Heather Abbott, M.Ed.
Heather Abbott is a first year PhD student in the Sports Physiology and Performance program at ETSU. She is currently working with Women’s Golf. Abbott attended Drexel University on a Division I field hockey scholarship, and graduated with a Bachelor of Health Science in 2011. Abbott spent the next two years as a graduate assistant coach developing the Frostburg State women’s field hockey team; she graduated from FSU with a Master of Education in Physical Education and Psychology. She has six years of experience as a goalie coach for the USA Olympic developmental field hockey program, Futures. While coaching she earned her Level 2 Coaches certification from USA Field Hockey. In addition to her field hockey experiences Heather is also well versed as a Lifeguard Instructor, Water Safety Instructor, and Certified Scuba Diver.
Chris Bailey MEd, CSCS, cPT
Chris Bailey, a doctoral candidate in ETSU’s Sport Physiology and Performance PhD program, has a master’s degree in Human Performance and a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. Originally from Georgia, he came to ETSU after spending two years as a minor league strength and conditioning coach in the San Diego Padres baseball organization. He holds certifications from both the National Strength and Conditioning Association (CSCS) and the American College of Sports Medicine (cPT). He is currently serving as the NSCA Tennessee state director and is also on the Southeast Regional NSCA advisory board. His research interests include force production symmetry and its possible influence on performance, sport biomechanics, and athlete monitoring for improved performance.
Caleb Bazyler, MA, CSCS
Originally from Miami, Florida, Caleb is a first year doctoral student in ETSU’s sport physiology and performance program. Caleb completed his undergraduate degree at FSU where he met his beautiful bride and life-long friend, Alina. He also completed his MA degree at ETSU where he was the strength and conditioning coach for the men’s tennis team. He hopes to attain an assistant professor position upon completion of his PhD. His research interests include adaptations to strength and power training, efficacy of partial lifts in strength training, and effective programming and monitoring for powerlifters.
George Beckham, MA, CSCS
George is a second year PhD student, and a native of Clayton, California. He received his BS in Kinesiology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. At Cal Poly, he worked as a student strength and conditioning coach, and was responsible for a number of varsity teams. He came to Johnson City in 2010 to get his master's degree in Exercise Physiology and Performance. He stayed for his PhD in hopes of ultimately finding a University teaching and research position. He is a doctoral fellow and Coaching Manager for the CESSCE, in charge of social media and the sportscienceed.com website, and will be working with Men’s Golf through the rest of his time at ETSU. His research interests include instrumentation of sport performance analysis, strength and power development, weightlifting, and powerlifting.
Chris Bellon, MA, CSCS, USAW-SPC
Chris is entering his first year as a PhD student in the Sport Physiology and Performance program at ETSU. Originally from Stony Point, New York, Chris completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Montclair State University in New Jersey. While attending MSU, Chris worked as a Sports Performance Coach at Velocity Sports Performance in Mahwah, New Jersey. He is currently an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the ETSU Women’s Basketball team and hopes to contribute great energy and enthusiasm in the upcoming season.
Mark Chiang, MS, CSCS, HFS
Originally from Taiwan, Mark is a PhD candidate in Sport Physiology and Performance (performance concentration). He received his master’s degree from National Taiwan Sport University. Prior to ETSU, Mark worked at the Taiwan National Training Center as a sport scientist, conducting a variety of tests for national level athletes, including taekwondo, rugby, Chinese martial arts, swimming and triathlon. He also spent one year working for the national women’s basketball team as strength and conditioning coach / sport scientist. He has been working with ETSU varsity teams (baseball and men’s soccer) as strength and conditioning coach / sport scientist. He is currently working as strength and conditioning / sport scientist for the ETSU men’s basketball team. His research interests include strength, power, and high intensity endurance development for team sport athletes, change of direction ability, and different athlete monitoring methods.
Ben Gleason, MSEd, ACSM-HFS, CSCS*D, RSCC, USAW-SPC
Ben is beginning his second year in the PhD program (performance track). Ben played offensive line at the University of Memphis and served for 4 years in the US Air Force before completing his master’s degree in exercise science and wellness at Old Dominion University. He began his collegiate strength and conditioning experience as an intern, then full-time strength and conditioning coach at Hampton University (VA). He also worked at Eglin AFB (FL), where he stood up the central fitness testing program and established physical training programs for Explosive Ordnance Disposal students, regular military populations, a deep-water rehabilitation program, and educational programs for fitness center staff. He is the head strength coach for the ETSU men’s basketball team, assistant weight room supervisor, and serves as a consultant and strength coach for the ETSU Army ROTC program. This summer he worked with the Science Hill High School football program (freshman and varsity).
Jacob Grazer, MS, CSCS, USAW-SPC
Jacob Grazer is a 1st year student in the Sport Physiology and Performance doctoral program. Jacob is originally from Pennsylvania and completed his graduate and undergraduate work at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania in Exercise Science. He hopes to pursue a career in academia at a University back in Pennsylvania. Jacob will be working with the ETSU women’s soccer team beginning this fall. His research interests include repeated-sprints and investigating various ways to enhance repeated-sprint ability.
James Hoffmann Jr, MS, CSCS
James is a doctoral candidate in the Sport Physiology and Performance program here at ETSU, and he is the current ETSU Athletics weight room supervisor. Currently, Hoffmann is also the assistant strength coach and sport scientist for Men’s Rugby, and is an assistant strength coach for men’s basketball and men’s golf. Hoffmann has a Master’s degree in Applied Exercise Physiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). James has an extensive background in the sports of rugby and wrestling, and has also been involved in football and martial arts. Hoffmann has a diverse background and experience working as a coach and strength coach for a variety of teams including men’s basketball, men’s tennis, men’s rugby, men’s golf, high school basketball, high school physical education, and has worked with special populations such as those with metabolic syndrome. Hoffmann’s interests include concurrent training for team sports, high intensity interval training methods, and the validity and use of pushing/dragging implements for sport training.
