Strength Staff
September 06, 2006 03:54 PM | General
Mike Barwis
Director, Strength and Conditioning
Mike Barwis serves as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for all West Virginia University sports. He oversees all aspects of the Mountaineers Strength and Conditioning program and is directly responsible for the training of football.
The Philadelphia native started his tenure at WVU in 1993, where he has remained a strength coach with the exception of a one-year stint. Barwis was appointed to Director of Strength and Conditioning in 2000. Barwis and his staff supervise the Puskar, Coliseum and Shell weight room facilities. Barwis designs and implements year round comprehensive, individualized sport specific programs for all the athletes he works with.
Over the course of his career he has trained nationally ranked teams, all conference athletes, all Americans, national champions, professional, Olympic, national, and international competitors and medalists in wrestling, track and field, soccer, football, gymnastics, tennis, volleyball, swimming & diving, crew, basketball, baseball, motor cross, cycling, body building, boxing, kick boxing and rifle.
During off hours Barwis continues to conduct training sessions with professional and Olympic athletes from various sports. Mike and his staff assisted WVU in three straight Big East Championships and a Sugar Bowl Victory in football, which coincided with an Elite eight and sweet sixteen finish in basketball. He is also responsible for the training of 23 NSCA All-American Strength and Conditioning athletes of the year.
In 2002, he was one of 10 strength and conditioning coaches to receive the Bronze Award from the NSCA Certification Commission at the National Conference in Las Vegas. Barwis has hosted eight C.S.C.S. examinations for the NSCA. He has been a clinician and lecturer at various camps, clinics, conferences, high schools, colleges, businesses, and organizations throughout the United States. Mike was selected as a lecturer for the NSCA state clinic and in 2006 the Nike Coach of the Year clinic. Barwis has also appeared on, ESPN, Fox sports, and MSN broadcasts regarding training. He has written articles in Burn Fitness, Training and Conditioning, American Football Monthly, and a column for Wally and Wimpy’s Football Digest.
Barwis is also employed as an adjunct facility member in the WVU School of Physical Education where he has developed and implemented graduate and undergraduate courses for the schools of Physical Education in Physiology of Coaching, Intro Strength and Conditioning, Program Design, Strength and Conditioning Special Topics, and Strength and Conditioning Internship. He is currently in the process of establishing a recognized curriculum in Strength and Conditioning at WVU through the coordinated efforts of the Physical Education department and the N.S.C.A.
Mike received a bachelor's degree from WVU in exercise physiology in 1996 and earned a master's degree in athletic coaching with an emphasis in Strength and Conditioning from WVU in 1998.
He has also completed coursework in the area of Anatomy, Physiology, histology, and Biomechanics at Temple University.
He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (C.S.C.S.) and a current member of the National Strength and Conditioning association and holds a First aid, CPR, and Safety Certification. Barwis has previous experience in cardiopulmonary labs and is a director for the Mountaineer Speed and Strength camp. Mike also sits on the Athletic Performance and eating disorders committee at WVU. He has a wife Autumn who also works in the Strength and Conditioning Department.
