Meet Margaret

Margaret Hofmann-Nein, MEd, is the Owner and Director of Female Athletes First (FAF) in Columbus, Ohio. She has spent her entire career in the athletic and fitness industries, establishing herself as a fitness industry leader and expert in issues facing the female athlete. She is a master strength and performance coach and mentor who specializes in The Making Of The Female Athlete.

Margaret is a former collegiate Head Women's Volleyball/Softball coach, teacher and lecturer who successfully developed sports programs at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, Thomas More College in Northern Kentucky and Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sports Sciences from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky and Xavier University in Cincinnati.

She is also a 16-year fitness industry veteran, a certified Personal Trainer through the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and an IDEA health and fitness association Masters member with specialty certificates in golf conditioning and postural analysis. She has directed, trained clients and run athlete development training programs in all types of sports clubs, corporate fitness centers and performance centers. Her client list has always been large and varied. While living in Cincinnati, Margaret was the McGing school of Irish Dance strength and conditioning coach. She trained many of the athletes that competed on a national and world stage. You could find her articles on fitness and conditioning in the Irish Dance Magazine.  Presently she is a contributing writer and strength and conditioning expert for: www.weplay.com and www.ponytailsports.com.  She also acts as the conditioning advisor to the Capital University women's volleyball and golf programs in Columbus, Ohio.

Margaret has since retired from competitive sand volleyball and major women's slow pitch softball with a world championship to her credit in softball.  Despite numerous coaching honors, Margaret has also been recognized for her past athletic achievements by being inducted into her high school and county Halls of Fame. 

You can catch Margaret training her athletes and general fitness clients at the Wyandotte Athletic Club in Columbus, Ohio where she resides with her husband and six year old daughter.

Mission

The mission of Female Athletes First (FAF), LLC is clear. We serve the female athlete exclusively. We do this by providing relevant health and wellness information, functional strength and conditioning programs and on-line coaching services. Our main purpose is to enhance the athletic performance of female athletes and help them prevent injuries, in particular, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injuries which female athletes are sustaining at alarming rates in comparison to male athletes. Our motto is "Education, Condition, and Execution."

We direct our attention to helping female athletes from youth through early adulthood. We encourage parental involvement every step of the way as we try to help female athletes be "all that they can be" in their chosen sport.

Training Philosophy

We emphasize training functionally for improved performance within the 4 Pillars of human movement: rotation, push/pull, locomotion and level changes. We place great emphasis on training in the prevention of injuries that are very common to the female athlete.  Our strength programs are female sensitive, age appropriate and task specific. We Train For Athleticism, Not For Appearance.

Our Team

Dr. Lynne Fitzgerald earned her Doctorate degree in Dance Education from Temple University in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1984. After gaining full-professor status in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Morehead State University in Morehead Kentucky in 1996, she is now the department Chair, a post she has held since 2006. She also holds an undergraduate degree in Physical Education and a Masters degree in Health and Physical Education both from East Stroudsburg State College in East Stroudsburg Pennsylvania. Her passion and area of interest is in Girls and Women's sports experiences and sport Sociology and Psychology. She served on the Board for the National Association for Girl's and Women in Sport (NAGWS) for three years. Dr. Fitzgerald is an accomplished writer, teacher, consultant and speaker in many areas associated with women's studies, personal health and wellness, organization and administration of sport, psycho/social dimensions of sport and physical education, recreation, movement exploration and modern dance. Her 40 years of experience in the Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (HPERD) field has made her a sought after professional in Kentucky and around the country. She has presented at many conferences and conventions such as KAHPERD, AAHPERD, NAGWS and NASPE just to name a few. Dr. Fitzgerald has been published in NASPE/AAHPERD, Athletic Business and ICHPER/UNESCO. In 1992, she received the Presidential Award from the National Association for Girl's and Women in Sport; presented at the AAHPERD Conference in Indianapolis, IN. Presently Lynne sits on the Editorial Board of Strategies for AAHPERD.

Dr. Jane A.  Beougher.  Dr. Beougher earned her Doctorate in Health and Physical Education from the Ohio State University in 1979. She holds an undergraduate degree in Comprehensive Science from the Ohio State University and a Masters degree in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation from Bowling Green State University. She taught health and physical education for 37 years including various K-12 schools, Defiance College, Ohio University, the Ohio State University and Capital University. She retired from Capital University after 30 years as an associate professor in Health and Sport Sciences. After retiring from Capital University, Dr. Beougher was a National Health Education Consultant for Everyday Learning and McGraw Hill Publishers for their Meeks-Heit Health Curriculum. She was a health consultant for their 2005 Health & Wellness textbook. Dr. Beougher is currently an adjunct faculty member at Ashland University where she instructs a Learning to Movement Workshop teaching participants ways to use movement to stimulate physical, intellectual, emotional and social growth. Dr.Beougher is very interested in health and fitness for people of all ages (pre-k thru senior citizens).



