Staff Directory
- Title:
- Head Strength Coach
- Email:
- Phone:
- 618-453-5454
- Alma Mater:
- Missouri, 2000
Meade Smith is one of the top strength and conditioning professionals in college athletics with a proven track record of helping athletes maximize their potential. He joined the staff at Southern Illinois in May of 2016 after serving as head strength coach at SIUE from 2011-16. In 2019, he oversaw a complete renovation of the Saluki weight room.
A 2000 graduate of Missouri, Smith played two seasons with the Tigers’ baseball program and earned a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and fitness. He earned his master’s degree in exercise physiology in 2004 from Southern Illinois, where he served as graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach.
During his first stint with the Salukis, Smith was mentored by Eric Klein, who is now the head football strength and conditioning coach at UConn. Smith’s core strength and conditioning principles focus upon training movements not muscles, ground-based training programs, explosive training, an accent on core training, and an emphasis on injury reduction.
“The primary focus with all performance programs is to build a strong athletic foundation while focusing on each student-athlete’s individual needs,” said Smith. “This is accomplished by developing comprehensive training programs that put a major emphasis on movement training, explosive power development, foot speed and agility, linear and lateral speed, proper resistance training techniques, functional strength, injury reduction, and energy system development.”
Smith is a certified strength and conditioning specialist in the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Smith is a performance enhancement specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and is finalizing certification as a corrective exercise specialist. He also is a certified sports performance coach and Level 1 weightlifting coach with USA Weightlifting.
Smith also has experience training with professional athletes. He was a strength coach with the Anaheim Angels in 2003. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Logan University providing instruction on Exercise Prescription & Testing, Cardio-Respiratory, and Exercise & Sports Practicum.
