Bio

Justin Thiel is in his eleventh year as the Director of Sports Performance and Science at the University of Tampa. He was named the University’s first full-time director in the summer of 2013.

Prior to his arrival at UT, Thiel spent the previous three years as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at the United States Military Academy (West Point) where he was responsible for the athletic and physical development of the Army Baseball, Men’s Soccer, and Football teams.

Before his position at West Point, Thiel served as both a strength and conditioning intern and later a full-time coaching assistant at the University of South Florida. There, he worked primarily with football and men's and women's soccer. Prior to his stint at USF, Thiel interned with the Toronto Blue Jays' strength and conditioning program in Dunedin, Fla.

Thiel graduated from the University of West Florida with a bachelor's degree in Psychology, and later earned a master's degree in Exercise Science, with an emphasis on performance enhancement and injury prevention, from California University of Pennsylvania. Currently, Thiel is a doctoral candidate at Concordia University - Chicago, working on completing his dissertation.

Thiel possesses numerous professional certifications including, Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa), Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), the National Academy of Sports Medicine’s (NASM) Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) certification, and Sports Performance Coach Certified through USA Weightlifting.

Thiel is a native of Princeton, Minn.