Jim Malone, CSCS, RSSC*E
Jim Malone is completing his 29th year working in strength and conditioning and 22nd year of work in professional baseball. A native of Buffalo, NY, Jim has had an extraordinary career as both a player and coach in both collegiate 
and professional sports. A graduate of St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in Buffalo, Jim earned letters in football and wrestling. Upon graduation from HS, he enrolled at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY where he earned 4 letters in football and placed 5th in the 1989 US Power Lifting Federation Collegiate Nationals before graduating in 1989 with a BA in Economics.
After graduating from Rochester, Jim served as the Rochester defensive line coach and strength and conditioning coach before moving to Princeton University in to be their outside linebacker coach and strength and conditioning coach. He returned to Rochester in 1991 as their linebacker coach and strength and conditioning coach. In 1993, he joined Albright College in Reading, PA as their linebacker coach, strength and conditioning coach and head wrestling coach. In 1994 and 1995, he coached tight ends and was the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Columbia University Football Team before being promoted to head strength and conditioning coach in 1996.
Jim’s career in professional baseball started in 1997 as a minor league strength and conditioning coach for the Cleveland Indians extended and Low A Watertown teams. From 1998-1999, he was the strength and conditioning coach for the Indians AAA International League Championship team in Buffalo, NY. Jim joined the Kansas City Royals as their Minor League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator in 2000 and became the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Mets in 2002. In 2003, he returned to the Indians as their Assistant Minor League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator and strength and conditioning coach for their AAA affiliate in Buffalo, and was promoted to Minor League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator in 2004.
Jim returned to the Major Leagues in 2006 as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the San Diego Padres, a position he held for seven years (2006-2012). He returned to the Mets in 2013 and was their Head Strength and Conditioning Coach in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, he worked as a strength and conditioning training camp intern for the Cleveland Browns. In 2016 and early 2017, he was the St. Louis Cardinals’ Athletic Development Coordinator. In May 2017, Jim was named Assistant Athletic Director for Physical Development/Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Campbell University in North Carolina. In 2018, he returned to the Major Leagues for the fourth time as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Malone was President of PBSCCS from 2009-2014, and a member of the Major League Baseball Medical Advisory Committee. He received the Nolan Ryan Award as the Professional Baseball Strength Coach of the Year in 2012 and was the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the National League in the 2013 Major League All-Star game. He holds certifications from the NSCA (CSCS and RSCC*E), and is FMS-1 and USAW certified.
Jim and his wife of 6 years, Tracey Wilson, reside in Astoria Queens, NY in the off-season. His hobbies include competitive Olympic Lifting and watching movies. He won gold in his age/weight division at the 2016 USAW Masters National Championships,
He believes in ground-based exercises and askes his players to be proficient at squatting lunging, hinging, pushing and pulling. He believes in doing simple things savagely well and that the basics work. He tries not to overcomplicate things and advocates lifting heavy to get strong, sprint hard and get fast. His advice to young strength coaches is to respect your athletes, respect the profession and respect yourself.
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