Brigita Roemer | Squashing Boundaries and Expanding Skills

Squash demands speed, strength, and control at the edge of human range — but still suffers from a massive stigma around heavy lifting and underuse of strength and conditioning. Brigita Roemer is leading the shift as Director of Strength and Conditioning for U.S. Squash, where she oversees all off-court physical development. After suffering a devastating injury as a track and field athlete, she discovered strength and conditioning when a biomechanics team “put [her] back together,” setting her on a linear path in the profession. Assigned to a sport she had never heard of before, Roemer began by emphasizing injury risk reduction, full range of motion, and “strength at length” to meet squash’s extreme movement and deceleration demands. With frequent connective tissue injuries like sprains and strains, athlete availability remains a top concern. By prioritizing continuing education and building relationships, Roemer has helped U.S. Squash make history — on the path to LA 2028.

Connect with Brigita on Instagram: @brigey_lux | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs  

Elite strength and conditioning pros like Brigita Roemer rely on NSCA events to stay sharp, grounded, and connected. Join them at the 2025 NSCA National Conference (NSCACon) this July 16–19 in Kansas City, MO.

“I think honestly-- and people say this all the time-- it is the relationships that you make and it is the people that you know.” 5:21

“I think in squash and strength and conditioning, traditionally, they haven't had the closest relationship as far as foundational strength and conditioning goes. Historically, not many players lifted heavy. There's still like a massive stigma around heavy lifting and squash with making players bulky and slow and all the things that we're a little bit more current on in the field.” 11:00

“Because, physically, it's a brutal sport, man. It really is. I did a ton of research on any sort of studies that have been done in the sport. There aren't a lot, but there's some, and they spend something like, 81 to 95% of the time on court in zone 5. There's six to eight times their body weight going through the kinetic chain when you do a hard lunge to the front. Just the percentage of connective tissue injuries in the sport are wild. I mean, the season is basically all year long, with the exception of June to August.” 12:07

“I always start with injury reduction first. They can't get better at the sport if they can't be on court. So the best ability is availability, as they say. I make sure that whatever programming I do really hones in on a lot of that and the connective tissue stuff.” 17:25

