Clarion Athletics

Max Niggel, a two-time team captain and former PSAC Freshman of the Year, joins the staff of the Clarion swimming & diving team for his first year in 2017-18.

Niggel spent the previous two years as an assistant coach at Gannon, taking the position in November 2015.  One of his primary duties was administering the teams’ strength & conditioning programs.  Niggel is a NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and is also certified as a PCA Double Goal Coach and a TRX Instructor.  Thanks in part to Niggel’s work in creating goal-setting and tracking methods, the Golden Knights’ team GPA’s were 3.2 for the men and 3.5 for the women in his time.  He was also integral in raising funds for the team.  
 
Before heading to Gannon, Niggel was a successful student athlete at Edinboro.  A two-time captain of the Fighting Scots, he set two school records and made nine NCAA B cuts in his career.  He was the 2008 PSAC Freshman of the Year and the 2009 Erie Bay Swim champion.  From there, he spent time as a student assistant at Edinboro from 2012-13 and has worked as a swim camp counselor there since 2009.
 
After his time at Edinboro, Niggel spent two years as a Fitness Professional, and later a Fitness Director, at Best Fitness.  He tracked the progress of more than 300 clients enrolled in personal training programs, and coached other fitness professionals on how to best work with clients.  He then spent time as the Health and Wellness Director at the Grove City YMCA in 2015 before going to Gannon.
 
Niggel earned his B.S. in Health and Physical Education from Edinboro in 2013.  He is currently pursuing his Masters of Business Administration at Gannon, and expects to complete it this fall.  He is a native of Polk, Pa.