Prior to the start of its new season, the Wilmington Hammerheads FC made several new hires.
 
Mark Williams has been named the club’s director of sports science, overseeing fitness strategies for the team while working with individual players on body mechanics and strength issues, the club’s release stated, adding that he works closely with Hammerheads FC technical director and head coach Carson Porter to prepare training sessions that “ensure players are at their peak levels of performance.”
 
“Athletic performance training involves dynamically balancing development across a myriad of paradigms and qualities,” Williams said in the release. “From sport-specific fitness to strength and power training, from speed development to recovery and regeneration modalities, the process of maximizing an athlete’s and a team’s athletic performance is at the core of high level on-field performance.”
 
Williams joins the club after spending over a decade as a speed, strength and conditioning coach in both Division I and professional sports. He has been a Division I head strength and conditioning coach, worked exclusively with men's and women's soccer at the Division I level, and has coached professional athletes from every major sport in the United States, according to the release.
 
Five new players have been added to the team as well for the 2015 season, the club announced.
 
One is midfielder Stefan Defregger (at right), who makes his professional debut with the Hammerheads this year after finishing his collegiate career at Dartmouth College and capturing the Ivy League Championship, followed by a win in the NCAA Division I Tournament, a news release stated. The midfielder was named to the All-Ivy League Second Team to cap off his career with the Big Green.
   
“We are really excited about Stefan [Defregger] joining us in Wilmington,” said Porter in the release. “He was a player that came to an open tryout, earned an invitation to preseason and quickly integrated himself into our team. He has great feet, he can play a number of roles in our team and is someone that has a very bright future.” 
 
Goalkeeper Larry Jackson (at left) is a second addition to this year’s roster. Prior to joining the Hammerheads, the six-foot one-inch goalkeeper signed with Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution in 2014 after completing his collegiate career at Santa Clara University in 2012. As a senior at Santa Clara, Jackson earned all-West Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, the release stated.
 
The California native spent the 2013 season as an undergraduate assistant coach with Santa Clara’s soccer program and had a brief trial run with MLS’s Colorado Rapids.
 
“I first saw Larry Jackson play with the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team,” Porter said in a release. “He is known as ‘Leaping Larry,’ which is a whimsical, fun nickname, but it speaks to his athleticism and ability to make great saves.” 
 
The club has also added defender Anthony Peters (at right). The 6-foot, 6-inch-tall defender played at the University of Kentucky and West Virginia Wesleyan College while also spending time with the Carolina Dynamo and Baton Rouge Capitals of USL’s Premier Development League and the New Orleans Shell Shockers of the National Premier Soccer League, according to the club’s news release.
 
Peters began his professional career in 2009 with the Cleveland City Stars before signing with Major League Soccer’s D.C. United a few months later. He was later loaned to the Harrisburg City Islanders and Richmond Kickers before returning to the Stars.
 
“Anthony [Peters] is a great addition to our club and a player that we are very happy to have with us,” Porter said in the release. “His physical presence is the first thing that you notice. His size and athleticism make him excellent in the air and an imposing figure to opponents. He is a positive person, a competitive person, and a hard-worker that is determined to find success this year.” 
 
Forward Aaron Wheeler (at left) is also new to the Hammerheads. He joins the squad after two seasons with Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union, according to a news release. The 6-foot, 4-inch-tall forward appeared in 15 matches during the 2014 MLS regular season, starting in eight matches for a total of 759 minutes. He was named to the MLS Team of the Week by MLSSoccer.com in Week 4.
 
“Aaron [Wheeler] is a great addition to our club,” Porter said in the release. “He is the target forward that we were looking for during the offseason. He is ambitious, an excellent professional, and very hungry for individual and team success.”
 
Before his time in MLS, Wheeler played for the Reading Rage in the USL Premier Development League during his collegiate career at Lenoir-Rhyne University and Towson University. He was the 2009 PDL Most Valuable Player and later signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps before then signing with FC Tampa Bay, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and FC KooTeePee of the Finnish Ykkönen over the course of four seasons.
 
Nick Zimmerman (at left) has joined the Hammerheads as a midfielder after spending four seasons in the North American Soccer League with the Carolina RailHawks. He made 60 appearances and scored 21 goals during his time with the club and was named Most Valuable Player in 2012, according to a recent news release.
 
“Nick [Zimmerman] has ‘no-brainer’, high-level player qualities that make him a major acquisition to our team,” Porter said in the release. “What I like just as much as his soccer qualities is the passion he works with. He loves the game, he is committed to himself and his teammates, and he wants to be here and help this team succeed.”
 
Prior to his long-term stint with the RailHawks, Zimmerman made his professional debut after being drafted in the third round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by New York Red Bulls. He was later picked up by Philadelphia Union in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft and loaned to the Harrisburg City Islanders during the 2010 season.
 
Zimmerman attended James Madison University where he was a four-year starter. He was a member of the United States U-15 National Team in 2001.