Armani Christopher lifts his SXU teammate in the air. Armani Christopher
Taking on the role of being a coach is never an easy task. Assistant Athletic Performance Coach, Armani Christopher walked into the coaching scene as a former athlete. Since then, he’s recognized that understanding his athletes is the method of achieving the best results and morale for his athletes.
Christopher first began his journey as an athlete for Calumet New Tech High School as the offensive line in his hometown Gary, Indiana. During Christopher’s tenure, he was First-Team All Conference, a Second-Team All-Area Selection, as well as being a part of the National Honors Society.
After graduating from Calumet New Tech, Christopher would take his football talents to Franklin University in 2019. In his first half at Franklin, Christopher wouldn’t play as often, however, that changed in spring 2021 when he’d play six games at right tackle.
Later that year, Christopher would play in all 10 games of that fall season. Christopher earned Second Team All-HCAC Honors, also being named Academic All-HCAC.
After graduating from Franklin in 2023 with a great reputation, Christopher moved on to Saint Xavier University as a graduate student, majoring in Exercise Science. He later played one season on Saint Xavier’s offensive line.
Christopher earned an ALL-MSFA Honorable Mention to top off his eight year football career, but his real career was just about to kickoff.
“I considered becoming a physician assistant or nurse because I love helping people…I fell in love with Strength and Conditioning [coaching position] during the last semester of my senior year,” said Christopher.
While Christopher was playing football, he took on some coaching opportunities, one of them being at Center Grove High School in Indianapolis, Ind. Christopher would continue to be exposed to coaching, his passion grew into a favorable career.
Coaching was familiar to Christopher’s family tree, as his uncle had jump started his pursuit of the career by becoming a major league baseball coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This led to an inspiration for Christopher in achieving his own goals at coaching football.
In every sport, there are plenty of coaches on a team that all play important roles and parts to making a successful team. Christopher would aim for the Strength and Conditioning coaching position at SXU, which would allow him to work within a variety of different sports rather than a singular one. This position would provide specific workout routines individualized for athletes to help them train effectively to excel in their sports.
During Christopher’s playing days, he wasn’t trained by a strength coach to efficiently train him and would quickly realize the importance of athletes being in the weight room. With Christopher’s helping hand attitude and his ability to speak and motivate his players, he took on the position head on.
“Seeing the impact that a strength coach had on our program and on me personally solidified my interest … I’ve always been intrigued by lifting and improving performance, and this love for learning pushed me toward coaching,” explained Christopher.
With Christopher’s athletic reputation, his passion to improve everyday of his newly found passion for coaching continues to keep growing. Christopher would become a NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and became certified in olympic weightlifting.
Now, Christopher is an Assistant Athletic Performance Coach for Saint Xavier where he works with every sport at the campus’ URSO Center and continues to build his coaching career.
“I love coaching and want to continue growing and helping athletes,” mentions Christopher.
As Christopher journeys through coaching, he has built more confidence in his public speaking, time management, and creativity skills that has improved him as an overall individual into becoming a better mentor for his teams. Christopher has truly learned the meaning of what it takes to be a coach and to thrive as a team leader.
“You can have a great plan or facility, but if you can’t connect with the athletes and help them understand why you do certain things, it could lead to problems later on,” said Christopher.
Coaching starts with understanding the athletes you’re working with, and becomes pivotal in being a good coach. Christopher has learned this early into his coaching career, as it has had a positive effect on his athletes.
Day in and day out, Christopher has a duty to push his athletes past their limits and engages with them in and out of the weight room. Christopher knows what it takes to be a great athlete and knows how the game works, and as a coach is now teaching the game.