Founder & Coach

To say that Dr. Phil Wagner has a passion for advancing the science of elite athletic performance is an understatement. Since the day he first began studying exercise physiology over a decade ago as an undergraduate at UC Davis, Dr. Wagner has been driven to discover the secrets for unlocking athletic potential, both in the gym and in the heat of competition.

Graduating with honors from Davis in 1999 and nationally certified as a strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS), he headed to Florida to train elite athletes at the International Performance Institute (now Athletes Performance, Tempe, AZ). He's since worked for several years as a strength and conditioning coach at both UC Berkley and UCLA where he's helped guide teams to national championships in volleyball, track and field, and rugby—and football, basketball, tennis and soccer to conference championships. He spent a year in the Southern Hemisphere, training the world's top rugby players in the Super 12 League of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Driven to learn even more about the human body and it's inner workings, Phil enrolled in Medical School at the University of Southern California, receiving his degree in 2006. During his studies, he worked with two of the most renowned sport science laboratories in the world; the Biokinesiology Lab at USC and the Australian Institute of Sport.

Prior to opening Sparta Performance Science in 2008, he spent two years as the Associate Director of Performance and Applied Research at the Peak Performance Project, a center in Santa Barbara, California devoted to elite athletic performance training.

Al Scates, UCLA's legendary Men's Volleyball coach and former USA National Team coach said this about him, "I cannot overstate Dr. Phil Wagner's contribution to our 2006 NCAA Championship Team. Our returning student-athletes realize that we were in much better shape than our opponents during our 14-match winning streak at the end of the season."

To see a list of athletes Phil has worked with Click Here.

General Manager

Richard Heal joined Sparta in April 2010, with a 30 year career in the software industry. Prior to joining Sparta, Richard worked at Unison Software from 1984 through a successful IPO in 1995 and acquisition by IBM in 1997. During his time at Unison and IBM he assumed many management roles including software development, mergers and acquisitions, customer service, partner management and professional services. After leaving IBM in 2001 Richard has been involved in Angel investing, small business consulting, and running a foundation that assists local non-profit organizations. Born in Plymouth, England, he is an avid football (soccer) fan, supports Arsenal and his local team Plymouth Argyle. In his free time he enjoys playing squash, and learning the correct way to squat!

A great addition to the Sparta team, Richard brings a wealth of experience, and his areas of responsibility include financial analysis, organizational growth, marketing and technology.

Coach

Jordan Troester has a long history of both training and competing as an athlete. He played a wide variety of sports growing up, and ultimately decided to pursue his dream of playing Division 1 college football at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was during his time at William and Mary that he developed a passion for training and decided to pursue a career in the strength and conditioning field.

Jordan played tight end at William and Mary for four years, and was a part of several very successful teams. Highlights include winning an A-10 Conference Championship, and advancing to the National Semi-Finals. Jordan graduated from William and Mary with a degree in Kinesiology, and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the NSCA.

From there, Jordan got his start as a performance coach at a private facility in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he worked with a wide variety of youth athletes. After several years as a coach and facility director, Jordan left Williamsburg to pursue an opportunity working with professional athletes as an intern at Athletes’ Performance in Los Angeles.

At Athletes’ Performance Jordan worked with a variety of pro athletes as well as preparing a group of college football players for the NFL Combine. One strength he developed is his knowledge and experience coaching movement skills -- helping athletes improve speed, agility and quickness by becoming more efficient with their movements. This results in performance improvements in combine style testing situations as well as on the field or court, and is a great asset to Sparta.

Coach

Phil Brady grew up with a passion for competing. After his baseball career ended in college, he directed his attention and passion toward learning how to make an athlete’s body perform most efficiently and effectively.

Leaving Texas State University with a degree in Exercise and Sports Science and designated a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the NSCA, Phil became an intern under Diane Vives who sits on the NSCA Board of Directors and the Under Armor Training Council. While interning at Vives Training Systems, he immersed himself deeper into understanding how the body functions optimally. After the internship, he accepted a full time strength coach position in Florida, with the Florida Marlins Baseball Club.

In Florida, Phil continued to refine his skills as a coach and sports scientist. He worked with many great baseball players as well as coaches. Josh Seligman, Florida Marlins Strength and Conditioning Coordinator, said: “Phil is an excellent strength coach. He was instrumental in the development and education of our players- a few of which made it to the big leagues. Phil’s passion, knowledge, and experience made him an extremely valuable asset to our organization.” Another colleague, Gary McCoy, Florida Marlins AAA and Australian National Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coach stated: “Phil’s ability to connect with those he works with makes him a star at any level. He is knowledgeable, empathic to the needs of his athletes, and his work ethic is very impressive.”

