Jeff Connors
Armored Life Founder & Director
Jeff Connors founded Armored Life in 2022 with the mission to provide mentorship, support and guidance to young athletes in an effort to help them succeed and thrive, and avoid the pitfalls of a demanding environment. Prior to this, Connors spent over 30 years in the positions of Assistant Athletics Director for Strength & Conditioning between the University of North Carolina, East Carolina University, and Bucknell University.
Connors has been honored as a Master Strength & Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA). The Master Strength & Conditioning Coach certification is the highest honor that can be achieved as a strength and conditioning coach, representing professionalism, knowledge, experience, expertise and longevity in the field.
Connors reached the pinnacle of his profession in 2016 when he was inducted into the USA Strength & Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame. Additionally, he was selected as the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s College Strength and Conditioning Coach-of-the-Year, becoming the 36th recipient of the award.
Another one of Connors' highest personal accomplishments was his induction into the Washington-Greene Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. Fittingly, his entry came on the 15th anniversary of the selection of his father and former high school coach, William D. Connors, into the same Hall. Additionally, Connors' place in the Washington-Greene Chapter of the PSHOF puts him alongside distinguished names such as Barry Alvarez, Marvin Lewis, Ralph Cindrich, John Banaszak, Hal Hunter and Cary Kolat to name a few.
Three years later, in 2014, Connors was one of only 25 invitees nationally to attend the United States Marine Corps Executive Forum (MCEF) at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.
In addition to helping develop some of the top players in UNC's program, including Julius Peppers, Jason Brown, Ronald Curry, David Thornton, Kentwan Balmer and Hakeem Nicks, 73 of 77 all-time football strength and conditioning records were bettered during Connors' stay in Chapel Hill.
Connors also maintained department-wide responsibilities for the Tar Heels, conducting the strength and conditioning program for the four-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion and two-time Final Four participant women's basketball team, while also training the wrestling squad.
Before accepting the East Carolina position prior to the 1991 campaign, Connors was the head strength and conditioning coach at Bucknell from 1987 to 1990.
Connors is a frequently requested speaker asked to present his strength and conditioning program and philosophies to clinics and conferences across the country. He was also a competitive powerlifter who won four state titles in powerlifting and held a ranking as high as fourth nationally. Connors holds Level I certification in Olympic Weight Lifting by the U.S. Weight Lifting Federation and has had numerous articles published in Wrestling USA, NSCA Journal, Training and Conditioning Magazine and Bigger Faster Stronger Journal.
In 2013, Connors authored his first book - Strength Coach, A Call To Serve - which not only chronicles his illustrious career, but outlines a distinctive philosophy he has crafted during his calling in the profession. The part-memoir, part-training manual offers readers inspirational and spiritual insight into both his heart and head.
A 1980 graduate of Salem (W.Va.) College, Connors was a four-year starter at cornerback and was team captain as a senior. He led Salem in interceptions as a sophomore and junior.
After college, Connors served as a police officer in Palm Beach County (Fla.) for two years. Prior to becoming a strength coach, he coached high school football and wrestling at The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Fla., and coached linebackers at the Tennessee Military Institute in Sweetwater, Tenn.
Connors and wife Michele are the parents of two children - daughter Kaitlin and son Beau.