The Harvard Athletics department is raising the bar for off-season conditioning.

After appointing Sean Hayes to serve as the department’s first strength and conditiong coordinator, the Athletics department is no longer the only Division I program without the position.

Hayes, who comes to Harvard from a similar post at the University of Tulsa, began working Feb. 1 with coaches and athletes to develop strength and conditioning policies for each varsity squad.

“I think the hiring of a coordinator is an overall great move forward for the athletics department,” said head football coach Tim Murphy. “It will provide a boost of morale for the department.”

The athletes said they have already noticed a difference since Hayes began working with the football team to oversee weight training and conditioning.

Hayes or his assistant supervise the “last set calls”—the final set of each of the three major lifts of the day.

For instance, Hayes makes sure the weight is sufficient to maximize the effectiveness of the lift, said Brian G. Garcia ’04, who is a member of the football team.

The new appointment has also affected the atmosphere in the weight room, said Dante Balestracci ’04, the football team’s star linebacker.

“The new strength coach brings some energy to the weight room, but most of the changes are in the form of minor adjustments to individual lifts,” Balestracci said. “But I like it so far and it’s good that we have someone who devotes all his energy to our lifts.”

Before Hayes was hired, assistant coaches of athletic teams were generally responsible for coordinating the team’s lifts, Murphy said.

Now, Hayes has assumed those responsibilities, Murphy said, leaving the assistant coaches free to work with their teams in other areas.

Most recently, Hayes served as assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, where he developed and oversaw year-round training programs for football, basketball and soccer.

Hayes has also worked with famed personal trainer Mike Boyle, who selected Hayes to work with the U.S. Women’s Hockey National Team during their winter training camps.