A phrase that comes to mind when looking at the brief history of Coach Rory’s career is, “Failure is Feedback”.

Rory’s career in Strength and Conditioning started in 2003 when he was began an 6 year long process to rehabilitate his career ending low back injury. During that time, Rory was fortunate to work alongside master coach Steve Lidstone (now with Brock University) as an assistant coach to the football, M/W basketball, and M/W volleyball programs. While working at York, Rory trained and worked with the football program and was able to compete for the Lions in his final year at York in 2009. After completing his undergraduate degree at York University with an Honours Double Major in Kinesiology and Geography, Rory completed his Bachelor of Education at York.

Quickly getting into a position teaching at Appleby College in Oakville, Rory applied to the public school system in 2010. With his mind still on health and performance, Rory took a position as resident personal trainer and strength coach at Velocity Sports Medicine (formerly SPC) in Mississauga. During his time at Velocity, Rory accelerated from supply teaching to a permanent teaching position in Peel (Mississauga). After a short time in the public system, his career shifted in personal training and strength and conditioning as he continued to work Velocity.

In 2015, Rory opened Form and Function Fitness and Performance Training Centre in Mississauga. At the time, it was to be the premier sport performance training facility (10,000 sq.ft) in Mississauga. After only a few months, the relationship with his former partner became very toxic and Rory was forced to sell his shares. After selling the business he had been working on since 2009 (formerly Form and Function Performance Training), Rory got back into education through product sales/development with an eccentric equipment designer.

In 2016, Rory teamed up with Jason to expand Mettle Sports Training (at the time was working with 2 clubs). After bringing on his colleague Steve, Mettle narrowed its’ focus to one simple goal; offer the highest quality programming to the volleyball community. Within the first year, Mettle grew from 2-to-7 organizations. Within 2 years, Mettle became the premier volleyball training company in Ontario, supporting 12 organizations (including soccer athletes) and become the Official Long Term Athlete Development Partner for the Ontario Volleyball Association.

In the summer of 2018, Rory’s family moved to London to continue to Mettle business. With the distance and required restructuring of the roles, the organization began to shift its operational framework. With the end of the business in sight, Rory sold his shares in Mettle Sports Training and officially established RPG Training Systems (a component of RK Performance Group inc.) in April 2019.

RPG currently runs operations in 2 facilities in London and has grown to support over 200 athletes per week.

Rory currently lives with his wife, 2 daughters, son and dog near London, Ontario.

RPG TRAINING SYSTEMS

Why RPG? - Relentless Pursuit of Greatness!

“Greatness is within each of us! We live in the greatest time ever and have the ability to be, do and have whatever we desire. I feel our pursuit in life is to discover and share our unique gifts and lessons with the world” ~ Coach Rory

RPG Vision: “Building a Stronger Generation”

CREDENTIALS

• Bachelors Degree - Kinesiology and Geography - York University

• Bachelors Degree - Education - York University

• Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS)

• Certified Personal Trainer (CPT)

• Personal Training Specialist (PTS)

• Functional Movement Screen Certified (FMS)

• EXOS Performance Specialist (XPS)

JUST THE BEGINNING

With the 1-year anniversary (April 2020) approaching, RPG has support almost 500 athletes/clients across Ontario.

RPG is currently working with athletes from the following organizations:

• Forest City Volleyball

• London Volleyball

• London Sharks Volleyball

• St. Thomas Express

• North Bay Youth Volleyball

• Byron Soccer

• London Jr. Mustangs

• London Minor Football Association

• Great Lakes Canadians Baseball

• London Track & Field Club