STANFORD, Calif. - Highly-regarded sports performance coach Grant Steen has joined Stanford’s sports performance staff and will assist with all aspects of the Cardinal football program under Kissick Family Director of Sports Performance Shannon Turley. Steen, an accomplished student-athlete at Iowa and former professional football player, comes to The Farm after stops at USC, Washington and Hawaii.
“Grant brings a unique skill set to our program with elite experience and success as both a player and coach,” Turley said. “He has been mentored by coaches I know well and respect immensely. More importantly, Grant has expanded his role at each stop in his career by elevating the overall performance of the program. We expect he will have the same positive impact on our sports performance and football programs.”
At USC, Steen served as the football program’s head assistant strength and conditioning coach from 2014-2016. He was responsible for the design and implementation of a comprehensive performance training program including all aspects of strength, power, speed, agility, plyometrics, position specific drills and position specific conditioning. Steen helped develop a corrective exercise protocol for injured players, and implemented recovery and regeneration modalities for all in-season and off-season training.
During his stint at Washington from 2013-2014, Steen was the Huskies’ assistant strength and conditioning coach. He helped oversee all aspects of strength, speed, agility, conditioning, corrective exercise and nutrition for the football program, while coordinating all aspects of sports performance for the men’s tennis team.
Steen was the assistant coordinator for football at Hawaii from 2010-2013, while also directing all aspects of sports performance for men’s basketball, men’s volleyball, women’s volleyball, men’s tennis, and men’s and women’s golf. The football team shared a WAC title in 2010.
Steen helped guide Brophy College Prep in Phoenix to back-to-back state title berths, and one championship (2007) as an assistant coach.
During his playing career at Iowa, the Hawkeyes were 31-18 and won the 2002 Big Ten title. He helped lead the Hawkeyes to two bowl games. Steen also established a single-game record with three pass interceptions in a 2002 win at Indiana, tying the NCAA record for linebackers.
After earning All-Big Ten honors at Iowa as a junior in 2002 and 2003 as an outside linebacker, Steen spent four years playing professional football with the New England Patriots, Montreal Alouettes and Arizona Rattlers.
Steen earned a bachelor’s degree from Iowa in 2003 and a master’s degree in education administration from Hawaii in 2013.
Steen is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (C.S.C.S.) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), is Sports Performance Certified by United States Weightlifting (USAW), and also a member of the Collegiate Strength Coaches Association (CSCCa).
Steen was born in Emmetsburg, Iowa, and comes to the Bay Area with his wife, Rebekah, and son, Levi. His father, Tom, is a retired hall of fame high school football coach in Iowa.