ONLINE & IN-PERSON COACHING

BUILD D1-LEVEL POWER. MAKE YOUR ATHLETE IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE.

Invictus Performance Systems develops high-school and early-college athletes in football, track & field, baseball, and related power sports through a system built around force production, speed, technical precision, and serious standards. Specialized pathways also serve Olympic weightlifters, Ironman and endurance competitors, and candidates preparing for SFAS, RASP, or BUD/S.

Apply for coaching About the system
Football Track & Field Baseball Rugby Combat-Sport Foundations Selection Preparation Endurance Competition
SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE4 PHASES

movement → force → power → transfer

COACHING MODEL1:1

individualized programming & feedback

315 LBPower-clean standard
4 PHASESDevelopment system
HIGH SCHOOL → COLLEGEPrimary athlete focus
ONLINE + IN-PERSONIndividualized coaching

WHY THIS EXISTS

Most young athletes are training hard. Too few are being deliberately built.

Too much athlete development is random: generic team lifting, speed work with no progression, and motivational noise without technical standards. Invictus Performance Systems creates a harder, clearer path—one built around measurable progress, real explosiveness, and physical preparation that transfers to competition.

The result is not just a better weight-room athlete. The result is an athlete with more force, more confidence, more command of position, and more presence when the game speeds up.

THE STANDARD IS LIVED

Proof under
the bar.

The system is taught from direct experience under meaningful load. Swipe through the performance gallery to see the force, timing, aggression, mobility, and technical commitment behind the method—then apply those principles intelligently to the athlete, the sport, and the stage of development.

375 LBClean
2 LIFTSSwipeable performance gallery
REAL STANDARDTechnique under load
375 LB CLEANPerformance proof · Olympic weightlifting
PROOF 001
THE SNATCHSpeed, precision, mobility, and force expressed as one movement
PROOF 002

Swipe the video on mobile or use the arrows

Simon Varela preparing to compete at an Olympic weightlifting meet
National-level Olympic weightlifting competitor
Simon Varela at his U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduation
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate
Simon Varela working aboard a ship in a hard hat and safety glasses
Naval officer & merchant mariner

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

The experience behind the system.

Simon Varela is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, a naval officer, merchant mariner, and national-level Olympic weightlifter. He has competed in weightlifting at the national level and is training with the aim of earning a USA Weightlifting Senior National Championship while continuing to serve and work at sea.

His best lifts include a 375 lb clean, a 364 lb clean & jerk, and a 289 lb snatch. That experience informs the standards behind Invictus Performance Systems, but the brand is not built around personality. It is built around a repeatable development process: assess the athlete, establish technical authority, build usable force, convert it into power, and make it transfer when competition accelerates.

Academy-trained discipline A U.S. Merchant Marine Academy education and professional responsibility at sea reinforce preparation, accountability, and composure under pressure.
National-level weightlifting Direct experience developing technical strength and explosive output under meaningful competitive standards.
System over personality The founder’s experience supplies the principles. The athlete’s needs determine the program.

STATE OF PURPOSE

To build athletes the next level cannot dismiss.

Invictus Performance Systems begins with a clear standard: develop high-school and early-college power athletes toward the physical demands of higher-level competition. Force, speed, mechanics, resilience, and confidence are built deliberately—not left to chance.

Around that foundation, Invictus brings specialized leaders into distinct performance pathways: Olympic weightlifting, special-operations selection preparation, and endurance competition. The disciplines differ, but the governing principle remains the same—credible coaching, measurable preparation, and a system built around the demands of the objective.

THE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM

Power is built in stages.

Every layer earns the next. No wasted volume. No false intensity. No chaos disguised as training.

01

Movement Authority

Establish positions, bracing, coordination, landing skill, and enough joint control to support serious training.

  • Mobility with purpose
  • Technical lifting foundations
  • Deceleration and landing mechanics
02

Force Production

Build the squat, pull, press, trunk, and posterior-chain strength that high-speed sport performance can actually use.

  • Individualized strength progressions
  • Sport-compatible volume
  • Lower-body and trunk dominance
03

Explosive Conversion

Turn strength into sport-relevant power through Olympic-lift derivatives, jumps, throws, sprinting, and precise intent.

  • Power-clean progression
  • Acceleration and max-velocity work
  • Rate-of-force development
04

Competitive Transfer

Make the athlete faster, more durable, and more imposing in the actual sport—not merely stronger in the gym.

  • Off-season and in-season planning
  • Fatigue management
  • Testing, review, and adjustment

COACHING PATHS

Choose the level of guidance and accountability you need.

REMOTE

Online Power Development

For serious athletes who can execute, report honestly, and train with intent even when the coach is not in the room.

  • Individualized training plan
  • Weekly adjustments
  • Video-based technique review
  • Performance testing and tracking
  • Direct coach communication
Apply for online coaching →

HIGHEST TOUCH

In-Person Elite Development

Hands-on technical coaching for athletes pursuing visible separation from their current level of competition.

  • Live sprint and lifting instruction
  • Movement and force assessment
  • Position-specific power priorities
  • Training-cycle design
  • Communication with parent or coach when needed
Apply for in-person coaching →

GROUP

Power Athlete Intensives

Short, focused blocks for teammates or small groups who need a harder standard and a cleaner power-development process.

  • 4–8 week intensive blocks
  • Power-clean and sprint clinics
  • Testing day and athlete report
  • Small-group competition structure
  • Optional coach education session
Request an intensive →
USAW Certified Coach Christopher Hernandez completing a clean at a weightlifting competition
HEAD COACH CHRISTOPHER HERNANDEZ USAW Certified Coach · Massachusetts & Nationwide

INTERESTED IN OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING?