Dr. Janene M. Grodesky earned her Doctorate in kinesiology from Louisiana State University in 2006. She majored in health pedagogy, with collateral areas of study in exercise science and motor control. She holds an undergraduate degree in communications and journalism, and a Masters degree in health promotion and education, minoring in exercise physiology, both from the University of Cincinnati. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Health Education at Northern Kentucky University in the Department of Kinesiology, Health and Educational Foundations. Her primary focus for research is theory-based psychosocial determinants of health behaviors, particularly physical activity and exercise adherence for older adults. Other areas of research have included biomechanical gait analysis and motor learning. Dr. Grodesky has been published in the journals of Quest, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research and has a book being published for 2008 - Somebody Need to Light a Firecracker Under Me! Understanding How Older Adults Make Decisions about Physical Activity. Dr. Grodesky is a member of and has presented at the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance national meetings, the National Association for Kinesiology and Physical Education national conferences, and internationally at the International Conference for Biomechanics. She had worked in many facets of the health and fitness field for over 20 years, and currently teaches Pilates and Yoga.



Debra Wein, MS, RD, LDN, CSSD, NSCA-CPT-D* Debra Wein is a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Boston and teaches graduate nutrition courses at Simmons College. Debra is the President and Co-founder of Sensible Nutrition, Inc.(www.sensiblenutrition.com), a consulting firm of RD's and personal trainers, established in 1994, that provides nutrition and wellness services to corporations, universities, and nonprofit groups, individuals and athletes. Sensible Nutrition's client list includes: The United States Coast Guard, The US Navy Seals, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Putnam Investments, Arnold Worldwide, Harvard Business School, EMC, Boston Ballet, Children's Hospital, USA Track & Field Association, Savings Bank Life Insurance, members of the National Hockey League and other professional and competitive athletes. Debra chaired the Women's subcommittee of the Massachusetts' Governor's Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports for over 5 years and has over ten years of experience managing leading university fitness centers in New York and Boston. Debra writes a regular nutrition column for the National Strength and Conditioning Association's Online Performance Journal. She has written articles for Men's Health, Muscle and Fitness, Marie Claire, Family Circle and has been quoted in Shape, Self, Ski, Allure, Fitness and Prevention and various daily newspapers. Her weekly e-zine, SNaC Bytes, has been emailed across 6 continents since 2000. Debra has appeared on WFXT (Fox 25-Boston), WLVI (Channel 56), WCVB (Channel 5), WGBH (Channel 44) news and WEEI and WRKO radio news talking about weight loss, men's health, functional foods and many other nutrition and fitness related topics. Debra is certified as a personal trainer by The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM-HFI) and The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA-CPT*D). Debra holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in nutritional sciences from Cornell and Columbia Universities.


Pam Briggs, MEd from University of Dayton. Pam is the Head Volleyball and Golf coach at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Pam is one of the most respected volleyball coaches in the country at the NCAA Division III level. She has an impressive career win/loss record accumulated over 15 seasons at Capital. Her volleyball teams have OAC conference and tournament crowns and have made two trips to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. She is a 3 time OAC Coach of the Year and once an AVCA Regional Coach of the Year. Her teams are equally impressive in the classroom having won numerous Academic All-OAC, Academic All-District and Academic All-American honors with two players being named Academic All-American of the Year. She also teaches within the Health and Sports Sciences Department at Capital. Pam is a great friend of mine and I am so glad to have had the opportunity to coach with her at my side at Capital from 1988-1991.


Carolyn Condit, MEd from Indiana University. Carolyn is the Head Volleyball Coach at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Carolyn's accomplishments are too long to list here. She is the winningest volleyball coach in the history of Miami University Athletics. She is a Miami Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee, who has gained the respect of Division I level coaches all over the country. Her teams are always competitive. In her 23 years at Miami her teams have amassed 5 MAC Titles, 5 NCAA Tournament appearances, 4 MAC Players of the Year and 4 MAC Coach of the Year Honors. Fifteen of her teams have accrued winning records, including seven above the .700 mark. Sixteen squads have compiled MAC records above .500 with seven registering a .800 winning percentage or better. She also ranks nationally among all-time and active Division I coaches in number of career wins with 499. She has a 400-292 career win/loss record at Miami and a 449-371 win/loss record in her career. Her teams have also won numerous academic awards in her tenure at Miami. Carolyn is my coaching mentor. She is a great friend and I was fortunate to have been one of her assistant coaches back in the days when she was Head Volleyball Coach at Xavier University in Cincinnati.


Melissa Hawthorne, BSN in Critical Care Cardiology, ACE, AFAA, CSCS Certified Personal Trainer and Owner of Priority Fitness in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was fortunate to work side by side training clients with Missy when I lived in Cincinnati. She is a master performance coach with many years of experience in the fitness industry. She has the knowledge and expertise to teach just about any fitness class in the industry and she can handle any client of any age with any ability or physical challenge. Melissa is an expert in functional training and she can teach classes in Kickboxing, Spinning, Resist-a-Ball, Pilates Mat, Pilates Reformer and she is also an Olympic Club Coach. Melissa currently trains at Cincinnati Functional Fitness and at Living Longer Performance Center, both in Cincinnati, Ohio. She can be reached at www.cincyfit.com.