Jana Hollins, M.S.
Jana was born and raised in Manchester, TN. In 2010, she earned a B.S. in Exercise Science from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. Then, she moved across the country to pursue her master’s degree at Montana State University (2012), where she worked as a volunteer assistant coach for the track and field team. Now back in her home state, she is a second year Ph.D. student in Sports Performance here at East Tennessee State University. Jana currently works as an assistant coach with the Milligan Cross Country and Track and Field teams. Her primary goal after completing her degree is to coach collegiate track and field, with a secondary goal of teaching at the collegiate level.
Alex Harrison, MS, CSCS, USATF-3, IAAF-5, USAW-1
Originally from Edmonds, WA, he completed his BS and MS in Kinesiology at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. Sport performance, specifically track and field performance, became his passion while he competed in the decathlon throughout his collegiate career at WWU. As a second year PhD student at ETSU, he coaches the throwing events and assists in coaching the jumps and multi-event athletes, as well as assisting with all track and field strength and conditioning. He has hopes of making a career of coaching collegiate track and field athletes, and still has hopes for his own javelin throwing career.
Tim McInnis, MS
Tim received his undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from LSU Shreveport and his master’s degree from Appalachian State University in Exercise Science with a concentration in Strength and Conditioning. Prior to working with the weightlifting team at the USOC designated Weightlifting Training Site at ETSU, Tim served as a volunteer coach at the USA Weightlifting Development and High Performance Center at LSU Shreveport.
Tony Pustina, MS, CSCS*D, USSF State D
Tony is a first year PhD student at ETSU. He has earned his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 2008 while playing division III soccer, and his Master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2010. Over the past three years, Tony has taught at Globe University and West Virginia University Institute of Technology. Apart from teaching, he has coached college, high school, and youth soccer. At ETSU he serves as the sport scientist for the Men’s Soccer team. His research interests include lower-body power measurement and development.
Jacob Reed, MS, CSCS
While at ETSU, Reed has worked as an assistant strength coach for the ROTC program and is the head coach of the ETSU club rugby team. In addition, Reed is the assistant strength and conditioning coach and sport scientist for the 2012 A-Sun champion ETSU volleyball team. Reed received his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from the University of Northern Iowa and his Master's degree in Health and Sport Science from the University of Memphis.
Hugo Santana, MS
Hugo is a second year PhD student, from Uberlândia – Brazil. He received his undergraduate degree in Physical Education (Federal University of Uberlândia – UFU), there he worked in the exercise physiology laboratory helping in tests of local teams and athletes. After that, he got his master's degree in Physical Education studying Physical Activity and Health at the Catholic University of Brasilia (UCB) – Brazil. He is working for the second year with Men’s Tennis trying to improve their performance in Strength and Conditioning.
Zhanxin Sha, MS
Zhanxin Sha is a third year doctoral student from China. He received his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Liaoning Normal University. He came to the US in 2007 for his master’s degree, in an exchange program between Liaoning Normal University and Emporia State University. His favorite sports are basketball and track and field, and he is interested in improving athletes’ performance (from a biomechanical and physiological perspective). His current study is the kinematics of sprint performance.
Christopher J.Sole, MS, CSCS, USAW-1, USATF-1
Originally from Middletown, New Jersey, Chris is a second year student in ETSU’s Sport Physiology and Performance PhD program. Before ETSU, he earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Manhattan College (Riverdale, NY) and his master’s degree in exercise science with a focus in biomechanics from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (East Stroudsburg, PA). Chris is currently a sport scientist and assistant strength and conditioning coach for ETSU volleyball. His research interests include agility and change of direction performance, accentuated eccentric exercise, adaptations to power and strength training, and athlete monitoring. Chris currently lives in Jonesborough, TN with his wife Tiina and son Kristjan.
Tim Suchomel, MS, CSCS, USAW-1
Originally from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Tim is a second year student in ETSU’s Sport Physiology and Performance PhD program. Before coming to ETSU, he received his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and his master’s degree in Human Performance from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Tim has hopes of finding a teaching and research position at a University after the completion of his PhD. He is a doctoral fellow and sport scientist for the ETSU baseball team. His research interests include postactivation potentiation, sports biomechanics, power development, athletic performance enhancement, plyometrics, and athlete monitoring for improved performance.
Anna Swisher, MA, CSCS, USATF-2, USAW-1, USAW-1 Instructor
Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Anna is a first-year student in ETSU’s Sport Physiology and Performance PhD program working with the track and field team. Prior to ETSU, Anna spent three years as a lecturer in the Exercise and Sport Science department at Western State Colorado University. She also worked with the Western track and field team from 2009—2011, serving as the throws coach and strength and conditioning coach. Anna received her BA from Williams College and her MA from ETSU, where she taught undergraduate classes, worked with Meg Stone and the throwers, and had her love of coaching and teaching strengthened. Anna hopes to return to teaching and coaching at the collegiate level upon completion of her degree at ETSU.
Christopher Taber, MS, CSCS, HFS, USAW-1, PES
Christopher is a first year PhD student in the Sport Physiology and Performance program. Christopher is from Pennsylvania and completed his undergraduate at Penn State and his masters from California University of Pennsylvania. Christopher will be working with the ETSU weightlifting team this fall. His research interests include power development and rate of force development for athletes.
