Dr. Peter Friesen, physical therapist and assistant athletic trainer for NC State cross-country, and track and field, recently served as a strength and conditioning coach at the 2018 USA Hockey Women's National Festival.
Friesen joined the Wolfpack during the 2017-18 academic year. The previous 21 years, Friesen was with the Carolina Hurricanes as the team’s Head Athletic Trainer/Strength and Conditioning Coach.
Friesen is a dual board-certified Physical Therapist in Sports and Orthopedics. Additionally, he is certified in both the United States and Canada as an Athletic Trainer/Therapist, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and also certified as a Massage Therapist and Dry Needler. During his time with the Hurricanes, Friesen was responsible for the institution of training and dietary standards, preparation of rehabilitation programs, and treatment of acute injuries for all Carolina Hurricanes players.
In addition to his work with professional teams, Friesen has been associated with the Canadian Olympic and International programs for more than 30 years, including serving as the Head Trainer for Team Canada during the 2004 World Championship in the Czech Republic. He again served as Head Trainer for Canada at the 2011 World Championship in Slovakia, and has been to 10 IIHF World Championships with five gold medals.
Friesen has advised nine different Canadian programs including men’s and women’s ice hockey, field hockey, soccer, figure skating, softball, wrestling, gymnastics and volleyball in preparation for their respective tournaments. Combining the different elements of each sport, Friesen strives to show athletes various ways of developing elements of their bodies in a true cross-training fashion. He is an Assistant Consulting Professor at Duke's School of Physical Therapy in the areas of Sports, Orthopedics and Exercise and also lectures at Campbell University, East Carolina University, University North Carolina, Duke and University of Connecticut in the departments of Physical Therapy.
He is a graduate from Bemidji State University with Bachelor’s Degrees in Education and Physical Education, from the University of Saskatchewan a Post-Graduate degree in Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy, and from Arcadia University a Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Prior to joining the Carolina Hurricanes, Friesen was the head trainer at both the University of Saskatchewan and then the University of Alberta, and an Assistant Director of the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic in Edmonton, Alberta.