
Bill Henkel
MS, USAW
Coach Bill Henkel joined KCSS in 2014 following training stints at several area facilities, including Simoneau Sports Performance and Midtown Athletic Club. With a hands-on, technique-emphasized approach, Henkel teaches and trains competitors in all aspects of sports performance: strength & power, multi-directional speed & quickness, acceleration & deceleration, agility & balance, and mobility & flexibility. All programming has two main objectives: (1) performance enhancement, and (2) injury reduction. Henkel has provided personalized coaching for grade school, middle school, high school and college athletes, and he has also helped adult “re-athletes” get back in the game and awaken the competitive spirit of their glory days. His training methodologies have been influenced by some of the industry’s finest performance coaches such as Mark Verstegen, Michael Boyle, Boyd Epley, Todd Durkin and Pat Ivey, among others. Henkel believes success in sports is directly related to an athlete’s intensity and frequency (the “answers to the test” as he says) invested in his or her offseason program.
“I first met (KCSS co-owner and former KC Chiefs tight end) Brad Cottam while working out at another facility in the area, and we would have discussions during water breaks,” said Henkel. “I was impressed with his passion and commitment to building a unique sports performance facility. I think he and his partners have done a really good job of creating a competitive environment for all levels of athletes without losing that one-on-one connection that makes coaching so enjoyable.”
When away from the KCSS facility, Henkel serves as a defensive assistant coach for the football program at Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, KS. He is also involved in the offseason athlete development program at BVNHS and has experience working with participants in other sports like wrestling, volleyball, and boys and girls basketball.
A four-year letter winner at the University of Illinois, Henkel competed in three collegiate football bowl games and earned two Academic All-Big Ten awards as a linebacker from 1987-90. A year following graduation, Henkel returned to the Fighting Illini football program as a graduate assistant during the 1993 and 1994 football seasons.
Before making a career transition to helping athletes get better in the weight room and on the field, Henkel represented and mentored NFL players off the field as a marketing agent from 1998-2013. NFL clients whose “brands” he helped promote and monetize included Adrian Peterson, Drew Brees, Chad Pennington, Steve Smith, Tony Gonzalez, Rich Gannon, Eli Manning, Wes Welker and Jordy Nelson.
“I loved my role as a marketing agent,” Henkel recalled. “I had a chance to travel the country and meet so many wonderful people and attend lots of great events, but I had a calling so-to-speak to make a difference with athletes at more of a grass-roots level. Coaching is what I’m passionate about, and I decided to make it my profession rather than just a hobby.”
Henkel Highlights
- Master of Science, Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois
- Certifications from USA Weightlifting (USAW) and National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
- Varsity football assistant coach at Blue Valley North HS since 2014
- 4-year football letterman at University of Illinois (linebacker)