Holder Named Director Of Strength & Conditioning

San Jose State University has named Chris Holder Director of Strength & Conditioning, it was announced today. Holder had previously served as the Spartans’ strength and conditioning director for football.

Holder’s work with the Spartan football team had a direct impact on the success of the 2006 season. San Jose State produced a 9-4 record, including a victory in the New Mexico Bowl. The Bowl appearance was the first since 1990.

Holder originally joined the Spartan staff in January 2006 after spending four football seasons (2002-05) at Cal Poly as the strength and conditioning head coach. During his time with Cal Poly, the Mustangs produced three consecutive winning seasons in (2003-2005) for the first time in 25 years and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in 2005.

Entering his eighth year as a strength and conditioning coach, Holder began his professional career at Eastern Kentucky University in January 2000 as an intern working with the football and volleyball teams. He moved on to Cal Poly in May 2000 as a strength and conditioning coach. He was the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Appalachian State University the first half of the 2002 calendar year before returning to Cal Poly.

The 2000 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University majored in physical education and earned a master’s degree in kinesiology from Cal Poly in 2005. He was a starting center on the Colonels’ 1997 and 1999 football teams. The 1997 Eastern Kentucky team was the Ohio Valley Conference champion.

Holder is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and is a certified Russian Kettlebell instructor. He also is certified in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and first aid by the American Red Cross.