under fueling and sparking a passion for teaching athletes proper sport nutrition.

Throughout Rachel’s education, she has obtained a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Master of Science in Exercise and Nutrition Science from Lipscomb University. During her time at Lipscomb, she worked as a sport nutrition graduate student assistant at Vanderbilt University as well as completed a 1200-hour dietetic internship with a focus in sport nutrition. Her graduate education included a research study on the effects of caffeine in resistance-trained individuals as well as the opportunity to work interprofessionally with coaches, athletic trainers and strength coaches to collaborate for the best care of each athlete.

Rachel has professional experience working for multiple Division I collegiate sport nutrition programs, providing individual counseling as well as group education and game day and practice nutrition. She also has experience with inpatient care, community nutrition and outpatient counseling. This experience combined has created her passion of helping active individuals obtain their personal and performance goals while maintaining a healthy relationship with food and their body all while basing her practice on an evidence-based approach.

About Me

Chad Thetford is a Strength and Conditioning Specialist at TOA. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Thetford received a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Exercise Science from the University of Missouri while competing in Division 1 Men’s Lacrosse. During his undergrad, he worked alongside Missouri’s football sports performance team, assisting in performance and recovery strategies. He earned his master’s degree in Physiology and Kinesiology from the University of Florida. Thetford is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Prior to working at TOA, he was a Strength and Conditioning coach on Fort Campbell for the 101^st Airborne. He previously served as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Central Methodist University and Texas State University. He also worked as a strength and conditioning specialist at a Performance Training and Physical Therapy facility in Texas, where he managed performance for individuals of all ages and specialized in deep soft tissue manipulation, post-rehab strength training, and injury prevention.

Thetford focuses his training on establishing good movement patterns that will transfer speed, strength, and power to the field, maximizing performance while reducing the risk of injury. His unique experiences have allowed him to work with youth athletes to professional athletes and everyone in-between.

When not working, you can find him outdoors fishing, hunting, or just exploring new places.