New strength and athletic coaches on campus

Trainer+Malcom+Tobias+helping+a+LFA+athlete+lift.+

Photo by Richard Zhang

Trainer Malcom Tobias helping a LFA athlete lift.

T.J. Minsky and Richard Zhang

At the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, Lake Forest Academy brought in two new athletic development and strength coaches: Mar’Quone Edmonds, who also goes by Coach Q, and Malcolm Tobias. Both Coach Q and Malcolm are determined to provide a new source of help for people of the LFA community that want to train and develop athletically. 

Coach Q’s roots start close to the LFA community as he was raised in Waukegan and attended Waukegan High School. Edmonds was a star on the football field, leading him to play collegiate football at the University of Indianapolis as a wide receiver. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education in 2012, Edmonds realized that he “wanted to learn what it takes for young athletes to achieve what I wanted.” Having this realization led him to get into the health and training business. He worked for Orangetheory Fitness for four years before deciding that he wanted to start his own business with the large following that he had gained on social media through Quest Performance Training.  

Quest Performance Training is a small group based classroom fitness setting that focuses on HIIT style and strength training, and continues to grow as a fitness gym. Eventually, all of this led Coach Q to a job at LFA, saying that, “it was a sudden change for me, but I’m big into community and I’m big into helping others.” Thankfully for Edmonds, he already has connections to LFA, as he knows the Madeley family, “they needed help and if I had resources to help, I wanted to make sure that I could step in.” Coach Q’s unparalleled energy and impact on LFA has already been made evident and it will certainly continue to grow as time goes on. 

Malcolm also hails from Waukegan and attended Waukegan High School, where he began lifting weights his freshman year and fell in love with strength training. His time in high school also helped shape his love for helping others train for their respective sports, because his high school’s strength program was “not the greatest”. He believes that “seeing kids dominate and have fun with their sport is so enjoyable since that’s the whole point of it, and being a part of that process really makes me happy”. After his graduation from Waukegan High School, Malcolm went to Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana and received his bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education in 2019. Just after obtaining his college degree, the pandemic hit and Macolm found it as the “perfect opportunity to get my certification”. So, Malcolm got his training certification and CSCS, and began working a short stint at Bears Fit. After this, he interned at Evanston Township High School and also spent time talking to strength coaches from Marian University, also in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was at this point when Malcolm decided to shadow Quest Performance Training and met Coach Q. When Coach Q was offered the job at LFA, he brought Malcolm along and gave him an opportunity to train young athletes and get to continue to pursue what he loves. Malcolm himself said, “I wouldn’t have had this opportunity without Q opening the doors for me here.” 

The additions of Coach Q and Coach Malcolm have already greatly benefited the LFA community. They help students grow athletically, saying , “I’m big into community and I’m big into helping others…” said Coach Q. In just a few months, both Edmonds and Tobias have brought enthusiasm, leadership, and hard work to the weight room. Their energy helps make for a lively environment.