Leslie Cordova, MA, CSCS, is a fitness, movement integration, and athletic performance coach, specializing in training female youth and young adults. She owns and operates Xceptional Athlete in San Pedro, CA. Leslie has worked with hundreds of youth, high school, collegiate, and professional athletes, as well as everyday people who are committed to their fitness goals. She conducts personal & group training, biomechanical and postural analysis, motivational talks & programs, team-building events, and camps & clinics. She has trained Heisman Trophy winners, All-Americans, and National Championship teams at Notre Dame and the University of Southern California.
Leslie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science from The University of New Mexico. She continued her education earning a Master’s degree in Kinesiology: Sports Management from California State University Long Beach and a Master’s degree in Education from Loyola Marymount University. Leslie is currently working on her PhD in Sports Psychology from the University of San Diego Integrated Studies. She is an instructor of Health and Physical Education at Los Angeles Harbor College. She has certifications as strength and conditioning specialist, Z-Health Level 3 Trainer, and a postural and biomechanical appraiser. Leslie is a member of IDEA Health and Fitness and IYCA (International Youth and Conditioning Association). Presently, she is working on her PhD in Sports Psychology and is an instructor of Health and Physical Education at LAHC. You can learn more at www.xplosivestrength.com.



Alan Howell, PT, SCS, ATC. Alan is the Owner and Director of the Howell Rehab Centers in Cincinnati, Ohio. Alan is an internationally recognized expert in physical therapy and athletic training and brings nearly 30 years of expertise to his patients and to us here at FAF. He has served as Head Athletic Trainer for the USA Olympic swim team and water polo team in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. He was Chief Athletic Trainer for the field hockey venue at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and for the Atlanta Hockey Challenge in 1995. Alan was also Coordinator of Sports Medicine Services for the 1997 Women's Basketball Final Four in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition, he has served as trainer to the Pan American Games and various other World Championships. I have sent some of my clients to Alan over the years and I am pleased to have him on "Our Team."


Dixie Jeffers. Dixie is the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. She is the only active college women's basketball coach in the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. She is heading toward legendary status in college women's basketball as she enters her 25th season at the helm at Capital Un. Her teams have been a model of excellence and consistency on and off the court. She is one of the nation's all-time winningest coaches, she has won an astounding 80-percent of her games and is the sixth coach in NCAA Div. III history with over 500 games. She has a combined 518-139 career record. Her program is one of the nations best and most respected. From 1990-2000, no NCAA Div. III basketball program has had a higher winning percentage. Also during that span, Dixie led Capital to the Final Four an incredible four times in five years. Capital became the first Div. III school to win back-to-back national championships in 1994 and 1995. She has had the distinction of being the first Div. III coach to win National Coach of the Year honors in successive years. Capital has won the OAC regular-season title eight times, the OAC postseason tournament seven times and has had 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. Dixie and I go way back to college days at Morehead State University. She continues to amaze me by her energy, enthusiasm and passion for women's basketball.


Kathy Krumme. Kathleen works for Oakley Cycles, in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a bike fitting specialist. She has performed over 2000 bike fittings since 1996 and became a Serotta Advanced Bike Fit Specialist in 2002. She has helped Oakley Cycles become one of the most respected cycle shops in the country. She holds a BA in Economics and has earned Serotta International Cycling Institute (SICI) certifications in Advanced Bicycle Fitting, Advanced Shoe/Pedal Interface, Advanced Triathlon Fitting, Advanced Dynamic Fit/Fit Technologies, and Advanced Frame Design. Kathleen also serves as a staff instructor for SICI. She continues to present educational seminars to both consumers and bicycle industry insiders including Quality Bicycle Products and Serotta Competition Bicycles. She loves cycling and since childhood has competed in both amateur triathlon and road cycling. Kathleen enjoys mentoring new cyclists and has participated in the development of charity cycling events for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Davis Phinney Foundation. She also serves on the Science Advisory Board of the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson's Disease Research and Wellness. Kathy is an amazing athlete and great at what she does in the cycling industry. I am pleased to have her on board here at FAF.

Margaret featured in IDEA Magazine:

Excerpt from IDEA Member Spotlight, March 2008 IDEA Fitness Joiurnal

Margaret Hofmann-Nein, MEd, Member Since 1996: Columbus, Ohio

Margaret Hofmann-Nein, owner of Female Athletes First LLC, specializes in providing sports performance enhancement programs to female athletes.  "It is a personal mission of mine to get the most up-to-date training practices, protocols, and health and wellness information to female athletes around the globe."  While there is a great deal of solid information available, Hofmann-Nein finds that much of it has the potential to derail an athlete's success.  "We want to educate the female athlete, her parents and her coaches about how and when to start a conditioning program for her sport," she says. "[We seek to] help the female athlete be all she can be in her chosen sport."