LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Associate Athletic Director for Sports Performance Keith Vinci has announced the addition of Matt Murray to his staff. Murray joins the River Hawks as a Head Sports Performance Coach, and will handle all strength and conditioning responsibilities for the UMass Lowell ice hockey team.
“Matt is well respected in the field,” said Vinci. “We are excited to have a person of his caliber on staff. I think he will be a great fit and we look forward to his future success as a River Hawk.”
Prior to coming to Lowell, Murray spent eight years on the sports performance staff at the University of Maine. While there, he designed and implemented the year round programs for ice hockey and field hockey.
“Joining the UMass Lowell River Hawks is a dream come true,” commented Murray. “I grew up in Billerica going to River Hawk games with my father where I truly learned to love the game of hockey. I’m excited to work with such a prestigious University and can’t wait to get to work.”
Before coaching at Maine, Murray completed internships at Northeastern and Merrimack, working primarily with their men’s and women’s hockey teams. He also worked at Dan Boothby Performance in Dedham, Mass., training youth to collegiate hockey players, and was responsible for the daily operation and individual program design for each athlete. In the summer of 2013 and 2014, Murray was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the USA Hockey U-18 Women’s Hockey Camps in St. Cloud, Minn.
Murray received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Endicott College in 2010 and went onto earn his masters of education with a concentration in strength and conditioning in May of 2016 from Maine.
The Billerica, Mass. native is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and is a Certified USAW Level 1 Sports Performance Coach.