Utah Valley University Athletics

Matthew Flores enters his first season as the men's basketball head strength and conditioning coach at Utah Valley. Flores comes to UVU after working as a graduate assistant for basketball at the University of Minnesota.
 
"Matt Flores is one of the top strength and conditioning coaches in the country," said Madsen. "His performance enhancement philosophy is cutting edge and he is constantly studying new papers and research. Our players have completely embraced Matt and the culture that he is establishing. Matt's experience as a leader in the Marine Corps is an asset to our players and UVU. The best thing about Matt is the results. Our players continue to achieve new milestones every day. I am honored to welcome Matt Flores to the UVU family."
 
Flores was a graduate assistant at Minnesota during the 2018-19 season. He helped the Gophers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament under the direction of head coach Richard Pitino.
 
Flores ran his own business, MEF Performance and Wellness, from 2015-18. At that same time, he was named the director of strength and conditioning at Bloomington Kennedy High School in Minnesota. 
 
Flores has experience that stretches from the Midwest all the way to the Far East. In 2013, Tim Grover selected him to lead Attack Athletics in Shanghai, China, where he trained gold medal winning hurdler Liu Xiang. He helped create individualized training plans for Shanghai's national volleyball team members for the 2014 World Cup, the Shanghai Octupus, and the Shanghai Golden Age professional teams. The team would end up winning two international medals, including a national championship on the men's side and a national runner-up performance on the women's side. 
 
As the senior assistant strength coach at Catalyst Sports Medicine in Wisconsin, Flores guided multiple high school athletes to successful seasons and Division I scholarships in Wisconsin during the 2013 season. At that same time, he was assisting the University of Minnesota with its basketball, hockey, volleyball, wrestling, and softball teams.
 
Flores also made stops at Arizona State and Portland State, where he worked with football, basketball, wrestling, and tennis. The. United States Marine Corps is where Flores credits his love for strength and conditioning. He helped prepare his squad for its deployment to Iraq from 2001-06, calling it one of the most influential experiences of his life. 
 
Flores earned his bachelor's degree in exercise and wellness from Arizona State in 2012. He also earned a master's degree in exercise science from California University of Pennsylvania in the spring of 2018. He is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (CSCS), National Academy of Sports Medicine (PES), USA Weightlifting (Level 1), and is also a certified speed specialist through the NASE (CSS-II).     
 
Flores is married to Kristin Garcia.