Following the disappointing 2006 season, Georgia Southern coach Brian VanGorder made it clear the Eagles had plenty of work to do in the weight room.
Those duties have been handed to defensive line coach Parker Wildeman, who has assumed the role of head strength and conditioning coach for GSU and will work primarily with the football team, according to multiple sources close to the situation. GSU athletic spokesman Patrick Osterman said VanGorder and Wildeman refused comment, adding that the school would not release any information regarding staff changes at this time.
Tom Melton, Wildeman’s predecessor who filled the capacity the last three seasons, remains on board with the university and is currently heading the strength and conditioning programs for all other sports.
Wildeman and VanGorder first worked together at Western Illinois in 2000 with VanGorder as the defensive coordinator and Wildeman coaching the d-line.
Wildeman, a certified strength and conditioning coach, has an extensive background in athletic performance beginning in 1995 when he worked as a graduate assistant in the strength program at the University of Iowa, his alma mater. A former defensive lineman for the Hawkeyes, Wildeman served as the school’s assistant strength, speed and conditioning coach from 1996 to 1998.
He later worked as a personal fitness trainer in Reno, Nevada, for three years before returning to Western Illinois for a second two-year stint as the defensive line coach. Wildeman, a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a certified Olympic-style weightlifting coach, left the Leathernecks and reunited with VanGorder at Georgia Southern in January 2006.
It is unknown who will fill Wildeman’s position as GSU’s d-line coach.
Those duties have been handed to defensive line coach Parker Wildeman, who has assumed the role of head strength and conditioning coach for GSU and will work primarily with the football team, according to multiple sources close to the situation. GSU athletic spokesman Patrick Osterman said VanGorder and Wildeman refused comment, adding that the school would not release any information regarding staff changes at this time.
Tom Melton, Wildeman’s predecessor who filled the capacity the last three seasons, remains on board with the university and is currently heading the strength and conditioning programs for all other sports.
Wildeman and VanGorder first worked together at Western Illinois in 2000 with VanGorder as the defensive coordinator and Wildeman coaching the d-line.
Wildeman, a certified strength and conditioning coach, has an extensive background in athletic performance beginning in 1995 when he worked as a graduate assistant in the strength program at the University of Iowa, his alma mater. A former defensive lineman for the Hawkeyes, Wildeman served as the school’s assistant strength, speed and conditioning coach from 1996 to 1998.
He later worked as a personal fitness trainer in Reno, Nevada, for three years before returning to Western Illinois for a second two-year stint as the defensive line coach. Wildeman, a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a certified Olympic-style weightlifting coach, left the Leathernecks and reunited with VanGorder at Georgia Southern in January 2006.
It is unknown who will fill Wildeman’s position as GSU’s d-line coach.
