PHILADELPHIA -- Tony Decker, winner of the prestigious Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year Award from the National Strength and Conditioning Association in 1998, has been named head strength and conditioning coach at Temple University. Decker will oversee the strength and conditioning programs for all of the Owls' 24 intercollegiate athletic teams and will work extensively with the football program and its first-year head coach, Al Golden.
"Tony Decker's hiring as the strength and conditioning coach is emblematic of our effort to expose our football team to a record of achievement here at Temple University," said Golden. "Tony is widely considered to be one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the industry. Tony's experience, education, training and overall commitment to excellence spans over two decades. Coach Decker has been recognized as the best in the business among his peers in strength and conditioning, has served under two members of the College Football Hall of Fame, Tubby Raymond at Delaware and the University of Virginia's George Welsh. He has trained innumerable professional athletes. He is the only football strength and conditioning coach in the Mid-American Conference to have won the celebrated Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year Award. Tony Decker will be an invaluable asset to our football program moving forward and instrumental in attracting the type of student-athletes necessary to compete for a MAC title in the future."
Decker has over 23 years of experience in strength and conditioning and athletic training. He has worked as the Director of Strength and Conditioning at the University of Virginia (1998-2002) and Head Strength Coach at the University of Delaware (1988-98). Certified by the NSCA, the United States Weightlifting Federation, National Athletic Trainers Association and the American Red Cross, he has published multiple studies in medical journals and is a noted national speaker on both peak performance training and athletic training. Decker, a level I track and field coach, has worked with numerous professional, collegiate, and elite athletes, including players from the NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA and Olympic athletes.
Most recently, Decker served as Sports Performance Director and Director of NFL Combine & Pro Day Training at Velocity Sports Performance in Cherry Hill, N.J. In the position, he trained both professional and collegiate athletes from all sports. In addition to training several Philadelphia Eagles in support of their in-season strength programs, he prepared over 50 college athletes for the NFL combine. Decker arrived at Velocity in June 2003 after serving as a professor in the Department of Movement Studies and Exercise Sciences at East Stroudsburg (Pa.) University.
Decker began his career at Los Alamitos (Calif.) High School in 1983 as head athletic trainer before serving as a graduate assistant trainer and student strength coach at Virginia. He then accepted the position of head athletic trainer at Cherry Hill (N.J.) High School in 1986 before being named Director of Strength and Conditioning and Assistant Athletic Trainer at Delaware in July, 1988. Decker was responsible for strength and conditioning for all of the Blue Hens' 22 intercollegiate varsity sports. During his tenure in Newark, he twice earned conference strength and conditioning professional of the year awards (1996, 1998) and helped prepare the football teams that made six playoff appearances and two trips to the Division I-AA semifinals.
Decker was named Director of Strength and Conditioning at Virginia in June, 1998 and served in the position until August. 2002. During his stay in Charlottesville, the football team made four postseason bowl appearances utilizing Decker's performance programs. Among the more notable student-athletes he helped prepare were current NFL players Elton Brown, Angelo Crowell, Thomas Jones, Patrick Kerney and Billy McMullen.
A native of Wilkes Barre, Pa., Decker, born June 20, 1960, earned a bachelors of science degree in health and physical education from East Stroudsburg in 1983 before receiving a master of education degree in athletic training and sports medicine at Virginia in 1986. He is married to the former Kate Newman.
