With great excitement we introduce our third presenter for The 2020 Edition of The Seminar, The Kansas City Royals Strength and Conditioning Coordinator, Dr. John Wagle. As a former college strength and conditioning coach, who went back to academia, and then to pro baseball, Dr. Wagle brings a sensational array of experience to The Seminar. We have prided ourselves on bringing in the people who have done the research behind the programming to The Seminar, and Dr. Wagle is just that in the realm of eccentric training and it’s application to the preparation of athletes. Enough from me though, let’s meet, Dr. John Wagle.
JD: If you could, please give our readers a little background information about you, what your niche in the world of athletics is, accomplishments, how you got there, education, any products you have available and/or notable publications.
Dr. Wagle: Currently, I serve as the Strength & Conditioning Coordinator for the Kansas City Royals. As a fellow in the Sport Physiology and Performance program at East Tennessee State University, I was the Strength & Conditioning Coach and Sport Scientist for ETSU baseball. Additionally, I assisted Dr. Brad DeWeese in training implementation and athlete monitoring design of our Olympic Training Site athletes. Prior to the opportunity to join ETSU, I was the Director of Sports Performance at DePaul University, working with men’s basketball.
I have been an invited speaker on a number of topics, including training theory, athlete monitoring, and accentuated eccentric loading – the topic of my dissertation during my PhD and what I will be speaking about at The Seminar. Eccentric training continues to be an interest and area of research for me, leading to the following publications related to the topic:
Suchomel, T. J., Wagle, J. P., Douglas, J., Taber, C. B., Harden, M., Haff, G. G., & Stone, M. H. (2019). Implementing Eccentric Resistance Training—Part 2: Practical Recommendations. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 4(2), 38.
Suchomel, T. J., Wagle, J. P., Douglas, J., Taber, C. B., Harden, M., Haff, G. G., & Stone, M. H. (2019). Implementing Eccentric Resistance Training—Part 1: A Brief Review of Existing Methods. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 4(2), 38.
Wagle, J. P., Taber, C. B., Cunanan, A. J., Sams, M. L., Wetmore, A., Bingham, G. E., … & Stone, M. H. (2018). Repetition-to-repetition differences using cluster and accentuated eccentric loading in the back squat. Sports.
Wagle, J. P., Cunanan, A. J., Carroll, K. M., Sams, M. L., Wetmore, A., Bingham, G. E., … & Stone, M. H. (2018). Accentuated eccentric loading and cluster set configurations in the back squat: A kinetic and kinematic analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
Carroll, K.M., Wagle, J.P., Sato, K., Taber, C.B., Yoshida, N., Bingham, G.E., & Stone, M.H. (2018). Characterising overload in inertial flywheel devices for use in exercise training. Sports Biomechanics.
Wagle, J. P., Taber, C. B., Cunanan, A. J., Bingham, G. E., Carroll, K. M., DeWeese, B. H., … & Stone, M. H. (2017). Accentuated Eccentric Loading for Training and Performance: A Review. Sports Medicine, 47(12), 2473-2495.
JD: Discuss with us the mistakes you see made by strength and conditioning coaches in the United States and around the world, and what you feel should be done differently/how to correct these issues.
Dr. Wagle: Tough question. In the U.S., the S&C field has a formal education issue relative to the rest of the world. This causes a very apprenticeship-dominant development system for coaches and too much blind faith in methods with thin (if any) evidence to support their efficacy. To be clear, I see tremendous value in mentorship – I am very fortunate to have had many great ones. However, the development of coaches should be grounded in equal parts mentorship and formal education, which is currently far from the case in our field. I am optimistic that this will be resolved soon, as there are many universities adding field-relevant programs.
JD: What advice would you give a coach to improve knowledge in the lines of continuing education, meaning could you point our readers in a direction to find the scientific and practical information to improve the methods they use to improve performance?
Dr. Wagle: Set really good Google Scholar alerts. It will take some time to refine your alert criteria, but there is nothing more convenient than getting new papers sent directly to your email each morning. I also still get a tremendous amount of my research off of social media, especially Twitter. The leaders in our field do an excellent job of sharing what they are reading…who you follow can matter for your continuing education.
JD: If you could give a brief description of what our attendees can expect from you at The Seminar?
Dr. Wagle: I will share the current best-practice applications of eccentric training methods including accentuated eccentric loading, flywheel resistance, and others. This will not only include a summary of the research, but the programming nuances, results that I have observed, and where each method fits into a long-term training plan.
JD: Any closing thoughts Doc?
Dr. Wagle: I am extremely humbled and excited to speak at the Seminar. This is one of the first conferences I attended when entering the field, so it is such an honor to be asked as a speaker. This is truly one of the most rewarding continuing education weekends that we have in S&C and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on eccentric training with others.
Who is Dr. John Wagle?
Dr. John P. Wagle is the Minor League Strength & Conditioning Coordinator for the Kansas City Royals where he oversees all aspects of the physical preparation at the seven state-side and two international affiliates. He previously served as a fellow in the Sport Physiology and Performance program at East Tennessee State University he was the Strength & Conditioning Coach and Sport Scientist for ETSU baseball. Additionally, Wagle assisted Dr. Brad DeWeese in training implementation and athlete monitoring design of Olympic Training Site athletes. Wagle has been an invited speaker on a number of topics, including periodization and programming tactics, athlete monitoring, and accentuated eccentric loading.
Prior to the opportunity to join ETSU, Wagle was the Director of Sports Performance at DePaul University, overseeing all aspects of the department and working specifically with men’s basketball, women’s softball, and men’s tennis. In a previous role with DePaul, as the Assistant Director of Sports Performance under Mac Calloway, he added track and field and women’s soccer to his teams of service. At the high major collegiate level, Wagle has had the privilege of coaching 3 All-Americans, 11 conference players of the year, and well over 50 all-conference selections across a variety of sports.
Wagle received his M.S. in Exercise Science from Western Illinois University and completed his undergraduate work at Augustana College (IL), majoring in Physics. He also holds two graduate degrees in business administration from Loyola University (MBA) and North Park University (MS, Non-Profit). Wagle earned certification from several well-regarded governing bodies in the field of strength and conditioning, including the CSCCa, NSCA, and USAW.
As a collegiate athlete, Wagle was an All-American baseball player and holds standing school records in several offensive categories. Following his career at Augustana, he continued his playing career for two seasons of minor league baseball. Wagle was also an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholar – the only Division III baseball player selected for this honor during that academic year.
Grab your seat for this summers MUST ATTEND continuing education event here!
