Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Built by Bari
4/15/2021 12:36:00 PM | Football, Les Johns
“I could see the development in Chad and knew he was ready to be a head strength coach.” - Dave Clawson
Chad Bari's 1995 Buick LeSabre was on its last legs when he decided to come along from Bowling Green on the Wake Forest strength and conditioning staff when Dave Clawson accepted the head coaching job.
It had no heat and the rear-view mirror was being held on with duct tape. Not believing the vehicle could make the trip from Toledo, Ohio to Winston-Salem, Bari just rode along with his mentor Brandon Hourigan, knowing everything would work out in the long run.
Safe to say, things have worked out, as Bari was promoted earlier this year as the new director of sports performance after serving the last seven seasons as the top assistant under Hourigan.
"I'm tremendously excited," Bari said. "Coach Clawson gave me the interview and ultimately gave me the job. I couldn't be more thrilled. That's what I've been working for — to be in a position to do this. Working under coach Hourgian for nine seasons, seven here and two at Bowling Green, put me in this position to learn and progress to be here and take over the reins. That was huge and I was able to hit the ground running with that."
Bari's journey began at Youngstown State, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and Human Performance in 2012, finishing his degree work with an internship at Bowling Green — in the strength and conditioning department under the tutelage of Hourigan.
He was quickly hired in May of 2012 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for football, while also leading the strength and conditioning programs for baseball, softball, men's and women's soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and men's golf.
"When I went in and talked to them about interning there I got to work with football, but I got to work with all the sports and it was an opportunity at that time," Bari said. "So, I went there and I did that internship and I worked with all the other teams and that ultimately led to me being hired right after that internship. That was a great decision at the end of the day to do that and to go there and be part of that. It was awesome."
Clawson considers Bari a vital piece in his rebuilding job at Wake Forest.
"Every move with Chad has been a no-brainer," he said. "We hired him as an intern. We had a job open, and Hourigan said he didn't need to interview, because he had the next guy right there.
"Bringing Brandon and Chad here was really important when I got the job here. Those two worked extremely well together. They had a great relationship and played off each other well. They had different personalities. They were a great team."
Once Hourigan left Wake Forest for another position, it didn't take long for Clawson to find the right replacement.
"When you see somebody develop, to me for the last two years I could see the development in Chad and knew he was ready to be a head strength coach," Clawson said. "I didn't want to lose coach Hourgian, but if we did, I didn't want Chad to leave first. As long as we had Chad, I had the replacement in house. He's been ready for a couple of years to be a head strength coach.
"It's been seamless. There was a lot of angst when coach Hourigan left. All of it disappeared when we hired Chad. They loved coach Hourigan, but knew what a part of that Chad was. A lot of things we do are similar, but he's made some changes with things he believes in — things that he believes will benefit our football program. He certainly has the freedom to do that."
Several Wake Forest football players expressed their appreciation for Hourigan when he departed and were obviously concerned about the hiring of his replacement. There's nobody that spends more time with them away from the field or is more responsible for their development than the strength and conditioning staff.
"The second we heard coach Chad was getting the job, we all knew he'd do a great job," Wake Forest redshirt senior linebacker Luke Masterson said. "He hasn't missed a beat. He's been awesome. The whole strength staff has been great this offseason.
"He's different, but a good different. He's very analytical, and he emphasizes form and technique."
Bari believes he's ready for a job of this stature, a position achieved which fulfilled one of his long-term career goals.
"Coach Clawson has always done a great job of not only helping me, but helping my family," Bari said. "We've loved it here at Wake. It was always my goal to be a Division I strength coach at this level. I was going to accomplish that goal, but being here and being at Wake, that was huge to have that opportunity to stay here. We've loved it. My wife was thrilled to say the least."
Since taking over the job in early January, Bari has finalized his staff, set the expectations for his team and dug into the all-important pre-spring camp strength and conditioning program — an endeavor that grew in importance after so many developmental periods on the calendar last year were lost because of COVID-19 restrictions.
"The biggest goal of this training session was just trying to get them back into regular training," Bari said. "We missed so much time when they were home, and some guys had some things and other guys didn't.
"It was getting them back into that regular flow and being able to move heavy weights and getting back into those things. Then from now, as we're wrapping that up and then spring ball building off of that and really making that next push through the summer."
There might be no other position group that relies on the strength staff than the offensive line, and Wake Forest offensive line coach Nick Tabacca is a believer in what he's seen from Bari thus far.
"Chad is awesome,"Tabacca said. "I know he won't skip a beat in terms of how he develops our guys, not just with physical strength, but also mental toughness. I have all the faith in Chad. He'll do a great job working with our guys."
And with the new promotion also came new wheels for Bari.
