Kaitlyn Bernardi was promoted to associate director of strength training & conditioning in the summer of 2021.
Bernardi had served as Furman’s assistant director of strength training and conditioning since arriving on campus in August of 2018. She currently oversees all strength, recovery, and injury mitigation programs for women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country/track & field, women’s lacrosse, softball, and volleyball, women’s golf, softball, and tennis programs, and teaches Olympic lifts and proper lifting techniques. She also coordinates the fellow and internship programs.
In her role she works closely with multiple data and analysis applications, including Polar Team Pro , Stat Sport, and Hawkin Dynamics Force Plates.
She also mentors student-athletes in the areas of mental toughness, accountability, personal growth, basic dietary needs, and leadership skills. In addition, she manages scheduling of the strength training & conditioning facility.
Prior to coming to Furman she served as director of strength training & conditioning for eight months at North Greenville University in nearby Tigerville, S.C., following a three-plus year stint as NGU’s director of Olympic strength & conditioning.
Bernardi was a two-sport standout at NGU, earning volleyball all-conference honors in 2011 and compiling then-school career records for blocks and kills while serving as team captain her senior year, and all-conference laurels in the high jump en route to field MVP honors in 2012.
A 2012 graduate of NGU and holder of a bachelor’s degree in health science, she is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a Sports Performance Coach - Level 1 through United States Weightlifting. She is also recognized by the National Association of Sports Medicine as both a Corrective Exercise Specialist and Performance Enhancement Specialist, and is a certified CPR Pro (AED) through the American Safety and Health Institute.
