Russell Barbarino is the new director of strength and conditioning at FAMU. He is responsible for the supervision of more than 300 student-athletes from FAMU’s 18-intercollegiate athletics teams and coordinating all strength and conditioning programs.Prior to FAMU, he was a successful business owner and nationally certified fitness and athletic performance specialist in Tallahassee and surrounding areas, including owning and operating Anytime Fitness of Tallahassee-Mahan Drive and Anytime Fitness of Crawfordville, Fla.
Earlier in his career, he worked as director of strength and conditioning at Tulane University in New Orleans from 2005-2006, director of strength and conditioning at the University of Delaware from 1999-2005, and assistant strength and conditioning coach at Florida State University from 1995-1999.
Barbarino is Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) by the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA). He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), Certified Advanced Personal Trainer by the International Fitness Professionals Association (IFPA), and a Certified Primary Aerobics Instructor by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA). He is also a member of the U.S. Weightlifting Federation (USWF) as a coach.
In February 2006, Barbarino was finalist for the 2006 National Strength and Conditioning Association College Professional of the Year Award. This national award is presented annually each July, at the NSCA national convention. This marked the sixth year in a row that Barbarino had been honored with this distinction. He was a finalist for this award in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005.
A former football letter winner at Kean University in New Jersey, Barbarino earned a bachelor's degree in adult Exercise Science/Adult Fitness from the school in 1995 and added a master's degree in Athletic Administration from Florida State in 1997. He and his wife, the former Jennifer Engelbrecht, have two boys named Kyle and Bryce.