Updated July 1, 2018
Director of speed, strength and conditioning John Sauer is now in his 31st year at William & Mary. He is responsible for all aspects of strength and conditioning for the Tribe’s 23 varsity sports.
In July of 2010, Sauer was honored for his service at W&M when the Tribe’s new training area was named in his honor at the conclusion of the annual football alumni banquet. The John Sauer Strength and Conditioning Room, located within the Montgomery Strength Training Center on the lower level of Kaplan Arena, is a 2,500-square foot training area that was brought on-line in the spring of 2010 and expands the Tribe’s total training area to approximately 8,500-square feet.
Under his guidance, a Tribe football player has earned All-America strength honors during each of the past 30 seasons, including the recent selection of Connor Hilland (2018), who signed a free agent contract with the Miami Dolphins. Hilland joined an elite group that includes eight other players who have recently gone on to sign with NFL teams – Jerry Ugokwe (’17), DeAndre Houston-Carson (’16), Mike Reilly (’15), Jerome Couplin (’14), Jonathan Grimes (’12), Sean Lissemore (’10), Adrian Tracy (’10) and Derek Cox (’09).
During the summer of 2005, Sauer was one of seven coaches nationwide recognized as a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach (MSCC). The title of MSCC is the highest honor that can be achieved as a strength and conditioning coach. It represents professionalism, knowledge, experience, expertise, as well as longevity in the field. For these reasons, all individuals must be a full-time collegiate and/or professional strength and conditioning coach for a minimum of 12 years in order to be considered for this distinction.
In 1995, Sauer designed the Joseph W. Montgomery Strength Training Center located in the lower level of Kaplan Arena. This 5,500 square-foot facility was upgraded in the spring of 2006, primarily with Power Lift and Sorinex equipment. The room now contains 16,000 pounds of free weights, over 10,00 pounds of dumbbells and 7,500 pounds of rubber bumper plates. In addition, it has 22 multipurpose stations and 22 dumbell stations and a fully equipped plyometric area. Additionally, six 70-inch flat screen televisions were recently installed. This allows the strength and conditioning staff to utilize video to correct technique as well as to display each sport’s training program.
Sauer came to W&M from Clemson where he was an assistant strength and conditioning coach. At Clemson, he assisted in the development, coordination and implementation of strength and conditioning programs for more than 450 varsity athletes.
Before Clemson, Sauer held assistant coaching positions at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He earned his bachelor of science degree in health and physical education from the University of Montana in 1984. In 1985, he received his master’s in health and physical education from Delta State University, where he was the head coach of strength and conditioning in charge of all varsity sports.
Sauer is also Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association. Additionally, he is a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach through the CSCCA. He is also certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. A member of the U.S.A. Weightlifting Federation, he is certified as a Level I Club Coach & Level II Senior Coach. He is also a Certified Specialist in Speed and Explosion by the National Association of Speed and Explosion. Additionally, he has achieved Level I Coaches certification from the USAT&F. From 1996-98, Sauer was honored as Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year in the CAA through the NSCA.
