Kent State Adds Cunningham to Strength and Conditioning Staff
5/17/2021 8:50:00 AM | Football, General
KENT, OHIO- Kent State Athletics is excited to announce the hiring of Kaitlyn Cunningham to the strength and conditioning and sports performance staff.
Cunningham joins the Golden Flashes after spending nine seasons with the Clemson Tigers Athletic Department including the past seven with the women's basketball program. She served as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for Women's Basketball since July of 2020. In her new role, Cunningham will be the sports performance coach for several Olympic sports as well as assist in the development of the football strength and conditioning program.
"I can't wait for Kaitlyn to get here, "Head Football Sports Performance Coach Jeff Sobol said. "She has unmatched knowledge and passion for what she does. We are all extremely lucky that she wanted to come to Kent State and make us better. It's also really cool to see her not only open new doors for females in the profession, but kick them down! She is an absolute Alpha and the impact she will have on all of our athletes will be tremendous."
A former student-athlete, Cunningham played soccer at the University of Kansas and earned her degree in exercise science in 2011. Prior to joining the Tigers, Cunningham was a graduate assistant in strength and conditioning at Eastern Illinois. She earned her Master's in Sports Administration from Eastern Illinois in 2012 where she was a graduate assistant with Coach Sobol. During her time at Eastern Illinois, she worked with Coach Lewis, Coach Kauffman and Coach Sowder as she helped implement a strength and conditioning program for the Panther football team.
"We couldn't be more excited to welcome Kaitlyn to our FlashFAST Family, "Head Football Coach Sean Lewis said. "She is a true Alpha and a leader in her field. She brings to our football family numerous years of elite experience from Clemson and looking forward to the immediate impact she will have leading and developing our young men."
Coach Cunningham is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association as well as the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association. She is also one of the vocal leaders in the strength and conditioning space, hosting a podcast highlighting female strength and conditioning coaches called KC's Conversations.
