Justin Schwind, who previously had worked with head coach Joey Jones at Birmingham-Southern, is in his second season on the South Alabama staff as the program’s head strength and conditioning coach.
In his role, Schwind is responsible for designing and implementing football’s strength and conditioning program, supervising the day-to-day operation of the football weight room and overseeing a staff that includes two full-time assistants as well as graduate and student assistants. He also assisted in the design of the weight room facility that is part of the program’s $10 million field house.
Schwind also works directly with the school’s men’s golf team, and he has a hand in supervising the strength and conditioning programs for each of USA’s 17 sports.
He was at BSC for two years as the school’s head strength and conditioning coach, where he was responsible for working with all 21 programs. In addition to maintaining a schedule for both teams as well as his student assistant staff, Schwind supervised the day-to-day operations of three weight rooms — he was responsible for helping to design one of those as well.
Schwind earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Texas State in 2004, getting his start in the profession as a student assistant for the school as he worked primarily with the Bobcats’ baseball and football teams. After serving as a strength and conditioning intern at Rice, where he also assisted with neuroscience research at Baylor’s College of Medicine on a study involving athletic performance and visualization, he would go on to work as a graduate assistant for two years at Mississippi State. While in Starkville, he designed and maintained strength and conditioning programs for MSU’s track and field, women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s golf teams.
He would earn his master’s degree from Mississippi State in physical education in 2007.
Schwind is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA), United State Weightlifting Association (USAW) and the United State Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
