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Lukas Toburen has joined the Longwood strength and performance staff as the new Director of Basketball Performance, Longwood athletics director Michelle Meadows announced on Monday.

Toburen comes to Farmville after spending two years at the University of Virginia.

While in Charlottesville, he served as a strength and conditioning graduate assistant for the Virginia men’s basketball program for the past two seasons (2020-22). He helped in all aspects of the team’s athletic performance training while coupling that with a data driven approach to inform various decisions from on-court performance, to recovery, to program design and more.

“I’m excited to welcome Luke into the Lancer family,” said Longwood Athletic Director Michelle Meadows. “He has a passion for excellence that will fit right in with our department.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to join Coach Aldrich and his staff here at Longwood University and help build upon the culture of excellence that has been established,” Toburen said. “I look forward to working with the exceptional young men on this team to further their development both on and off the court in partnership with Coach Aldrich and our staff. My wife and I could not be more excited to start the next chapter of our lives here at Longwood and become integrated into the Longwood University community as well as the greater Farmville area.”

Prior to his time at Virginia, he served as the Director of Sport Performance at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy from 2018-20. He pioneered the school’s first sports performance program and coordinated all aspects of strength and conditioning for 23 varsity sports teams. He also served as a sports performance coach for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for two years and worked closely with the hospital’s physical therapy department and return to sports protocols for athletes.

In addition, he served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at his alma mater, Grove City College, for one year (2017-18).

He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and a USA Weightlifting Certified Level 1 Coach.

He obtained his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Grove City College in 2016 while also playing on the college’s club lacrosse team where he served as a captain. While at Virginia, he completed his master’s degree in exercise physiology. He currently resides in Farmville with his wife, Michaela.