NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Illinois State Director of Strength and Conditioning Jim Lathrop earned the highest honor in his profession recently, when he was named a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa).
Lathrop, along with 20 other recipients, was presented with the blue MSCC Jacket on Thursday, May 7, at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, in the highlight of the association's National Conference. Master Strength and Conditioning Coach Dr. Chuck Stiggins, CSCCa Executive Director, made the presentation and spoke highly of Lathrop's contribution to the profession.
"This is an incredible honor for Jim," Stiggins said. "Being named a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach signifies a commitment to the student athlete, the Illinois State University athletic program, and the strength and conditioning profession. We are honored to have Coach Lathrop as a member of our association, and to have him join the ranks of the Master Strength and Conditioning Coaches. He is truly a model of an outstanding strength and conditioning professional."
Serving in his role at Illinois State since 2011, Lathrop has been instrumental in the resurgence of the ISU football program. He was named the 2014 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by Samson Equipment during the offseason and is an invaluable member of the ISU staff, overseeing several athletic programs.
During his tenure working with the Redbird football team, the Redbirds have appeared in the FCS playoffs twice and won the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship in 2014 for the first time in 15 years. The 2014 Redbirds made a historic run through the playoffs and advanced to the FCS National Championship game against North Dakota State.
Lathrop's first job as a strength coach came as a graduate assistant at Missouri (1983-87), and he later coached at Georgia Tech (1988-92), Wyoming (1993-97), California (1997) and Purdue (1998-2010), where he worked with current ISU football head coach Brock Spack.
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