Strength, conditioning coach nominated for national award

Strength coach Russell Barbarino assists senior basketball player Ajmal Basit with his lifting technique.

Russell Barbarino, UD head strength and conditioning coach, has been chosen as one of 14 nominees for the 2001 National Strength and Conditioning Association College Professional of the Year Award.

The award is given annually by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, with the winner chosen by the NSCA membership. The award recognizes college professionals who have shown excellence in their strength training and conditioning programs.

The winner will be announced July 13 as part of the 2001 NSCA National Conference in Spokane, Wash.

This is the second time in the last four years that a UD strength and conditioning coach has been among the finalists for the award. Tony Decker, now the head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Virginia, was named NSCA Professional of the Year in 1998.

Barbarino, 27, is in his second year as head strength and conditioning coach at Delaware and is responsible for working directly with student-athletes from Delaware's 23 intercollegiate athletics teams, coordinating all strength and conditioning programs.

A 1995 graduate of Kean University with a degree in adult fitness, Barbarino earned his master's degree in athletic administration from Florida State University in 1997. He served as assistant strength and conditioning coach at Florida State from 1995-99.

A two-time world, three-time national and eight-time state powerlifting champion, he has held world and national records in the bench press and deadlift. Barbarino is certified by the NSCA as a certified strength and conditioning specialist, is certified as an advanced person trainer by the International Fitness Professionals Association and is a certified aerobics instructor by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. He also is a member of the U.S. Weightlifting Federation as a coach.

The NSCA, as the worldwide authority on strength and conditioning, supports and disseminates research-based knowledge and its practical application, to improve athletic performance and fitness.

-Jerry Rhodes

Photo by KATHY FLICKINGER