[00:00:02.48] Welcome to the NSCA's Coaching Podcast, season 9, episode 1.
[00:00:08.15] Through continuing education that I do with other squash coaches, we can bridge a lot of those misconceptions and a lot of those gaps to make sure that our athletes are as prepared as possible to compete at the highest level.
[00:00:20.12] Because, I mean, physically. it's a brutal sport, man. It really is. I did a ton of research on any sort of studies that have been done in the sport. There aren't a lot, but there's some. And they spend something 81 to 95% of the time on court in zone 5. There's six to eight times their body weight going through the kinetic chain when you do a hard lunge to the front. Just the percentage of connective tissue injuries in the sport are wild. I mean, the season is basically all year long with the exception of June to August.
[00:00:59.84] This is the NSCA's Coaching Podcast, where we talk to strength and conditioning coaches about what you really need to know, but probably didn't learn in school. There's strength and conditioning, and then there's everything else.
[00:01:10.35] Hey, everyone, this is the NSCA's Coaching Podcast season 9. I'm Eric McMahon, the NSCA coaching and sports science program manager.
[00:01:18.48] Today's episode talks about a sport that many of us may not know a lot about. As coaches seeking opportunities to grow in strength and conditioning, our ability to learn and work in a variety of sports can be a valuable skill set.
[00:01:32.84] To discuss her career and path to becoming the director of strength and conditioning for US Squash, we're joined by Brigita Roemer. Coach, welcome.
[00:01:42.38] Thanks, Eric. It's a pleasure to be here.
[00:01:44.58] Yeah, I've run into you a few times at NSCA events-- you always make an effort to get to those-- and recently at the USOPC at the Performance Innovation Summit. So it's always great running into you. And we got talking about being on the podcast. So here we are.
[00:02:01.40] Yeah. It's awesome to be here. And it really great to see you at the summit. I learned a lot. It was my first time being there, too, since US Squash. It's our first time being included in the Olympics, for LA 2028. So now we get all these awesome opportunities to go and learn some new things and meet some new people, and that's sort of where we got to talking. So that was great.
[00:02:24.29] That's awesome. So we were talking, and it was one of those things where I think I asked, did you plan on becoming a strength and conditioning coach for squash? And the answer was probably no, coming up in high school and college in the US. Digging into your bio, you are a college strength and conditioning coach before you started in your current position. What inspired you to get into the field and led you to squash?
[00:02:52.28] Originally, I did the opposite of squash, which is track and field. I was a track and field athlete. Inherently, I have absolutely no change of direction and no hand-eye coordination. But I was a track and field athlete at a small D3 school in Jersey. I did high jump, long jump, and triple jump. And I got severely injured my sophomore year. I had a full anterior pelvic dislocation on my right side while triple jumping. That was, as the doctor said, basically at the end of my career after my freshman year. And that was just not really something that I was willing to accept at that time in my life. I felt like I had more in the tank and more to give to the sport.
[00:03:32.39] So I reached out to a biomechanics company that was stationed out of Pennington, New Jersey. I set up an internship there. Basically it was like, look, I'll work for free. I'll do whatever you want me to. Just please, please put me back together. And they did that, and they did that over a summer, right.
[00:03:49.31] So a potentially career-ending injury was resolved within six months. It got me back on the track, got me back to the national stage. So that really inspired me to get into strength and conditioning. Because essentially, they followed sort of a rehabilitation model at first, and then focused on basic foundational strength and movement and stability and control.
[00:04:13.54] And actually after that internship, they hired me to go on board as a coach. And then that's where it all began. So a potentially terrible situation turned into a really great one.
[00:04:26.04] Awesome. So I see you-- and I get this question a lot from grad students-- I saw that you were a GA at Temple in strength and conditioning. I feel like the GA landscape has changed a little bit over the years. And the question I get is, do I need to pursue a GA position? How valuable is that in your development? Do you feel like you took a lot from being a GA?
[00:04:51.63] I think I had a sort of a very linear progression in my career. I went from the private sector to an internship at Princeton, to then a GA-ship at Temple, to then an assistant at Drexel, to now running my own program. And I know it's not that linear for most people, but I think each experience taught me something new-- the kind of coach I wanted to become, the kind of coach I didn't want to become, certainly a ton of skills in coaching and technical things and different protocols.
[00:05:23.87] But I think honestly-- and people say this all the time-- it is the relationships that you make and it is the people that you know. From the private sector, somebody introduced me to the Princeton strength and conditioning coach. I got an internship there. Then the guy from Princeton knew someone at Temple, and I got a GA-ship there. And the guy from Temple knew someone at Drexel, and I got an assistantship-- or I became an assistant-- there.
[00:05:46.97] So more than the technical side of things, it's certainly the relationships that you make and the impact that you have on people. And so I think there's a ton of value in that, in graduate assistantships. Do I think that it's absolutely necessary? And can you get all those things, from other experiences, as well? Of course. I just happen to have a very linear progression, was lucky enough to know the right people.
