OUR COACHES

LUKE VANMOERKERkE

FOUNDER, CO-OWNER & COACH

Luke has been a lifelong athlete who has trained and competed throughout the province. His experience working with different coaches and training facilities inspired him to return to his roots in the Brantford area to build AFT. His vision for AFT was to create a training facility that would help build the next generation of great local athletes. What started as a passion project for Luke and his wife, Taylor, has now grown into three locations with a team of 20 coaches who live out the AFT vision. 

Now retired from his OHL and varsity hockey career, Luke remains motivated to live a healthy and active lifestyle so that he can keep up with his growing family of four and his staff of real go-getters. Luke’s commitment to AFT deepens year-after-year as he continues to work tirelessly to expand and improve his facilities, programs, and coaching team.

Taylor VanMoerkerke

CO-OWNER & COACH

Taylor has been in the strength and conditioning industry as a coach for 6 years and she has competed as an elite athlete for over 15 years. Taylor’s athletic achievements include playing lacrosse for Team Canada in 2011, D1 Lacrosse in the NCAA at Virginia Tech as well as OUA Lacrosse. She went from athlete to coach when she began coaching in the Ontario Women's Field Lacrosse League for Edge Lacrosse and Western University. 

Taylor loves training teams and elite level athletes because of her connection to sport and because she can offer insight and perspective that she wishes she had at their ages and points in their career.  She strives to help teams and elite level athletes understand the importance of strength work for their sport & longevity. 

As a busy mom of two young boys, she has recently fallen in love with exploring new types of training while maintaining her competitive and self-described "intense" personality. Taylor is passionate about leading by example & wants to encourage new parents that "prioritizing their physical and mental health is not selfish; instead it benefits everyone in your life".

ANDREW WILHELM

COACH & Director of Business Development

Andrew has been in the fitness and training industry since 2015 and brings experience in conventional strength training, olympic lifting and endurance sport. He is a former Guelph Gryphon varsity football athlete, and has completed multiple triathlon races including Ironman 70.3 Muskoka.

Before joining the team at AFT, Andrew owned and operated his own coaching business where he worked with clients both in person and remotely, and intends to bring more remote training options to AFT clients in the future.

As a coach, Andrew's greatest passion is to help people develop a positive relationship with their fitness and to gain access to new capabilities. He specializes in working with individuals who are new or just returning to fitness and helps them develop a routine that anyone can be proud of.

Everyday Andrew motivates himself  to live a healthy active lifestyle by remembering how lucky he is to have a chance to keep training in the first place. "Nothing keeps me going more than a desire to stay capable for as long as possible".

Megan Hunter

Coach social media

• Certified NCSF Personal Trainer

Megan has been in the athletics industry for over a decade. She is a former elite athlete in the sport of Cheerleading and has earned gold, silver and bronze finishes at the World Cheerleading Championships as well as a top spot on Team Canada for 5 years. Megan’s skills and passion have taken her all over the world.

As a coach and mentor to young athletes, Megan is passionate about helping people become the best version of themselves and enjoy the process. When it comes to training, Megan walks the talk. She strives to be strong, both physically and mentally. She loves the feeling of pushing herself to do something challenging, whether that’s learning a new skill or completing a heavy lift. 

She feels that coaching is a true calling in her life that motivates and fulfills her every day, and makes her feel connected and aligned with others; “There's an incredible sense of fulfillment seeing our clients and athletes believe in themselves, build their confidence, realize their potential, and achieve their goals”.

JESSE DAMM

HEAD COACH

• Health, Wellness & Fitness Diploma - Mohawk

• Pre-Script:

  • Functional Anatomy & Applied Biomechanics

  • Barbell Certification

  • Exercise Programming 

• Precision Nutrition: Sports Performance Nutrition 

Coach Jesse has been working in the fitness industry for nearly 5 years now. The loss of his father and sister to health-related illnesses has been his main source of motivation to learn and teach others about important tools they can use to lead healthy and active lifestyles. Jesse believes that fitness is something that can and should be accessible to everyone, and that the benefits it can provide are truly life changing. 

Over the years Jesse has had great success helping clients get active while alleviating chronic pain. He is passionate about helping people understand what kind of exercises, positions and range of movements are critical to address their pain and impaired function. He is inspired when he sees things start to click for his clients; "Seeing others succeed in my eyes, there is no greater feeling".

TRISTEN FURE

COACH

• Certified ISSA Personal Trainer

• Crossfit Level 1 Certified

• Pre-Script: Functional Anatomy & Applied Biomechanics

Coach Tristen started coaching wrestling and fitness at 18 years old and has never looked back. He is a passionate life-longer learner about optimizing the mind & body and he strives to share this knowledge and experience with his clients. 

As a coach with AFT, Tristen wants to help people set clearly defined goals, work diligently towards, and build a solid foundation with measurable benefits along the way. His areas of specialization are Olympic weightlifting, turning soft parents into strong people and changing people's mentality towards fitness.

Tristen knows first-hand how much a healthy active lifestyle impacts every other part of life including relationships, mental health and daily energy. "Fitness is my passion and it has drastically improved my life. There is no better job in the world than helping people understand how it can improve theirs".

Paul Szczechura

Director of On-ice performance

• Played 4 years NCAA D1 Hockey

• Played 16 years professional hockey (NHL, AHL, KHL)