Former student-athlete and UTT graduate Asia Joseph has become the first female full-time strength and conditioning coach at Florida International University (FIU), working with the university’s swimming, women’s soccer, tennis teams and assisting with the American football team. Hailing from Tobago, the former UTT volleyball captain began her academic journey in 2011, pursuing a certificate in Sport Studies, then graduating with a Bachelor in Sport Studies with specialisations in Exercise Science and Sport Management.

During her time at UTT, Asia was selected to the national senior team while training with the University’s Strength and Conditioning Coach Ronald Rogers and Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Angel Ottley of UTT's High-performance Unit. After graduating, she enrolled at Arkansas Tech University and completed her Master of Science in Strength and Conditioning Studies.

In her final semester, Asia applied to do an internship at FIU with their scholarship athletes. Upon completion, she returned for another semester as a volunteer coach. As the second female intern in the university’s history, she did not believe she would stand apart from her peers in a historically male-dominated field. “I just wanted to stand out to let people know that women can dominate. We can be loud, aggressive and commanding just like a male in this setting. I never knew I’d get this far but I’m happy it did.”

With a long-term goal to establish a local facility which specifically caters for high-performance elite training, Asia believes Trinidad and Tobago is overflowing with natural talent but laments the lack of facilitates and training that nurturing and development that talent requires. “We need elite strength and conditioning training staff in Trinidad and Tobago. Natural ability can only get you so far. I don’t like to see when athletes leave home to go abroad to train and then represent Trinidad and Tobago. It doesn’t feel the same for me because they’re not 100 percent homegrown.”

Asia credits Dr. Kerry Dollaway, Assistant Professor, Centre for Kinesiology, Physical Education and Sport at UTT, Coach Rogers and her other instructors for inspiring her to pursue her academic career. She also revealed that Dr. Dollaway has encouraged her to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) , which she is considering. “They are dedicated to their jobs not only as educators within the classroom but also as mentors ensuring that we, the students develop holistically. Having them as mentors definitely encouraged me to further my education and pursue my career goals.”

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic did not hamper her progression as a coach, as she uses her social media accounts to post strength and conditioning training methods, recovery and several sport-specific training programmes. She recently started doing virtual coaching with athletes while conducting live workout sessions three days weekly.

Asia believes her role is to inspire and motivate others by blazing a trail for them to follow. “As a female who wants to dominate in a male dominated field, I became accustomed to people saying no, but pushed and worked hard regardless. The right people would see you eventually,” she said.

The University of Trinidad and Tobago congratulates Asia on her achievements thus far and wishes her the best in those to come.