COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The National Strength and Conditioning Association announced Thursday that Augustana assistant strength and conditioning coach Andy Stocks has been named the 2021 Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year.

Stocks is the first non-Division I coach to earn the honor from the NSCA, which dates back to 2012. “We know how important our strength and conditioning program and coaches are to the success of our athletes,” Augustana director of athletics Josh Morton said. “Coach Stocks is very deserving of this award and it serves as a symbol of his dedication to helping build champions at Augustana.”

Coach Stocks, hailing from Jackson, Wisconsin, joined Augustana University in July 2015 as assistant strength and conditioning coach, and is responsible for all aspects of the strength and conditioning program for softball, soccer, volleyball, track and field, and swimming while assisting with football.

“Andy’s work ethic and knowledge has been invaluable to our program,” Augustana head strength and conditioning coach Brett Chambers said. “But it’s the relationships that he is able to build with his athletes that sets him apart.”

In his time at Augustana, coach Stocks has been the strength and conditioning coach for two NCAA Division II National Championships, 17 All-Americans, three Academic All-Americans, 13 NSIC MVPs and two NSIC Tournament Champions.

Stocks arrived in Sioux Falls after spending over a year at the United States Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York, where he designed and implemented strength and speed programs for bobsled, skeleton, luge and biathlon athletes.

From 2011 through 2013, Stocks served as a graduate assistant at South Dakota State where he oversaw strength and conditioning for swimming and diving, wrestling, golf and tennis while also working with all 21 Jackrabbit athletic teams. He earned his master’s degree in nutrition, exercise and food sciences.

A 2010 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Stocks obtained his bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport science with concentrations in strength and conditioning. While at La Crosse, he assisted the strength and conditioning staff with all 17 varsity teams and was a member of the Eagles weightlifting club.