Pursue the sport under a proven national-level coach.

Invictus Performance Systems develops explosive athletes across multiple sports. Athletes who want to pursue the snatch and clean & jerk as their primary competitive discipline are directed to specialized Olympic weightlifting coaching with Christopher Hernandez—Simon Varela’s head coach.

2013In the sport since
8National medals as an athlete
30+Athletes coached
USARemote coaching nationwide

Chris is a USAW Certified Coach who has competed in weightlifting since 2013. He has earned eight national medals as an athlete and has coached more than 30 athletes across developmental, local, and national levels. He is based in Massachusetts and works with athletes throughout the country.

Chris personally coached Simon to his current national-level standard and remains directly devoted to preparing him for Senior Nationals as a legitimate contender for gold. That same combination of technical precision, individualized programming, and long-term commitment defines his work with every serious weightlifter he accepts.

Apply for Olympic weightliftingCallSpecialized remote and in-person coaching for athletes pursuing the snatch and clean & jerk as their primary competitive sport.
Braden Barnett in Marine Corps field equipment during military training
OPERATIONAL STANDARD BRADEN BARNETT USMMA Graduate · Marine Infantry Officer · IOC Honor Graduate Nominee · SFAS Selectee

SFAS · RASP · BUD/S PREPARATION

Prepare for the standard before the standard finds you.

Special-operations selection does not reward ordinary gym fitness. Candidates must arrive with a deep aerobic base, durable feet and joints, efficient running and rucking mechanics, repeatable strength endurance, disciplined recovery, and the ability to keep making sound decisions after fatigue has stripped away comfort.

ENGINEAerobic capacity, running economy, and repeatable work output
LOAD CARRIAGEProgressive rucking, tissue preparation, and movement efficiency
DURABILITYStrength endurance, trunk integrity, grip, feet, and lower-leg resilience
READINESSTesting, fatigue management, recovery standards, and honest assessment

Experience that cannot be simulated.

Braden Barnett is a fellow graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and served six years as a United States Marine Corps infantry officer. At the demanding Infantry Officer Course, the officers and enlisted Marines who trained beside him nominated Braden for Honor Graduate—an especially meaningful distinction because it reflected the judgment of the people who directly witnessed his leadership, field competence, judgment, and performance under sustained pressure.

Following his Marine Corps service, Braden was selected to attend the U.S. Army Special Forces Assessment and Selection course. He distinguished himself among the top performers in his SFAS cohort and was selected to advance into the Army Special Forces qualification pipeline. His background anchors this pathway in a simple principle: selection preparation must be specific, progressive, and brutally honest—never theatrical.

Start selection-prep inquiry CallIndependent preparation for candidates pursuing SFAS, RASP, or BUD/S. Not affiliated with the Department of Defense.

ENDURANCE · TRIATHLON · IRONMAN PREPARATION

Build the engine. Preserve the athlete.

Endurance performance is not accumulated exhaustion. It is the deliberate construction of aerobic capacity, sustainable speed, event-specific durability, fueling discipline, and the ability to execute when the race becomes physiologically and psychologically expensive.

ENGINEAerobic base, threshold development, efficiency, and sustainable output
SPECIFICITYRace-distance demands, swim-bike-run integration, and event-directed volume
DURABILITYStrength maintenance, tissue capacity, movement quality, and injury-risk reduction
EXECUTIONPacing, fueling, recovery, tapering, and race-day decision-making

Endurance leadership grounded in the work.

Cameron Taylor is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, a naval officer, merchant mariner, and Ironman competitor. He leads all endurance coaching within Invictus Performance Systems, including athletes preparing for Ironman-distance racing, triathlon, running, cycling, and other demanding endurance competitions.

Cameron's approach treats endurance as an integrated performance system. Aerobic development, event-specific volume, strength, fueling, recovery, and competitive execution are planned together so the athlete does more than survive training—the athlete arrives prepared to express it when the result matters.

Start endurance inquiry Call Individualized preparation for endurance athletes and long-course competition.
Cameron Taylor at his U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduation
ENDURANCE PERFORMANCE LEAD CAMERON TAYLOR Ironman Competitor · Naval Officer · USMMA Graduate · Merchant Mariner
Cameron Taylor in naval officer dress uniform
Service · Discipline · Endurance

WHO THIS IS FOR

Built for athletes early enough to transform—and serious enough to do it.

01

High-school athletes pursuing varsity dominance, college recruitment, or scholarship-level physical development.

02

Early-college athletes who need to close the physical gap between their current output and D1-level demands.

03

Parents and coaches seeking a demanding training standard that still respects long-term development and athlete health.

04

Athletes willing to train consistently, recover deliberately, communicate honestly, and be coached without excuses.

TRAINING CONTENT

Teach the athlete what the work is doing.

Content for athletes, parents, and coaches who want substance, not noise.

POWER CLEAN

Why “pull harder” ruins the lift

How timing, positions, leg drive, and receiving skill create more power than aggression alone.

Learn more →
SPRINTING

Acceleration strength for field athletes

The relationship between projection, lower-body force, and first-step violence.

Learn more →
PROGRAMMING

How to lift during the season

Maintain force and tissue capacity without burying speed, practice quality, or availability.

Learn more →

COACHING APPLICATION

Choose the path that matches the objective.

Tell us what you are pursuing, where you currently stand, and what level you intend to reach. Your application will be reviewed and directed to the appropriate Invictus coaching pathway.

Power athlete developmentOlympic weightliftingSelection preparationEndurance competitionResponse target · 1–2 business days
Call970-462-5111Text970-462-5111Emailsimonrafael2020@gmail.com

Submitting prepares a completed application email for your review and final send.