General | April 02, 2019

PHILADELPHIA - Cory Walts, who has spent the past 12 years as the head strength and conditioning coach at Haverford College, has been named the director of strength and conditioning at the University of Pennsylvania, Associate AD/Sports Performance Dr. Andrea Wieland announced today. Walts will begin serving the nearly 1,000 varsity student-athletes at Penn on April 8.

"We went through a very rigorous process to select the absolute best match for Penn strength and conditioning and sports performance moving forward, and we found that match in Cory Walts," Wieland said. "We are delighted to have him join our team of experts as our new director of strength and conditioning to lead that department into the future. Cory has 'next level' thinking at the forefront of his mind, and aims to optimize the overall physical, mental and emotional fitness of our student-athletes. We strive to have our student-athletes healthy, competition-ready and available for consistently high performance on the athletics fields and in the classroom. I anticipate positive results for our student-athletes and our teams as we help them develop to be the champions that they are at Penn and beyond."

At Haverford, Walts designed and implemented year-round sports performance programs for the majority of Haverford's 23 varsity sports and several club sports teams. He utilized a holistic approach to create robust individuals and teams, focusing on physiological qualities (movement skill, strength, power, speed, agility, and energy systems); psychological qualities (growth mindset, grit, and internal motivation through the use of education, autonomy and accountability); and lifestyle qualities (positive habit formation in sleep, nutrition, hydration, and mindfulness).

"I am extremely excited to be joining the Quaker family and its rich history of athletics success," Walts said. "I'd like to thank Dr. Wieland and (Senior Associate AD/Intercollegiate Programs) Rudy Fuller for leading a thorough selection process and entrusting me to lead the strength and conditioning department. It is an honor to be working with such accomplished and diverse student-athletes and coaches. I look forward to getting to know these individuals and collaborating with the entire sports performance team as we continue to provide unrivaled experiences for our student-athletes."

Under Walts, a number of Haverford teams reached unprecedented heights. The volleyball program won three consecutive Centennial Conference titles under Walts' guidance and reached the NCAA Regional semifinals in 2014. Men's soccer advanced to the 2015 NCAA Elite Eight, baseball won three conference titles, advanced to the NCAA Regionals and had two student-athletes drafted in the 8^th round of the MLB Draft, while softball advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in 2016. Haverford has also had 12 student-athletes selected as National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and EAS Sports All-Americans during the past five years.

In addition to his work with Haverford student-athletes, Walts already lives one of Penn Athletics' core values -- Community Matters. Walts served as director of the Joe Schwartz '83 3K Memorial Run/Walk, which has raised more than $75,000 for ALS research and has had more than 2,000 participants from the campus community. He taught multiple classes within Haverford's Physical Education program and co-created the Healthy Mind/Healthy Body and Employee Wellness Committees, multi-department initiatives aimed at enhancing student and employee wellness respectively.

Walts is also the Co-Head of the Philadelphia Area Strength & Conditioning Association, which fosters relationships and develops knowledge specific to the profession of Strength & Conditioning for those in and around the Philadelphia area. In 2013, he was recognized as a finalist for the NSCA College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year Award. He is also a USA Weightlifting Certified Sports Performance Coach and an American College of Sports Medicine Health Fitness Specialist.

He graduated magna cum laude from Ithaca College in 2005 with a major in clinical exercise science and played four years for the football program. Following internships with the strength and conditioning departments at Cornell University and the Buffalo Bills, he earned his master's degree in kinesiology from the University of Maryland in 2007. During his two years at College Park, Walts also worked with the Terps' strength and conditioning department. He served as the strength and conditioning coach for men's tennis and assisted with football, men's and women's basketball, and men's and women's swimming.

Walts is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as well as a NSCA Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach.

What They Are Saying About Cory Walts

"Cory is a fantastic strength and conditioning coach. He's very well versed in different types of strength training, speed training, and conditioning, as well as understanding how it fits in with developing the complete athlete and the whole person. He's constantly learning and refining his craft, and stays up to date with the latest training techniques. He also develops great relationships with the student-athletes. It's exciting to have him join the Penn Athletics family." – Mike Murphy, James H. Greene, Jr. Head Coach of Men's Lacrosse at Penn

"I could not be happier for Cory, Penn Athletics and the entire Philadelphia community. Cory is an outstanding strength and conditioning coach, educator, researcher, role model and person. It has been a pleasure and an honor working alongside him as a co-founder of the Philadelphia Area Strength & Conditioning Association and I look forward to welcoming him into University City as a neighbor." – Michael Rankin, Director of Strength and Conditioning, Drexel Athletics