Meet the Trainer: Craig Fitzgerald

The New Prototype marks a new era in performance training. Bridging apparel and equipment with the ‘how’ and ‘why’ will take serious athletes closer to maximizing their potential.

Strength and conditioning has been a central part of my life since middle school; I discovered that as I got faster, stronger, and better conditioned, I became a better player.  As a college football player at the University of Maryland, I was exposed to the best training tactics and techniques in the field of strength and conditioning, while also being exposed to the best training gear, with the beginning of Under Armour during my senior year.

My career as a strength and conditioning professional began in 1997 at The Catholic University of America, where I started and directed the strength and conditioning program. In 1999 I left Catholic University to gain coaching experience at the major college level and worked as a graduate assistant at Arizona State University. I left ASU to become the assistant director of strength and conditioning at the University of Maryland, where I worked from 2000-2005 with fellow TNP coach Dwight Galt. At Maryland I directed the training for men’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, women’s volleyball, and wrestling, while I assisted the training for football.

In 2005 I accepted the position of Director of Strength and Conditioning at Harvard University. At Harvard I am in charge of the training for 41 NCAA teams, the largest Athletic Department in the country. The opportunity to work with such a diversity of athletes, coaches, and teams, ranging from football to fencing, expands one’s perspective and experience as a strength and conditioning coach.

Strength and conditioning professionals believe in the ‘process’ of training athletes. As a former athlete and now as a coach, I have always enjoyed the ‘process’ of performance enhancement.  Friday night lights and big-time games are only possible with thorough and diligent preparation.  Under Armour and The New Prototype is part of the team that is doing the work long before everyone else sees it.