Please take a few moments to read about some of the Atheletic Republic Madison staff.

(Click staff name to open/close bio)

Thomas Dambach – Facility Manager

Tom's bio will be available soon!

Kyle Brodd – Director of Training

Director of Training / Vice President

Kyle started his training career with Acceleration Madison in 2003, working under former owners Mike and Marc Schmaltz. After becoming Training Manager in the fall of 2006 Kyle partnered with Chad Gunnelson and Athletic Republic Madison was born. As the Director of Training, Kyle takes your assessment results and modifies Athletic Republic’s science based training programs to fit your unique training needs. Kyle has used his knowledge, experience, and passion to build relationships with and develop the ability of thousands of youth, high school, college, and professional athletes.

Certifications:

  • CPT – Certified Personal Trainer
  • AR 3 – Athletic Republic Level 3 Certified
  • AR FB – Athletic Republic Football Specialist Certified
  • AR VB – Athletic Republic Volleyball Specialist Certified
  • SoloSpike – SoloSpike Volleyball Attack Specialist Certified
  • CPR / First Aid / AED – American Red Cross
  • Member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association - NSCA

Highlights: Kyle specializes in power development training including plyometrics, core power training, and Olympic lifting. He focuses on getting results but never loses sight of the importance of developing movement skills and reducing the risk of injury.

Professional Athletes Trained:

  • Aaron Stecker – Running Back – National Football League (Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Atlanta) Super Bowl Champ
  • Jessie Vetter – Goaltender – US Olympic Team – University of Wisconsin Badgers
  • David Berghoefer – Professional Basketball Player – Duesseldorf Magics / NBA Development League
  • Nick Pepper – Pitcher – Traverse City Beach Bums
  • Bill Rentmeester – Running Back – National Football League
  • Numerous Semi-Pro and Arena football players

Highlights – Besides training several Olympic, Professional, and Semi-Professional athletes, Kyle is the starting running back for the AAA Semi-Pro Madison Mustangs football team. He utilizes the same performance training concepts in his own program that our athletes use in our facility.

College Athletes Trained:

  • D1 Football: 11 Athletes
  • D1 Volleyball: 7 Athletes
  • D1 Basketball: 12 Athletes
  • D1 Track & Field: 13 Athletes
  • Numerous D2/D3 Colligate athletes in several sports (football, volleyball, basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, baseball, softball, and lacrosse)

Training Thoughts:

Your training program must be COMPLETE, and ours are just that. We value our relationship with every athlete and take your training seriously. We don’t waste time with valueless exercises and movements. With every training program you can feel safe knowing you have mastered the movements needed for your sport, executed a well rounded core program, are balanced in regards to strength with no weaknesses, in the best possible condition and far more explosive than when you started. You will follow the correct progressions to make sure you master each exercise and continue to achieve results while reducing your risk of injury. Simply put, you will be a better athlete because of the Athletic Republic program and most importantly your hard work.

Chad Gunnelson – Director of Marketing / Consultant

 

Owner / CEO

Chad began with Athletic Republic in the Spring of 2007 as business manager for what was then Acceleration Madison. In September of 2007, Chad, along with business partner Kyle Brodd, purchased the licensed facility, converting to one of the first franchises in the Athletic Republic network. His vision for growth allowed for Athletic Republic Madison to move from the original 1,000 sq. ft. facility to the 9,000 sq. ft. state of the art training facility it is today.

Certifications:

 

  • CPT - Certified Personal Trainer
  • CGFI – TPI Certified Golf Fitness Instructor
  • AR 3 – Athletic Republic Level 3 Certified
  • ASEP – American Sport Education Program Certified Coach
  • CPR / First Aid / AED – American Red Cross
  • Member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association – NSCA

Highlights: Chad brings passion and experience to the training floor specializing in sprint mechanics, skating mechanics, Olympic lifting techniques, as well as football and track & field skills.  Chad is also a TPI Certified Golf Fitness Instructor who takes pride in reducing physical limitations so you can get better at your game.