"I don't really spend money on myself," he said. "I save, I don't buy anything. But the one thing I said that I always was going to do is that when I got this position, was get a truck. So now I have a truck."
It had no heat and the rear-view mirror was being held on with duct tape. Not believing the vehicle could make the trip from Toledo, Ohio to Winston-Salem, Bari just rode along with his mentor Brandon Hourigan, knowing everything would work out in the long run.
Safe to say, things have worked out, as Bari was promoted earlier this year as the new director of sports performance after serving the last seven seasons as the top assistant under Hourigan.
"I'm tremendously excited," Bari said. "Coach Clawson gave me the interview and ultimately gave me the job. I couldn't be more thrilled. That's what I've been working for — to be in a position to do this. Working under coach Hourgian for nine seasons, seven here and two at Bowling Green, put me in this position to learn and progress to be here and take over the reins. That was huge and I was able to hit the ground running with that."
Bari's journey began at Youngstown State, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and Human Performance in 2012, finishing his degree work with an internship at Bowling Green — in the strength and conditioning department under the tutelage of Hourigan.
He was quickly hired in May of 2012 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for football, while also leading the strength and conditioning programs for baseball, softball, men's and women's soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and men's golf.
"When I went in and talked to them about interning there I got to work with football, but I got to work with all the sports and it was an opportunity at that time," Bari said. "So, I went there and I did that internship and I worked with all the other teams and that ultimately led to me being hired right after that internship. That was a great decision at the end of the day to do that and to go there and be part of that. It was awesome."
Clawson considers Bari a vital piece in his rebuilding job at Wake Forest.
"Every move with Chad has been a no-brainer," he said. "We hired him as an intern. We had a job open, and Hourigan said he didn't need to interview, because he had the next guy right there.
"Bringing Brandon and Chad here was really important when I got the job here. Those two worked extremely well together. They had a great relationship and played off each other well. They had different personalities. They were a great team."
Once Hourigan left Wake Forest for another position, it didn't take long for Clawson to find the right replacement.
"When you see somebody develop, to me for the last two years I could see the development in Chad and knew he was ready to be a head strength coach," Clawson said. "I didn't want to lose coach Hourgian, but if we did, I didn't want Chad to leave first. As long as we had Chad, I had the replacement in house. He's been ready for a couple of years to be a head strength coach.
"It's been seamless. There was a lot of angst when coach Hourigan left. All of it disappeared when we hired Chad. They loved coach Hourigan, but knew what a part of that Chad was. A lot of things we do are similar, but he's made some changes with things he believes in — things that he believes will benefit our football program. He certainly has the freedom to do that."
Several Wake Forest football players expressed their appreciation for Hourigan when he departed and were obviously concerned about the hiring of his replacement. There's nobody that spends more time with them away from the field or is more responsible for their development than the strength and conditioning staff.
"The second we heard coach Chad was getting the job, we all knew he'd do a great job," Wake Forest redshirt senior linebacker Luke Masterson said. "He hasn't missed a beat. He's been awesome. The whole strength staff has been great this offseason.
"He's different, but a good different. He's very analytical, and he emphasizes form and technique."
Bari believes he's ready for a job of this stature, a position achieved which fulfilled one of his long-term career goals.
"Coach Clawson has always done a great job of not only helping me, but helping my family," Bari said. "We've loved it here at Wake. It was always my goal to be a Division I strength coach at this level. I was going to accomplish that goal, but being here and being at Wake, that was huge to have that opportunity to stay here. We've loved it. My wife was thrilled to say the least."
Since taking over the job in early January, Bari has finalized his staff, set the expectations for his team and dug into the all-important pre-spring camp strength and conditioning program — an endeavor that grew in importance after so many developmental periods on the calendar last year were lost because of COVID-19 restrictions.
"The biggest goal of this training session was just trying to get them back into regular training," Bari said. "We missed so much time when they were home, and some guys had some things and other guys didn't.
"It was getting them back into that regular flow and being able to move heavy weights and getting back into those things. Then from now, as we're wrapping that up and then spring ball building off of that and really making that next push through the summer."
There might be no other position group that relies on the strength staff than the offensive line, and Wake Forest offensive line coach Nick Tabacca is a believer in what he's seen from Bari thus far.
"Chad is awesome,"Tabacca said. "I know he won't skip a beat in terms of how he develops our guys, not just with physical strength, but also mental toughness. I have all the faith in Chad. He'll do a great job working with our guys."
And with the new promotion also came new wheels for Bari.
"I don't really spend money on myself," he said. "I save, I don't buy anything. But the one thing I said that I always was going to do is that when I got this position, was get a truck. So now I have a truck."
Players Mentioned
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