This school year, the Foresters welcomed a new team member. Andrew Rauen, a Highland Park native, joined the staff as the new facilities assistant and strength and conditioning coordinator.
Rauen was, of course, an athlete throughout his life. Playing primarily football and track and field, with a bit of basketball during his high school years, Rauen continued his journey of playing football at the Division I level at Ohio University, which is located in Athens, Ohio.
From 2013 to 2014, Rauen worked at Northwestern University where he completed a strength and conditioning internship. At McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, for almost two years, Rauen worked in a similar strength and conditioning role. “
During that experience, I was able to coach millions of movements,” Rauen said. “With a student-athlete population of over 700, I was able to work with a wide range of body types that had vastly different needs. My ability to identify movement dysfunction and apply corrective measures was sharpened. Outside of the weight room, I became a stronger and more diverse administrator.”
Pictured: Strength and Conditioning Coach Andrew Rauen (2nd row, 3rd from right).
Following his work at McKendree University, Rauen jumped on the opening facilities assistant and strength and conditioning coordinator position at Lake Forest. Rauen said he “always kept an eye on opportunities in the Chicagoland area.”
Rauen knew from the start that he wanted to get involved in strength and conditioning. Since his internship at Northwestern, Rauen was lucky enough to gain more experience in the field at the collegiate level.
“I have always had an interest in strength and conditioning. I imagined it would be a vital part of my career choice, but never was sure in what capacity,” he said.
Lake Forest College welcomed Rauen to the Forester Family before the fall semester began. The new coach had no problem fitting in at Lake Forest College, because he is “surrounded by great people who have made the transition seamless,” Rauen said.
Although it hasn’t been a full month of school, Rauen is looking forward to “working with the student-athletes to create a positive and meaningful weight room culture.” His favorite part about training student-athletes is their energy.
“Our intensity and weight room energy has been fantastic,” he said, noting that Forester athletes work hard on and off the court, field, and ice, which will lead them in the right direction toward success. He will continue to push Forester athletes to be the best they can be.
Besides working daily with student-athletes, Rauen also has duties with other faculty and staff members. His favorite part about working at the college is the staff.
“The coaches and athletes have been great to work with. Every day they challenge and push me to be the best coach possible,” he said.
