Former Griz coach sets up strength shop

A strength and conditioning facility is set to open in Kalispell to help athletes across the valley reach their full potential. 

Until last year, Mike Gerber was the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Montana Grizzlies football team. In December he retired from the collegiate gig, but he knew he could never give up coaching. Instead, he moved to Kalispell to open his own training facility. 

“There’s this shift when you can see the athletes begin to enjoy the training process and appreciate working hard, and that’s one of the most rewarding parts for me,” Gerber said.  

Gerber is in the process of opening Montana Sport-Strength, which will help athletes in strength training to build on performance in any sport. With over 30 years of strength and conditioning experience under his belt, Gerber teaches athletes how to properly utilize traditional weight-training methods to get stable, long-lasting results. 

The business will open March 23. 

“I always take a no-nonsense approach,” Gerber said. “There’s a lot of commercial bias in this industry that is constantly showing off new equipment or grossly exaggerating results. I just teach my athletes what to do.” 

Gerber approaches each athlete as an individual and designs a workout based on the athlete’s body and sport to create the best results. His routines are based on the Olympic style of weight training, which encourages quick bursts of speed while training to utilize all the muscles in a body. 

“The idea of going to a gym and doing one muscle at a time doesn’t work. It’s not going to help when you need all those muscles to work together for your sport,” Gerber said. 

The training center operates with the motto, “It’s not how strong you are, but how fast you are strong,” which encourages athletes to build strength as a facet of speed or distance training. 

Gerber plans to coach athletes in any sport, since additional strength will always help athletes become better. 

Throughout his career, Gerber has coached many athletes who went on to play professionally, including Colt Anderson, now playing for the Indianapolis Colts; former Flathead High School and UM star Lex Hilliard, who played for the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets; Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers; and Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. 

“Coach Gerber is an amazing strength coach, with a knowledge that is unmatched,” former Griz Kroy Bierman, who plays defensive end for the Atlanta Flacons, said in a news release from Montana Sport-Strength. “Without his guidance, I would not have developed into the athlete I am today.” 

When some of his past athletes found out Gerber, affectionately known as Coach Gerbs, was moving to Kalispell to start his own business, they opened a GoFundMe account online to help pay for equipment. The coach was unaware of the account until it was in the works, but the account has raised $3,200 over the last month. 

To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/gerbsgym. 

Gerber was inspired by a coach early in his career. 

While attending school at Syracuse University to receive his master’s in physical education, Gerber was a graduate assistant football coach. Gerber began working directly under head strength and conditioning coach, Mike Woicik. 

Woicik currently is the head strength and conditioning coach for the Dallas Cowboys. 

When Gerber worked for him in the early 1990s, Woicik researched the best ways to strengthen and train athletes, including research into training for Soviet Union athletes, considered some of the top athletes in the world at the time. 

According to Gerber, most coaches who trained under Woicik attribute their knowledge and passion to him. 

“I was fortunate to work under him because he really fanned the flames,” Gerber said. “He opened my eyes to the correct way to train.” 

Gerber decided to pursue a career in strength and conditioning coaching. He worked as the head strength coach at Syracuse University for five years, and then opened a strength training facility in New York similar to his new Kalispell facility. 

In 2006, an opportunity arose for Gerber and his wife, Erica, to move to Montana, a place the couple had always enjoyed. Gerber got back into collegiate coaching and joined the University of Montana Grizzlies. 

He then moved to the University of Nevada Las Vegas before coming back to Missoula for one last coaching stint with the Griz in 2014.

After the fall football season, Gerber hung up his Griz gear and moved to Kalispell, where his wife was already living. The two purchased land in the lower valley where the new Montana Sport-Strength facility is located. 

The facility, a separate gym on their 10-acre property, houses several weight-training stations where athletes can build strength for speed, agility and strength-based sports. As the business grows, Gerber hopes to add a speed track where athletes can translate their strength training into increased speed. 

While Gerber originally planned to work with high school and college-level athletes, he said he has also had interest from older athletes, some as old as him, who just want to get back into shape. 

However, much of the training will concentrate on getting both male and female athletes ready for college and professional recruiters. 

For more information, or to set up a training session, contact Gerber at 210-9227 or email mikegerb@icloud.com.

Reporter Brianna Loper may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at bloper@dailyinterlake.com.