[00:06:11.46] That's great advice. And I think I like that your point was your career was very linear, but not every career is going to be. And there's a lot of ways to get those different experiences. I think that's a valuable takeaway for all our listeners, especially the students or people aspiring to be in the role like you have. How do you get there?
[00:06:31.39] And specifically in the area of squash, when did you start working with squash players?
[00:06:36.75] So, a really funny story. I get to Drexel my first day, and it's the intro. They give you the lowdown of the teams you're going to be working with. And all of the regular suspects are on the list. I have women's soccer. I have women's lacrosse. I have men's tennis.
[00:06:53.77] And then the head, the director, Mike Rankin, who's just a massive mentor of mine, awesome guy, he goes, yeah, you have men's and women's squash, and then continues on with the rest of the sports. And I was like, wait, timeout. What is that? I have no clue what the sport is. So immediately I go to the vegetable. I'm like, wait, what? I feel like we got off topic here. How did we get to nutrition?
[00:07:20.47] And basically he was like, you have some work to do. You have some research to do. So I show up to my first squash match. I actually started in the middle of their season. I started January 1, and that's sort of in the middle of the College Squash Association season.
[00:07:34.10] So I go down to the DAC, and I'm ready to learn. I don't know any of the athletes yet. And I get on court and I'm watching this match, man. And I'm like, how did I not know about this sport? I mean, they are doing splits in the front of the court. They're sliding. They're jumping. They're reacting to things. I mean, it requires almost every physical quality you could think of. And I was blown away by how talented and how athletic these kids are.
[00:08:07.10] And from there, it was just sort of a very steep, steep dive into the world of squash. That was 2018? That was 2018. They built the Arlen Specter Center across the street from Drexel University. So that's where headquarters is now. That's where Team USA is headquartered out of, right across the street. So Arlen Specter is on 33rd and Market, and the Daskalakis Athletic Center of Drexel is on 34th and Market.
[00:08:36.98] Oh, wow.
[00:08:38.09] Yeah, and they were looking for a part-time coach. And I guess, word got around that I was doing a pretty good job with the Drexel squash team, and I interviewed for a part-time position. I got that. I worked with the team part time for a year while also working full time at Drexel. And yeah, a year in they decided to hire me full time.
[00:08:56.60] It was a really difficult decision to leave Drexel. I absolutely loved my time there. I mean, the staff there is incredible. The student athletes are awesome. I can't say enough good things about the strength and conditioning department there. I think they made me the coach that I am to a very large degree. So it was tough to leave a community like that to start my own thing and be the only person here. But, I run across the street to have lunch with them all the time. So it ended up working out.
[00:09:24.44] Yeah. What's really interesting about that, a lot of the Olympic sports, the NGBS, are based out here in Colorado Springs.
[00:09:30.72] Yeah.
[00:09:31.11] But squash, a lot of the schools in the Northeast offer squash for student athletes, and it makes sense that US Squash is on the East Coast. So that's a really cool opportunity for you right down the road from where you were before. You haven't had to move around too much, which is nice.
[00:09:50.20] Yeah.
[00:09:50.50] One thing you said, you're on your own. You're doing this. You're the US Squash strength and conditioning coach. There's not a lot of you out there. How do you stay connected in the field? Where do you seek information to strengthen your program or to inform what you're doing with your team?
[00:10:11.98] Like all of the professionals in strength and conditioning, we're all extremely passionate about what we do. Let's just say most people in strength and conditioning don't get into the field for the money, right? It's because we love our job and we have a massive passion for it. And so that drive and passion to learn is something that I've always had.
[00:10:32.86] I do a lot of reading on my own. And actually in my contract, I requested when I got this job that they let me go to all the NSCA conferences that I can go to.
[00:10:44.08] Nice.
[00:10:44.72] So I go to Coaches Conference every year. I go to National every year. So I definitely stay current with the information that way. And then, yeah, I read a lot on my own. I do a ton of research.
[00:10:56.90] But I think what's really helped me stay grounded within the demands of the sport is that I have a very solid foundation conceptually on what the human body needs. And I think in squash and strength and conditioning, traditionally, they haven't had the closest relationship as far as foundational strength and conditioning goes. Historically, not many players lifted heavy. There's still like a massive stigma around heavy lifting and squash with making players bulky and slow and all the things that we're a little bit more current on in the field.
[00:11:38.54] So I think it actually helped out a lot that I started with different sports and a very basic foundation and a strong foundation to then be able to implement a lot of those concepts into the work that I do with Team USA. And I'm hoping that through continuing education that I do with other squash coaches, we can bridge a lot of those misconceptions and a lot of those gaps to make sure that our athletes are as prepared as possible to compete at the highest level.
