Bio

Conor Cantwell is in his second year at UW-Platteville as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach. Cantwell brings over six years of strength and conditioning experience to UW-Platteville Athletics having previously worked with two professional sports and at both Division I and Division III collegiate athletics. Cantwell is the strength and conditioning coach for men’s and women’s soccer, throws, and cross country at UW Platteville.

Prior to coming to UW-Platteville, Cantwell worked in the Cincinnati Reds organization with their single-A affiliate, the Daytona Tortugas, in Florida for the 2023 baseball season. Before that, Cantwell served as a graduate assistant at the Carroll University Sport Performance Institute while completing his Masters degree in Sport Physiology and Performance Coaching. During his graduate assistantship, he worked as a human performance coach for both the men’s and women’s soccer teams for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons. He also coordinated student-athlete testing throughout the year. This involved performance testing and subsequent data analysis and reporting of information to key stakeholders.

Originally from Kilkenny, Ireland, Cantwell completed his undergraduate degree in Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Limerick. During his time there, he worked with professional rugby club Munster Rugby in a variety of roles across their development pathway and completed a season as Athletic Performance Intern with the club’s senior professional team. He also served as Head of Athletic Performance for Garryowen rugby club, who compete in the top tier of amateur rugby in Ireland. In 2019, Cantwell also completed an internship at East Tennessee State University with their baseball team and with their on-site Olympic training site for bobsled and canoe/kayak athletes.

Cantwell has also authored peer reviewed scientific journal publications as well as over 30 national conference abstracts. In 2022, Cantwell was awarded master’s student outstanding podium award from the National Strength and Conditioning Association for his research on “Multi set Accentuated Eccentric Loading in the Back squat”.

Cantwell is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS*D) recertified with distinction by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and is also a level 1 USA Weightlifting Coach through the United States Weightlifting Association.