Marotti named strength & conditioning coach of the year – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 22, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Mickey Marotti, Ohio State’s assistant athletic director for football sports performance, has been named the Football Bowl Subdivision’s strength and conditioning coach of the year. Marotti was selected by weight training supplier Samson Equipment. He and five others from various levels of football strength training will be featured in this month’s edition of American Football Monthly.
Marotti is in his fourth season at Ohio State and his 29th season as a coach. He is the person Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer trusts in the critical area of strength and conditioning training and overseeing sports performance, and he is an individual Meyer has worked with or hired four times.
“There are times in the year when the strength staff has more contact with the team than the coaching staff,” Meyer has said, “and I have complete trust in Mickey Marotti’s abilities to prepare our student-athletes to be the strongest, fastest and mentally toughest football players they can be.”
The well-conditioned and mentally tough Ohio State Buckeyes have been one of the best teams in the nation over the past three seasons. The team’s 38-3 record from 2012-14 includes a school-record 24-game winning streak, only the sixth undefeated season in school history in 2012 (12-0) and a Big Ten championship, Sugar Bowl championship and College Football Playoff national championship in 2014.
Marotti has also been a part of national championship teams with the University of Florida in 2006 and 2008.
A native of Ambridge, Pa., Marotti was a four-year letterwinner as a fullback for West Liberty (W.Va.) University, serving as a team tri-captain in 1986 and winning first team NAIA All-Academic honors in 1987. He is a 1987 graduate of West Liberty with a degree in exercise physiology. He has master’s degrees from both Ohio State (1988) and West Virginia (1990).
Marotti and his wife, the former Susan Laffey, have a son, Mitchell, and a daughter, Maddie, both of whom attend Ohio State. Maddie is a member of the OSU softball team.
2014 Strength & Conditioning Coaches of the Year:
- NFL – Garrett Giemont, Pittsburgh Steelers
- FBS – Mickey Marotti, Ohio State University
- FCS – Jim Lathrop, Illinois State University
- Division II – Bill Perkins, Bloomsburg University
- High School – David Reese, Monte Vista Christian School (Calif.)
- High School – David Aoyagi, Marcos De Niza High School (Ariz.)
- High School – Rich Lansky, Manatee High School (Fla.)
