It’s been a long and winding road for Jon Eng, but for 365 Performance’s director of sports performance, he’s feeling right at home plying his trade at Monument’s Colorado Sports Center.

A native of Kelowna, British Columbia, Eng realized early on in life his dreams of playing high-level hockey weren’t going to come to fruition, but wanted to do all he could to stay involved in the game. He played youth hockey as a goalie, then went on to coach and officiate.

Now, he’s happily working with the Colorado Rampage helping the organization’s players improve their strength and conditioning through 365’s professionally run off-ice training program.

“Once I knew my playing career wasn’t going to go past minor hockey, I started to think about my future and one thing I remembered was how hard I trained when I played,” Eng said. “Going to school for sports medicine pretty much fell in line with that thought, so I pursued that route; I realized I wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach.”

A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a USA Weightlifting Association certified Level 1 Sports Performance Coach, Eng holds a Bachelor of Human Kinetics degree from Trinity Western University, which is located in Langley, British Columbia.

He then came to the U.S., where he earned his Masters of Science in Sports Medicine in the strength and conditioning track from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.

Eng was the head strength and conditioning coach at Columbia Bible College in 2010 and has also interned with Colorado College, Colorado State University-Pueblo and the Rampage. He’s also completed practicums at the U.S. Air Force Academy and at the Colorado Orthopaedic Center of Excellence.

“I actually started out doing a lot of fitness training, but I wanted to get more out of it as a career,” said Eng. “I wanted to do more than just general fitness. My love is sports, and it all just kind of materialized.”

In 2013, Eng caught on with 365 Performance – a private training facility located inside Colorado Sports Center – and is in charge of training members of the 7K International Skating Academy and the Rampage.

“These (Rampage) kids are great,” Eng said. “They’re very competitive with each other and that makes for such a fun and positive environment.”

Eng is nothing but thankful for the opportunities the organization’s leadership has provided him.

“(Rampage chairman of the board) Andrew Sherman and (president) Pat Bingham have been unbelievable supporters of the organization and of me,” said Eng. “Without those guys, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.”

“He’s a tremendous asset to our club,” said Sherman. “He’s passionate and dedicated to his craft, and there’s no question our players are reaping the benefits of his expertise.”

And with the offseason in full swing, Eng is also staying plenty busy getting former Rampage standouts in top form as they ready for the 2015-16 campaign.

“It’s pretty cool when some of the alumni come back to train here in the summer,” said Eng, noting the professional, NCAA, United States Hockey League and North American Hockey League players who return. “It’s really a privilege to work with those guys.

“To be honest, that really boosts my confidence – knowing guys want to come back and want to work with me. Doing what I do, it’s a job, but when it’s fun at the same time, there’s no better feeling.”

– Matt Mackinder