Movers and Makers

Dr. Aaron Derouin has been coaching and mentoring athletes and youth over the last 20 years. His passion for developing others is inspired by his previous accolades and achievements in sports at the high school and post-secondary levels. He truly believes that nothing is impossible with the right attitude, applied knowledge, a growth mindset, and lots of practice. 

He has coached at the recreational level in community sports settings, at the club basketball level, and has had the opportunity to train elite athletes in various sports at the high school, college, and professional levels.

His ability to influence others is based on his extensive education, work-experience, coaching, and mentoring. As a personal trainer, kinesiologist, researcher and author, and former international athlete, Aaron draws on these experiences to support and boost the development of the mindset and discipline essential for becoming and remaining a high-performing athlete.

Dr. Aaron Derouin has enjoyed an enviable career as a kinesiologist, orthotist, ergonomic engineer, safety advisor, human factors specialist, researcher, and ergonomist. His passion for injury prevention, rehabilitation, design, and sports performance is fueled by his unmatched curiosity, which enabled him to achieve several academic milestones:

Bachelor of Science in Biology from Simon Fraser University (1996, Burnaby, B.C.); Diploma of Technology in Clinical Prosthetics and Orthotics from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (2000, Burnaby, B.C.); Masters of Human Kinetics in Applied Human Performance with a specialization in Clinical Biomechanics and Ergonomics from the University of Windsor (2006, Windsor, Ontario); and Doctorate of Philosophy in Occupational Biomechanics and Ergonomics from Queen’s University (2020, Kingston, Ontario)

In 2006, while at the University of Windsor, Aaron determined that functional knee brace use alters the activity level of the

muscles surrounding the anterior cruciate ligament-injured knee and enhances knee joint rotational stiffness. Much later in

2020, as part of his work at Queen’s University and National Research Council of Canada Aerospace, Aaron was able to

develop novel and patented technology to evaluate neck pain and performance in military pilots exposed to whole-body

vibration while wearing different configurations of helmet-mounted equipment, including night vision goggles and

counterweights. His research revealed that military pilots performing rapid aiming head movements under load and vibration generate levels of neck muscle activity that exceed injury thresholds for peak muscular effort.

Aaron’s passion for injury prevention and performance in the workplace, on the basketball court, or the sports field is

boundless. He is a lifelong learner who wants to pass on his expert knowledge to the future generation of athletes. As a proud

father of two athletic daughters, Aaron wants to inspire the next generation of athletes to optimize how they move to prevent

injury, maximize performance, and ensure athletic longevity. As a certified professional ergonomist, registered kinesiologist,

and researcher, Aaron can easily translate difficult concepts into bite-sized chunks of information that provide young athletes

with the knowledge and skills necessary to propel forward their athletic abilities and performance.