The New Brunswick native serves as a CSIO Strength and Conditioning Coach, dedicated to supporting WBC’s athletes
Growing up in Four Falls, New Brunswick, where sports were an important piece of the community, Colby Hathaway was immersed in the sports culture from an early age.
With a population of 5,000, locals involved in sport played everything the town had to offer. As a result, Hathaway dabbled in a variety of activities, trying golf, baseball, basketball, and hockey.
“Both my parents were athletes growing up, so they put my sister and myself into sports to keep us busy and active,” Hathaway explained. “Whatever sports we had in our community is what I played. That was a big component of my upbringing – being active and involved in sports.”
When it came time to choose a career path, Hathaway knew he wanted to remain in sport.
He stayed close to home, enrolling in the Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology program at the University of New Brunswick, following in his sister’s footsteps.
The 41-year-old credits his upbringing, which promoted physical activity and his love for sport, with helping him decide to major in Kinesiology.
“I always sort of wanted to be involved in sport, physical activity or fitness – something along those lines,” said Hathaway. “It was an easy choice for me, and UNB had a good program, some great professors there that drew me to that degree.”
It wasn’t until he began his master’s program in Health Science at York University that he decided on a fitness specialization focusing on strength and conditioning.
“The master’s program I did was an applied degree,” Hathaway said. “I worked in the human performance lab at York University. A lot of that was fitness assessment and testing on athletes.”
“Then I realized strength and conditioning is an option. That opened my eyes to the fact that it is a viable career, and that experience at York helped drive me down the avenue of getting into some training, fitness, strength, and conditioning, where I eventually ended up.”
After stops at Fitness York, Volleyball Canada and Gary Roberts Performance, Hathaway joined the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario as a Strength and Conditioning Coach in October of 2013, overseeing the fitness evaluation of Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s athletes.
“It’s been a great learning experience,” he said. “When I came in, I had no experience on the para side of sport, so it was a big learning curve.
“Lots of learning experiences, personally and professionally. Working with a group with a lot of diversity has helped make me a better practitioner in terms of creativity.”
While he’s evolved and grown as a practitioner in the 10-plus years he’s worked with WBC’s athletes through CSIO, the industry has changed, and advancements in technology have provided added tools to what Hathaway can do with athletes.
“There’s been a big evolution on what’s readily available from a technology piece,” Hathaway explained. “Whether it’s on-court assessment, weight room assessment or different tools to utilize, from an exercise standpoint, or exercise prescription. It’s evolved a lot, and it’s been good for me to try to develop with that technology and best utilize the tools we have.
“We’re lucky at CSIO and WBC to have some technology that we can apply on the court and in the weight room to gain more information and insight on progress, in particular, that individuals are making from a physical standpoint.”
With over a decade of experience working as a strength and conditioning coach, Hathaway enjoys the team environment most about the job today.
“I enjoy being part of a team, especially team sports,” he said. “Being involved on a day-to-day basis with helping athletes achieve their performance and health goals. Being part of that, even if it’s a small part, keeps me involved, and it has a lot of meaning for me in terms of seeing individuals progress.”