MTCS hires former MTSU, Ensworth strength coach Jason Spray

Former MTSU strength and conditioning coach Jason Spray is coming home.

After spending a year at Ensworth, Spray has been named director of sport performance/head strength and conditioning coach at Middle Tennessee Christian School.

"I’m excited about this," Spray said. "I'll be in the (same) school with my kids (who will be attending MTCS in the fall). It was tough driving an hour back (to Murfreesboro from Ensworth) and then having to pick them up and get them to practices and such.

"I'm excited for a shorter commute, being able to take kids to school with me and back home with me every day."

Spray said the decision to leave Ensworth to take the MTCS job was determined months before a football coaching change was made at the school and that it had no bearing on his decision. Just more than a week ago, the Tigers named former BGA coach Roc Batten to replace Jeremy Garrett after Garrett resigned earlier this month to join the staff at Vanderbilt.

A former Oakland High and MTSU football player, Spray served on the strength and conditioning staff at MTSU from 2002-17, serving as the Blue Raiders' head football strength coach from 2012-17.

He left MTSU and ultimately landed a similar role at Ensworth for a year.

During his tenure with the Blue Raiders, Spray was named the 2011 Assistant Strength Coach of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

“Jason has a long history of teaching and leading athletes to reach their fullest potential, and we are excited to see him continue this passion with our Cougar athletes,” MTCS secondary principal Robert Sain said.

Spray will be building the strength and conditioning program at MTCS from the ground up, something he's excited about starting.

"That is what was intriguing to me," Spray said. "I'm looking forward to building that and growing that. Most people know that the strength and conditioning aspect is the lifeblood of a program. If you can keep (athletes) healthy and develop them to get bigger and stronger, they will be better on the field and have more confidence. That's my goal."

Spray graduated from Oakland in 1997 and began his career at MTSU, playing on the program's first Division I-A football team in 1999 and becoming the starting fullback in 2001.

Spray is a member of the NSCA and the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association. He is certified as a strength and conditioning specialist by the NSCA and the CSCCA and is certified by the National Association of Speed and Explosion. Spray also is certified by USA Weightlifting as a club performance coach and is certified as a sports nutritionist through the International Fitness Professional Association.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jason, (wife) Karisse, and their two sons to the Cougar family," MTCS athletics director Jason Piercey said. "Coach Spray’s expertise in strength and conditioning is nationally recognized. We know with this addition we are bringing in a strong leader who has a passion to help our athletes grow and achieve their goals.”

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.