ATLANTA – Ed Ellis, recently honored as the top strength and conditioning coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference, has been named Georgia Tech’s Director of Player Development.
Ellis, who will work directly with the Rambling Wreck football program while overseeing the strength and conditioning efforts for all 17 sports, comes to Tech after seven years as the head strength and conditioning coordinator at Wake Forest. He replaces Jay Omer, who left Tech to take a similar position at Brigham Young.
“Strength and conditioning is as important as any sport we have at Georgia Tech,” said Tech Director of Athletics Dave Braine. “Ed Ellis is a very important hire for us, and we are pleased to have him take over our strength and conditioning program. Obviously, we’re going to miss Jay, but we know Ed brings the winning attitude and expertise we need in that area.”
Ellis was honored as the 2000 College Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year for the Atlantic Coast Conference, an award given by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is now eligible for the NSCA National Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year Award, to be presented in June.
Before going to Wake Forest in 1994, Ellis spent four years (1991-94) as the head strength and conditioning coordinator at Illinois State and two years (1989-91) as an assistant strength coach at Mississippi. He began his career as a graduate assistant at Arkansas from 1987-89.
Ellis earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Alabama in 1987 and then added a masters degree in education from Arkansas in 1989. An all-Southeastern Conference performer in the discus and shot put, he holds numerous world and national drug-free powerlifting records, including the current world record in the bench press with a lift of 620 pounds.