[00:12:07.96] Because, physically, it's a brutal sport, man. It really is. I did a ton of research on any sort of studies that have been done in the sport. There aren't a lot, but there's some, and they spend something like, 81 to 95% of the time on court in zone 5. There's six to eight times their body weight going through the kinetic chain when you do a hard lunge to the front. Just the percentage of connective tissue injuries in the sport are wild. I mean, the season is basically all year long, with the exception of June to August.
[00:12:45.11] So by the time they get to the major championships like the British Open or the World Championships or El Gouna-- which is in Egypt, that's another big one-- all of the top players are injured to some degree. But that's because I think that the gap hasn't been bridged from a strength and conditioning standpoint to a big extent. So that's what I'm focusing on and disseminating that information and making sure that we're setting up our players to be injury resilient and successful.
[00:13:17.95] What's interesting, you said on the strength and conditioning front, you're having to really interject and push a lot of strength and conditioning philosophy-- strength training, weightlifting, things that they traditionally haven't done. But the competition demands seem really rigorous year round, high aerobic demands, conditioning. But clearly it's a big agility sport, and you mentioned flexibility before.
[00:13:46.60] From a training perspective, do you get to develop all those different areas? Or do you have to focus just on the weight room in your role? How do you balance the different buckets that we're talking about here?
[00:14:05.35] So just for context, as far as the department goes, it's myself and the national coach. And we have a director of junior national development and that is the national team. So you have three people that are part of the national team, and that is the seniors, who I work most closely with, and the junior side, and we have a massive junior circuit that is all over the country. Thankfully enough, most of our athletes, with the exception of a couple, have relocated to Philadelphia. So we are pretty centralized program, which is great.
[00:14:39.86] So I've been tasked with the physical development side. So anything that is off court is my responsibility, as far as our communications with the national coach have been. Now we have a new national coach in place who just came on board-- he's awesome-- in October. So those conversations are continuously evolving with what the expectations, if they've changed, if they haven't.
[00:15:04.10] But over the last three years, I would say yeah, anything that is a physical quality that is not sports-specific has been my responsibility, whereas the more sports-specific on court stuff has been the responsibility of the National coach.
[00:15:18.38] So actually I think I'm one of the few lucky strength coaches where that boundary has been pretty straight. And we sit down and we go over the annual plan and we go over the weekly plan, and it's like, OK, we're doing this and this. Have we checked off every physical quality throughout the week? Yes, no, OK. How do we bridge those gaps? And so, yeah, I'm responsible pretty much for everything outside of the sports-specific stuff.
[00:15:46.66] That's awesome. Just for anyone who might get the opportunity to work with squash, we've talked about some of the physical qualities. What are some of the common injuries you see in the sport of squash?
[00:15:58.24] It's pretty much all connective tissue. I would say 90% of it. Rarely do I ever see a mid-hamstring strain. It's mostly high hamstring, high adductor. We have patellar tendonitis.
[00:16:10.87] Actually our former US number 1 and former world number 3 on the female side, Amanda Sobhy, just a year ago tore her second achilles on the other side. She tore her first one seven years ago. And now she's on her second. But within a year, she's back on court and competing at a very high level.
[00:16:34.32] My team just finished second in the world at the World Team Championships over in Hong Kong on the female side. And she was a massive, massive part of that. So to see her come back from something like that was extremely inspiring I think for any athlete. Because when we think of strength and conditioning and we think achilles tear, we think that's as bad as it gets.
[00:16:56.49] Oh, I know.
[00:16:56.57] And then you have two of those and you're like, whoa, that's going to be that's going to be a tough hill to climb, not just physically and from a rehabilitative standpoint, but certainly mentally, coming back from that. She's tough as nails. So yeah, I just wanted to shout her out a little bit.
[00:17:14.21] But yeah, mostly connective tissue and a ton of ankle sprains and things-- again, like massive change-of-direction agility sports.
[00:17:21.47] A lot of what I do-- I guess if we're talking about needs analysis-- I always start with injury reduction first. They can't get better at the sport if they can't be on court. So the best ability is availability, as they say. I make sure that whatever programming I do really hones in on a lot of that and the connective tissue stuff.
[00:17:45.55] A lot of it also happens from deceleration, which we know from obviously track and field athletes. But also there's a high requirement for physical capacity with strength at length. So the positions they get into sometimes are insane. I mean, they're literally in full splits in front of the court. And then they have to come out of that, get back to the tee, and return the next ball that is coming up on the other side of the court at a very, very high velocity. So making sure that I develop those qualities, not just in a certain range of motion, but in a full range of motion, I think is a massive priority for me.
[00:18:28.19] That's really interesting. And a lot of times as coaches, there's a lot of ways to train. You think of the squat. Well, we've always been fighting with our athletes to get full depth in squats. This is a tale as old as time, but I like that you can make the connection, especially in your sport, to strength at length. That's a really catchy slogan to say, hey, what you look like out there when you're extended towards the wall or whatever it is, in a very extended position-- so being strong so that you don't suffer an injury at that time.
