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   from the issue of October 6, 2005

     
 
Huskers lead Takahashi to campus rec

 BY BENJAMIN MCCARTHY, CAMPUS RECREATION

An initial taste of Husker football left a career-shaping impression on Shinya Takahashi.

 
Shinya Takahashi, coordinator for strength and conditioning at UNL Campus Recreation, stands next to a set of free weights. A...
 Shinya Takahashi, coordinator for strength and conditioning at UNL Campus Recreation, stands next to a set of free weights. A native of Ageno, Japan, Takahashi was drawn to Nebraska after watching the Huskers defeat Kansas State in Tokyo on Dec. 5, 1992. The game was Takahashi's first live encounter with American football. He earned his bachelor's and master's from UNO and has been with Campus Recreation for more than five years. Photo by Tom Slocum/University Communications.

A teenager at the time, Takahashi was among 50,000 spectators to see Nebraska defeat Kansas State, 38-24, in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 5, 1992. Energized by his first close-up experience with American football, the native of Ageno, Japan, began researching the academic opportunities available to him half a world away.

"I knew I wanted to find a school in the states, but I knew the cost of living on the coast was going to be too expensive," Takahashi said. "After I saw the football team I just assumed the school must also have a good exercise science program, and I heard the Midwest was much more affordable."

Those teenage instincts proved clairvoyant.

As UNL did not offer the exact program he was looking for, Takahashi applied and was accepted to UNO's exercise science program in 1994. After earning his bachelor's and master's at UNO in six years, Takahashi accepted a position as a graduate assistant with UNL's campus recreation program. Shortly after coming to Lincoln, Takahashi was named the full-time strength and conditioning coach for campus rec.

A member of campus recreation's professional staff for more than five years, Takahashi enjoys the day-to-day challenges of conveying proper fitness methods and techniques to students.

Between teaching weight lifting, personal training and assorted special topic classes, Takahashi coordinates the scheduling of more than 50 student workers for campus recreation. Keeping the exercise facilities fully staffed from 6 a.m. to midnight requires daily management.

"Coordinating the schedules of students is never going to be easy," Takahashi said. "There's always work to be done, but I manage to find time to prepare for my classes."

As he oversees the round-the-clock hours of operation from his office adjacent to the facility's primary fitness room, Takahashi also makes sure campus recreation members are offered specialty classes from month to month. Many of those special topic courses are the result of suggestions from campus recreation members.

"We're always looking into things, one of them right now is weight training for females," Takahashi said. "It can be an intimidating place."

Takahashi continues to work on his doctorate in Instructional Technology, with an emphasis in Motion Analysis.

With universities de-emphasizing physical education as a liberal arts requirement in the last quarter century, he says he will continue to encourage students to prioritize learning proper exercise techniques as part of their college experience.

"It's still important for students to understand the science behind what they are doing with weights," Takahashi said. "I want them to come into the (fitness area) knowing what they are doing."


GO TO: ISSUE OF OCTOBER 6

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Huskers lead Takahashi to campus rec
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