Utah State Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hartwell announced on June 9, 2021, the hiring of Jimmy Stitz as the Head Olympic Sport Strength and Conditioning Coach for Aggie Athletics.
Â
Stitz came to Utah State after spending eight seasons as an athletic performance coach for USA Volleyball Women’s Senior National Team. Stitz spent his first season with the program as a seasonal assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2014 through the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) mentorship program. He took the reins of the team in 2015 prior to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the team earned a bronze medal. Most recently, Stitz was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, played in 2021 in Japan.
Â
Prior to joining the USA Volleyball staff, Stitz worked as an intern at the former Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. Additionally, he was selected from a pool of national candidates to serve as an assistant coach through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) assistantship program in 2013.
Â
Stitz graduated from California State Fullerton with a master’s degree in kinesiology in 2013, adding to his bachelor’s degree in 2011 from Minnesota State University, Mankato in exercise science and a minor in athletic training. It was at Minnesota State that he cut his teeth from 2009-11 working as a volunteer assistant strength and conditioning coach primarily with the Mavericks’ baseball, basketball, hockey and football teams.
Â
While earning his master’s, Stitz was the first-ever head strength and conditioning coach for Charter Oak High School in Covina, Calif., where he grew the number of teams using the weight room from one to six in just 16 months.
Â
Stitz is also a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt and enjoys training in his free time. Stitz holds an RSCC certification.
Â
Stitz was married in 2020 to his wife, Alex, and welcomed their first child, Sloane, in March of 2021.
Â