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Athletics

Consciousness-Based Sports: a holistic training method that focuses on your mental, emotional, and spiritual development as well as your physical development.

At MIU we prioritize fostering harmonious teamwork, maintaining positive attitudes, and nurturing inner growth.

Tennis, soccer, & esports

Watch the video: Tennis at MIU, 26 seconds

Tennis – MIU offers a collegiate tennis experience competing against NAIA, NCAA, and club teams. Improve your skills on and off the court with our tennis and Consciousness-Based Sports coaches.

Soccer – We are proud to offer a world-class soccer coach, Ruben Sanchez, committed to developing our student athletes to their fullest potential as athletes and human beings. Our soccer team will also compete against NAIA, NCAA, and club teams.

Esports – At MIU, our students who play esports are treated as student-athletes. Our program will launch with a competitive Rocket League team, and we are looking to expand into NBA 2K, Super Smash Bros, and Mario Kart.

Not interested in collegiate competition? No problem, come join our inclusive clubs to play games recreationally with like-minded students in a supportive community.

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Premier facilities at your doorstep

MIU offers state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor tennis and soccer facilities. The Grace Ananda Recreation Center is a 60,000-square-foot indoor facility, one of the largest indoor university sports facilities in the state of Iowa.

Say goodbye to long commutes – no more wasting time traveling to and from practice.

Indoor and outdoor tennis courts

Meet your coaches!

Meet your coaches!

Our tennis, soccer, and esports programs will include Consciousness-Based Sports (CBS) coaches as well as sports and esports coaches.

CBS coaches work with athletes using tools including meditation and specialized mental training to enhance focus, resilience, and overall mental well-being in and out of competition — just like the pros have! CBS coaches will also help as tutors for our athletes.

Recruit Me

luke jaicks

Luke JaicksAthletic Director

luke jaicks

Coach Jaicks brings a storied coaching career to the table, having passionately served in both NCAA and NAIA roles since 2013. His journey is punctuated by extraordinary achievements, notably etching remarkable records as an NCAA coach at Brevard College and within the esteemed USA South Conference.

During his tenure, Coach Jaicks had the privilege of mentoring Joc Pledger, a standout talent and the only All-American athlete in any sport at Brevard College since 1968. Luke’s accomplishments are nothing short of remarkable; he not only guided but also set records dating back to 1963 within the USA South Conference between the impactful years of 2017 and 2021. Notably, his squads claimed 1st, 3rd, and 8th out of 243 NCAA Division III members from 2019 to 2021, a testament to his coaching prowess and the dedication of his teams.

Luke has coached at all four levels of collegiate sports, including: NAIA (Missouri Valley College), NCAA Division 3 (Brevard College), NCAA Division 2 (Southwestern Oklahoma State University), NCAA Division 1 (Clemson University).

Regarded as an exceptional recruiter, motivator, and coaching luminary, Luke attributes much of his success to his formative education at MIU. He champions a holistic approach to sports, firmly believing that sports constitute 80% mental and 20% physical prowess.

In his own words: “I returned to MIU as Athletic Director because I believe in the people here and the ‘big picture.’ For me, the big picture is about nurturing athletes not just on the court but off the court as well. Athletes require mental, emotional, and spiritual support in addition to physical training. I aspire to be a mentor who extends a helping hand, much like MIU provided for me. My aspiration isn’t merely to be a sports coach; it’s about embodying the values that MIU represents and making a difference in the lives of our athletes.”

Email: ljaicks@miu.edu
Twitter (X): @LukeJaicks
Instagram: @LukeJaicks
Phone: (602)-327-2461

ruben sanchez

Rubén SanchezHead of Soccer, CBS Coach

ruben sanchez

Rubén is an athlete (former professional soccer player from Barcelona, Spain), founder of StressFreeSports and a world-class expert on highest performance acceleration without stress.

Rubén has created a unique consciousness-based sports methodology through which he has been helping athletes, coaches, sports directors, and leaders of different sports and levels including Olympians and world champions worldwide for the past 10 years.

“My purpose is to create a StressFreesSports movement that offers another way of understanding and experiencing sports, so suffering is removed and highest personal development, athletic success and pioneer social contribution is globally attained in an easy, natural and effortless way through sports.”

Email: rsanchez@miu.edu

owen-blake_2

Owen Blake, PhDHead of Esports, CBS Coach

owen-blake_2

Owen is focused on developing higher levels of performance and experience through a stress-free approach. Owen received his Ph.D. from researching the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on world-class professional esport athletes. While conducting his research, Owen was a Performance Coach and led the support staff for a professional League of Legends team competing in the highest European League (LEC).

Owen is passionate about creating peak esport performance through holistic training models and applies the Consciousness-Based Sports approach to all levels of the esports program. “My work is all about connecting an athlete to their highest purpose in life, developing their fullest potential, and expressing that through athletics.

Email: oblake@miu.edu
Twitter (X): @Professor_Blake

Paul Stokstad

Paul Stokstad Head of Tennis, CBS Coach

Paul Stokstad

Paul has been playing and teaching tennis for 62 years now, starting as an tennis assistant to his tennis pro father at age 12, and progressing through the years to assistant pro, head pro, and USPTA Certified pro (P-1 level). He is the author of a tennis book (and several more) and has many interests including poetry, improv theater and web marketing.

ken daley

Ken DaleyHead of Exercise and Sports Science

ken daley

Professor Daley served for nine years as a sport administrator and consultant for the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. During that time, he also served on the 8-person National Coaching Certification Council which was the governing body for all coaching education in Canada. He then joined the faculty of Maharishi International University and Maharishi School and was voted teacher-of-the-year at both.

Professor Daley has coached gymnastics at the club and university level. His activity as a gymnastics judge eventually led to an international rating in that sport.

Professor Daley’s area of research and publication has been split between sport science and electronic publication. He has presented over thirty times at the state, national or international level in sport science and seven times at the state or national level on electronic publication. He has authored or edited nine books / manuals, authored twenty-two articles, developed four electronic journals / newsletters, and developed numerous web sites. He has taught courses on basic computer skills and web development and acted as an industry consultant in web development.

He has served in the following capacities:

  • Executive Director, Iowa Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
  • Executive Director, Let’s Go Jeff Co
  • Program Director, The Tobacco Prevention Center
  • Initiative Organizer, Blue Zone Project for Fairfield
  • Council member, Health, and Hyman Services RHEC VII (Heartland)
  • Co-Chair, Iowa Partners: Action For Healthy Kids

He has lead adventure sport trips to 10 continental states as well as Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Hawaii.

During the last 40 years he has been active in the physical fitness industry both as an educator, administrator, and participant. His preferred personal physical activities have varied over the years but at present his sports of choice are sailing, rock climbing, mountain biking, and white-water kayaking.

Email: kdaley@miu.edu

Elevate your athletics

At MIU, competitive success is paired with inner growth – we prioritize both! Our cutting-edge training program utilizes the holistic Consciousness-Based Sports training methodology including practice of the Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) technique. The TM technique has been shown to improve mental focus and clarity, as well as mind-body coordination.

All-inclusive support

We believe in nurturing the athlete’s mind, body, and spirit for overall success. MIU offers an exceptional advantage: our athletes train under Coach Rubén Sanchez, who works with professional athletes and professional teams like the Olympic Spanish Rowing team in the spiritual and mental game!

MIU also offers structured academic tutoring from our coaches and alumni to help you also succeed in the classroom. We want to support you in all areas of your MIU experience—we are the university that cares about you!

Coach Rubén Sanchez with athletes and teams he’s formerly trained

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