Coaches

Taylor Nelson-Cook

Founder & Head Performance Coach · CSCS, PN1

Taylor has spent more than 12 years developing athletes at every level, from elementary-school movement classes to NFL Combine prep and MLB off-seasons. Taylor has directed performance programs, led coaching staffs and built training systems used by high school, club and college programs.

Train with Taylor Instagram

Proven results Our head coach has prepared 200+ athletes for the NFL Combine and Pro Days, with average gains of:

0.33sfaster 40-yard dash
+5.5″vertical jump
+12″broad jump
+10reps on the 225 bench test

Coaching background

Before founding Ad Astra, Taylor spent eight years at APEC (Athletes’ Performance Enhancement Center) as Training Director and Lead Performance Coach. Taylor directed programming there for professional athletes in the NFL, MLB and minor league baseball, ran NFL Combine and Pro Day preparation, and built the youth development system that took athletes from their first day in the weight room to college and beyond.

Next came Kula Sports Performance, where Taylor served as Vice President of Operations and Master Coach, designing programs for club and high school teams across the Denver area and coaching remote athletes through the KSP online platform. Most recently Taylor has been Director of Performance at KNGDM Sports Performance, leading programming for football, soccer and lacrosse athletes from youth through the pros and mentoring the coaching staff.

The approach is simple: test the athlete, train what moves the needle, and measure it again. Every program balances speed, strength, power and durability, and is built around the athlete’s sport, age and season. That is the system Ad Astra athletes train in today.

Athletes trained

From youth to the pros.

Athletes Taylor has trained and programmed for across a 12-year career.

NFL

  • Patrick Mahomes
  • Travis Kelce
  • Christian McCaffrey
  • Saquon Barkley
  • Jalen Hurts
  • Jerry Jeudy
  • Mac Jones
  • Will Howard
  • Quinn Ewers
  • Sam Ehlinger
  • Mecole Hardman
  • Jedrick Wills Jr.
  • Solomon Thomas
  • DeShon Elliott
  • Joe Schobert
  • Cody Latimer

MLB

  • Bobby Witt Jr.
  • Trevor Story
  • Trent Grisham
  • Matt Carpenter
  • Noah Syndergaard
  • Derek Holland
  • Brandon Workman
  • Kyle Crick
  • TJ Rumfield
  • Hagen Smith
  • AJ Smith-Shawver
  • Bryce Elder

Other professional, college and high school athletes

  • Dylan Raiola
  • JT Cross
  • Mark Bowman
  • Jordan Nytes
  • Brek Kolojay
  • Hauss Hejny
  • Myles Purchase
  • Blake Purchase
  • Cole Payton
  • Jackson Coleman
  • Titus Huard
  • Jayden Fox
  • Harry Luong
  • Wyatt Branish
  • Grant Van Wyk
  • Sean Kilkenney
  • James Riches
  • DJ Bordeaux
  • Josh Morrisey
  • Jack Howell
  • Jae Howell
  • Tess Boade
  • Meg Boade
  • Jordan Jackson
  • Chase Wilson
Teams and programs

Programs Taylor has built for.

  • Rock Canyon BasketballState champions
  • Cherry Creek HockeyState champions
  • Regis Jesuit Football
  • Legend High School
  • Arapahoe High School Football
  • Valor Lacrosse
  • Real Colorado Soccer
  • Colorado United
  • HRA Swim
  • Aspen School District
  • Altus High School Football
Experience

Career

  1. Director of Performance

    Dec 2024 – present

    KNGDM Sports Performance

    • Directs all performance programming for football, soccer and lacrosse athletes
    • Builds long-term athletic development systems for youth, high school, college and pro athletes
    • Created the exercise library and online training resources used by athletes and coaches
    • Trains and mentors the coaching staff on program design and coaching standards
    • Brought in ARPwave recovery technology to speed up rehab and return to play

  2. Vice President of Operations & Master Coach

    Jun 2022 – Aug 2024

    Kula Sports Performance

    • Designed team programs for high school and club programs across the Denver area
    • Coached individual athletes remotely through the KSP Remote Training platform
    • Built the operating systems and processes that let the coaching team scale

  3. Training Director & Lead Performance Coach

    May 2014 – Apr 2022

    APEC (Athletes’ Performance Enhancement Center)

    • Director of Professional Sports Performance for NFL, MLB and MiLB athletes
    • Prepared more than 200 athletes for the NFL Combine and Pro Days
    • Directed programming from elementary and middle school through college athletics
    • Youth Development Coordinator: built the long-term development model focused on movement quality, speed, strength and injury prevention
    • Lead Adult Performance Coach, 2016 – 2020
Certifications
  • CSCSCertified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
  • PN1Precision Nutrition Level 1
  • XPSEXOS Performance Specialist
  • TPITitleist Performance Institute
  • CAFSCertified Athletic Functional Exercise Specialist
  • CAPECCertified Athletic Performance Enhancement Coach
  • PRIMALPRIMAL Certification

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