[00:19:07.34] Another thing that jumps out to me is that in your needs analysis, you start with injury prevention first. As performance coaches, it may be our bias to, all right, what are the metabolic demands? What are the biomechanical demands of the sport? And yes, we're naturally going to go there pretty quickly. But yeah, we have to keep athletes healthy or we're not going to have anyone to work with and build this team and this program.
[00:19:33.16] All right. In the spirit of celebrating wins in our profession, can you discuss some sort of success story or something from your time at US Squash that just sticks with you?
[00:19:46.99] There's honestly so much that I've had the privilege of being a part of over the last three years. It's hard to really pin down one. I've had the opportunity to travel with the team a really good amount.
[00:20:01.50] We went to the Pan American Games last year, the 2023 Pan American Games. It was the first time that the women swept the event. So we got women's team golds. And we got first, second, and third on the women's side, which was amazing. We were mixed doubles champions for the first time ever, which it was. It was actually an insane draw. So they had to overcome and play and win against the two best teams before they ever got to the final. And they did that. And it was just it was just visceral. And Feeling that celebration at the end of both of those matches was incredible.
[00:20:44.46] And then the women's team has for the second time in the team event-- now the team event happens every two years for the first-- for the first time they've gotten second, both times behind Egypt. And Egypt is the dominating country in our sport. So we're sort of tapping at the heels there and hopefully the next one, we'll be able to give them a run for their money.
[00:21:12.30] That's great.
[00:21:12.75] So yeah, there's too many to count. But all of those things are most rewarding because of the relationship that I have with my athletes. I think I am exceptionally grateful for the people that I get to work with every day because they're just awesome. They are bought-in. They're excited to be here. We have a great relationship. We have a great rapport. If I truly believe that something is beneficial for them, they'll just do it. We have massive discussions and we make adaptations to their programming based off of preferences and things.
[00:21:50.01] So yeah, they're all just like really solid people, kind and they care about each other, which is so difficult to find in an individual sport, because to a degree you have to be somewhat selfish to be successful. At least people think, and it's just it's sort of not the culture that we have here. It's just really great to see how much they care about each other and the program that we have all helped build and will continue to build through LA '28.
[00:22:19.65] Well, it sounds like the sports are really taking some steps forward with the Olympics coming up. Obviously US Squash is doing some great things. having a CSCS full-time strength and conditioning coach on staff to help their athletes. And I know everyone listening to this podcast believes in the power of strength and conditioning, but it hasn't always been. It hasn't always been a place where every sport just gravitates to strength and conditioning first to put the sport on the map. And it's something to see an NGB like US Squash taking that step forward and really making a commitment like that through you and everything you're talking about. And it's just really exciting to see just the growth of the sport and hear about your program. So, thank you.
[00:23:11.61] It's awesome. And honestly, I don't know-- and I could be fact-checked on this-- but I don't know any other country at this time in the squash world as a full-time S&C that works directly with their national team in a centralized place. So I think we have positioned ourselves, at least from that standpoint, and the fact that we have a centralized program to a really good place to be able to grow this out and set ourselves up for success. It's been great being a part of it.
[00:23:42.09] Yeah, that's so awesome. What's the best way any of our listeners want to reach out and talk to you after the episode?
[00:23:50.55] You can share my Instagram. Again, we were just talking about before this how I'm not super active on it. It's mostly my personal content and I repost some other things that I believe in. But that would be fine. And then I'll be sure to send you my email. So feel free to email me and reach out. And I'd be happy to hop on a call with people, as well, and talk about this stuff. I love talking about it and I probably won't shut up about it. So if you guys have the time then let's chat and connect.
[00:24:21.60] Perfect. Brigita, thank you for sharing about your journey and the strength and conditioning profession.
[00:24:26.71] The NSCA's Coaching Podcast is nine seasons strong thanks to guests like you and all members of the NSCA community. Until next time, thanks for tuning in. And thank you to Sorinex Exercise Equipment. We appreciate their support.
[00:24:40.84] Hey, this is Nick Barringer. I want to tell everybody to go to the Tactical Annual Event for the NSCA. It's an amazing event with amazing speakers. You do not want to miss it. Since I have been going, I always leave with a new nugget of wisdom. Go check it out.
[00:24:58.47] This was the NSCA's Coaching Podcast. The National Strength and Conditioning Association was founded in 1978 by strength and conditioning coaches to share information, resources, and help advance the profession. Serving coaches for over 40 years, the NSCA is the trusted source for strength and conditioning professionals. Be sure to join us next time.

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