Passionate, accountable, hardworking, humble, committed, and all-in is how varsity athletes responded when asked how they would describe Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Kevin Cronin. Cronin has worked at Colorado College since 2012, and recently announced that he will be moving to Boston. Cronin’s wife moved East in January for a job, so he will be leaving CC to be with her.
“It’s going to be tough to walk away from something that we’ve built,” said Cronin. “We’ve gotten to a point where this thing functions at a decently high level and we can be proud of that.”
“A decently high level” may be an understatement, as many would argue that the varsity weight room is its own institution. Over one hundred student athletes seamlessly cycle through the weight room on a daily basis, and Cronin has a relationship with each individual.
“He probably sees more students than any other person on this campus, and he knows every one of them,” said soccer player Kelli Sullivan ’19. “You get very personalized training which is really rare for someone to take such time to find what each individual athlete needs. Kevin really cares that each athlete is the best they can be and he will do whatever is in his power to make that happen.”
While he can be seen running around the weight room to hype up the lacrosse team, Cronin takes a gentler approach more suited for the atmosphere of the cross country team. While his strictly regimented demeanor can turn students off from the weight room environment, Cronin understands that a more specialized approach will yield better results, and he’s able to individualize with almost every single student-athlete.
“I admire his honesty and commitment to every single individual he works with no matter their ability,” said lacrosse player Will Haslett ’20.
“I admire how much work he puts in,” aid soccer player Keller Mochel ’20. “I don’t think a lot of people realize how many hours he puts in every day and Kevin doesn’t ever allude to the fact that sometimes he works 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m, if not more.”
In exchange for the dedication that Cronin shows in day-to-day operations, he only asks for two things from his athletes: be on time and be respectful. Even though those are basically the only rules, he has high standards. Anything less is usually met with him telling you to “see the exit.”
“Respect is a huge theme with Kevin,” said Sullivan. “I’ve always felt respected in the weight room. For him to respect you, you have to respect him and that’s about all he asks for.”
Because of the mutual respect in the weight room, Cronin leads by example and other people just seem to fall in line. “Cronin has taught me the importance of holding not only myself but others accountable in order to find success,” said Haslett.
“I’d like to thank Kevin for making the weight room such a safe place,” Sullivan said. “I’ve had a lot of bad days, but I always knew that if I went into Kevin’s and did what I had to do then they would all go away. In class or sports you can try your best and still fall short, but with Kevin you know that if you give it your all, then that was good enough for him.”
With Cronin leaving, student athletes can expect some serious changes for next year. “Be receptive to change whatever it is.” said Cronin. “We know everyone here is a good kid and they’re going to have to prove it with a new regime. I’ve heard some things from new athletes that they’re going to be grumpy with the new person and that’s not what we want. As a group we’ve learned how to function and communicate at a high level and I expect that to continue.”
I met this “kid” a few years back…because he married my cousin. He is salt of the earth. His compassion in life toward every day things that he loves can be rivaled by nobody. If we all could learn his way of life, the world would be a better place.