 

Coaching Experience:

Football

  • Defensive Coordinator – FBU Youth All-American Team (2011)
  • Offensive Coordinator – Madison Memorial (2009-2010) Big 8 Champs (09) City Champs (09-10)
  • Varsity Assistant / Defensive Backs / Strength Coach – Madison Memorial (2008)
  • Defensive Coordinator / General Manager – Madison Mustangs AAA Semi-Pro Football (2007)
  • Head JV Football Coach – Madison East High School (2006)
  • Student Assistant Football Coach – UW – Whitewater (2005) WIAC Conf Champs – National Runner-Up

Highlights: Through 2010 Chad has coached 2 – D1 scholarship recipients, 2 All-State players, 5 All-Conference Defensive Backs, Big 8 Conference Defensive Back of the Year (2009), Big 8 Receiver of the Year (2009). While Chad was Offensive Coordinator, Madison Memorial saw 15 school records broken.

Track and Field

  • Head Coach / Boys and Girls – Madison East High School (2006-Present)
  • Assistant Coach / Horizontal Jumps – Madison Memorial High School (2005)
  • Assistant Coach / Hurdles – Madison Memorial High School (2003-2004)

Highlights: Through his first 5 years at East, Chad has coached 25 state qualifiers, 17 school record holders, breaking 11 different school records.

Playing Experience:

Football

  • Madison Mustangs AAA Semi-Pro Football – Defensive Back (2006, 2007, 2009)
  • Southwest Minnesota State University – D2 – Defensive Back (2002-2004) *Letterwinner
  • Madison Memorial High School – Defensive Back / Receiver / Long Snapper *Team Captain

Community Involvement:

 

  • Regional Director –Football University a division of Sports Link www.footballuniversity.org
  • Corporate Advisory Council / Operations Committee / Regional Football Director – Athletic Republic
  • Executive Director – Spartans Youth Football (2007-2010)
  • Track and Field Expert / Writer – Wisconsin Sports Network www.wissports.net
  • Regional Sales Manager – ProGrass Synthetic Turf www.prograssturf.com
  • Consultant – Elite Management Group Inc.

Contact Chad

Jessie Vetter - Director of Hockey

Director of Hockey

As a Badger Jessie trained at Acceleration Madison with her teammates and had a stellar college career. After playing in the 2010 Winter Olympics she returned to Madison with an offer to become the Director of Hockey at now Athletic Republic Madison. She accepted the position in the fall of 2010 and has hit the ground skating. Jessie brings a wealth of knowledge and hockey experience to the training floor. She works with area players to improve their stride, speed, power, and confidence as a hockey player.

Certifications:

  • CPT – Certified Personal Trainer
  • AR 2- Athletic Republic Level 2 Certified
  • CPR / First Aid / AED

Playing Experience:

USA Hockey

  • Olympic Women’s Hockey Team – Goaltender (2010)
  • Two-time World Champion (2008, 2009)
  • World Championships All-tournament Team (2008, 2009)
  • Four Nations Cup Runner-Up (2010)
  • Four Nations Cup Champion (2008)

College

  • NCAA National Champions (2006, 2007, 2009)
  • Most Outstanding Player - NCAA Tournament (2006, 2009)
  • Two-Time All-American
  • Three-Time First Team All-Conference
  • Patty Kazmeier Award Winner - Top College Women’s Hockey Player (2009)
  • Bob Allen Women’s Hockey Player of the Year Award Winner (2009)
  • Three-Time All-WCHA Academic Team

High School – Monona Grove

  • Three-Time Team MVP – Boys Hockey
  • Honorable Mention All-State
  • Three-Time State Champion in Soccer
  • Three-Time Team MVP - Soccer
  • Three-Time All-State - Soccer
  • Four-Time All-Conference First Team Selection - Soccer
  • Two-Time MVP – Girls Golf

Outside of Athletic Republic, Jessie coaches the Madison Capitol U19 hockey team and also assists in many camps around the area. Jessie dedicates her free time to working with hockey goalies in the Madison area, and traveling to schools, sharing her experience as a hockey player. She also enjoys participating in various golf events throughout the summer, supporting many different causes.

Contact Jessie

 

We pride ourselves in providing top notch training from top notch professionals in the performance sports industry. We require field certifications such as the CSCS or CPT as well as our in-house certification that takes our trainers through practical and written exams in fields such as kinesiology, physiology, anatomy, biomechanics, land and load principles, proper nutrition, and more. If you see someone with an Athletic Republic Level III Certification you can rest assured that their mind, body and heart has been tested to provide the best training in the business as this is our highest distinction.

We have sports specialists that can train the overall athlete as well as focus on a specific skill needed to dominate every sport. With our in house sports certifications in Football, Hockey, and Volleyball as well as coaching and clinic experience in all other sports we can give you the tools you need to succeed.