Assistant Athletics Director / Strength & Conditio, James Madison University
Greg Werner was promoted to Assistant A.D. for Strength & Conditioning in September of 2023 at Virginia Tech were he has been the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for Women's Basketball since May 2016. Prior to Virginia Tech he was in the same position at Auburn University from June 2015 through May 2016 were he helped Auburn move up 5 places in the SEC standings and get to the NCAA tourney and win a first round game. Before moving to Auburn, where he switched to working exclusively with women's basketball, Coach Werner worked with multiple sports at James Madison University for 23 years. He became the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at JMU in 1995 after working as an assistant/associate in the program the previous three years.
During his tenure as the head strength and conditioning coach at JMU, Werner grew the program from one part-time assistant to its impressive current size, with six full-time coaches working out of five weight rooms and two multi-purpose/cardio rooms, nearly 20,00 square feet of space, serving 19 teams. In addition to directing JMU's strength and conditioning program Coach Werner was an adjunct professor for the School of Kinesiology where he designed and taught "KIN 425, Concepts of Strength & Conditioning," for 18 years. In 2014 he was awarded the Kinesiology Departments Professional of the Year award.
Outside of the collegiate ranks Werner has instructed several NFL, MLB, MLS, pro basketball and Olympic athletes. In 2011 he was elected by his peers to be a board of directorâ??s member for the CSCCA, and again in 2015 he was re-elected to the board for a second term. In 2006, Werner received the highest professional honor by earning the title of Master Strength & Conditioning Coach from the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association. That same year he was nominated by his peers to be a finalists for the NSCA's College Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year Award. In 2005 he received the highest honor from the National Strength & Conditioning Association and earned the Coach Practitioner distinction. In 1999 he was selected the National Strength and Conditioning Association, Colonial Athletic Association Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year, and was nominated by his peers to be one of three finalists for the national professional of the year award. Also in 1999, he was selected to be the strength and conditioning specialist for the US National Field Hockey team.
Werner has been active in the National Strength and Conditioning Association for several years. He served as the Virginia state director for the maximum term ('98-'06), and has been an active speaker at the NSCA sport specific training conference, CSCS symposium and several other coaches clinics and camps. In 2014, the NSCA honored Werner with the registered strength and conditioning coach Emeritus distinction and awarded him the honorary 20-year ring. In addition to coaching and teaching, Werner has published over 30 articles in various coaching journals, magazines and websites. Werner is a NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist and is certified through the CSCCa. He is an American College of Sports Medicine certified health/fitness instructor.
Before JMU, Werner was an assistant strength & conditioning coach and taught classes for one year at the University of The Pacific. Werner received his MS in Exercise Science from JMU, and his BS in Human Performance from Austin Peay State University.