After his time coaching with the Marlins, Phil moved back home to Texas. To gain some experience with Division 1 athletes, he became a strength and conditioning intern at the University of Texas, working with Football and Volleyball. In conjunction with his internship at Texas, he worked full time at Lifetime Fitness in Austin. Former Pro Rugby Strength Coach, Edgar Curtis, directed Phil at Lifetime Fitness, and had this to say about him: “I have known Phil Brady for several years. He demonstrated a deep understanding of the physiology behind the biomechanics and energy systems used in multi-disciplinary sports. I saw him transform many bodies from weak and imbalanced to strong, aligned and efficient. His finesse and feel separate him from most other coaches.” 

Through all of his past experiences, Phil has developed a passion for coaching that fits perfectly within Sparta's culture.

Andrew Schoneberger, CSCS

Formerly SPARTA's Director of Performance, Andrew worked closely alongside Dr. Phil Wagner to develop SPARTA's training programs. Prior to his time at SPARTA, Andrew met and trained under Dr. Wagner during his years as a two-sport athlete at UC Santa Barbara.

Andrew was recruited to play at UC Santa Barbara where he went on to lead their team as a co-captain and top-scoring left-handed driver. In 2003, he was selected to join the US National Water Polo Team for the World University Games in South Korea. Also excelling in the classroom, he received UCSB's Golden Eagle student athlete award two times. Not quite ready to give up his college athletic career and still nursing a passion for baseball, he talked UCSB's baseball coach into a tryout during his senior year. He went on to pitch for the Gauchos for two seasons (becoming a 5th year senior), making over 25 appearances out of the bullpen in the tough Big West Conference and leading the team in lowest opponent batting average his final season.

It was during those years that Andrew had the help of Dr. Wagner to retool his body from elite water polo player to NCAA Division 1 relief pitcher.

"You can't ask for a more knowledgeable or helpful mentor (than Dr. Wagner). I'd come in ready and excited to train because I could see the immediate improvement that cutting-edge, science-based training was creating on a daily basis," he said. While working on his Senior project at UCSB about effective coaching techniques, he began to see athletic performance coaching as a future career.

Following graduation, Andrew worked for several months as a performance coach intern with Dr. Wagner. But he wasn't quite done with his own athletic career. He retooled his body once again and headed to Melbourne, Australia to play a season with the Victorian Tigers professional water polo team.

Since returning to America in 2007, he's completed his national certification in strength and conditioning (CSCS) and worked side by side with Dr. Wagner, training the UCLA Men's Volleyball team and several professional and Olympic athletes. While preparing for Sparta Performance Science's opening in 2008, Andrew also developed and implemented a strength and conditioning program for a nationally ranked girl's water polo team and conditioning programs for youth and high school aquatic athletes.

Loren Chui, PhD, CSCS

Nationally recognized as a leading sports scientist, Dr. Chiu received his PhD from the University of Southern California where he worked in the prestigious Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Laboratory studying the effects of resistance training on optimal athletic performance. Widely published in his speciality, the biomechanics of force development, he has given many presentations at the national level. Dr. Chiu also serves on the editorial board of two major sports science journals; including The Strength and Conditioning Journal, the professional journal of the NSCA.

Dr. Chiu currently consults with sports coaches, performance training centers and performance training equipment manufacturers. In addition, he is a two-time Canadian National Champion in weight lifting and has represented his native Canada in international competitions.

Rob Wagner, PhD, CSCS

With a Ph.D in Kinesiology from Temple University, Dr. Rob Wagner has the formal training and practical experience to be called a real expert in the field of strength and conditioning. The head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Pennsylvania for 14 years, Dr. Wagner coached multiple Ivy League championship teams including, Football, Wrestling, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, and Women’s Soccer. In his time at Penn, he also guided individual athletes to personal success in the NFL, NBA, MLB and the Olympics.

A six-time National Powerlifting Champion himself, Rob’s certifications include; a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, a Senior-Level Coach from USA Weightlifting and a Level 1 coach from USA Track and Field.

He also served as Chair of the USA Powerlifting Coaches Committee until 2004. A national speaker and author of over 40 articles, Dr. Wagner focuses his writing on Strength and Conditioning programming and training techniques.

These days, Dr. Wagner is an owner and strength and conditioning coach at the Parisi Speed School at Oceanside Wellness & Sport. He also teaches Biology, Kinesiology, Anatomy and Physiology at the Atlantic County Institute of Technology.

Matt Brughelli, PhD, CSCS

Matt began his coaching career by volunteering and taking internships at numerous colleges, private facilities and institutions. He first developed his passion for coaching while volunteering at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. From 2003-2006 Matt served as the head strength coach at Sacred Heart Cathedral High School in San Francisco. During this time he worked with WCAL, CSCS, NorCal and state championship teams (Div III).

Matt completed his BS in Exercise Science at CSU San Diego in 2001, and his MS in Exercise Physiology from CSU Hayward in 2004. He recently completed his PhD in Biomechanics from Edith Cowan University (Perth, Australia) while working with an elite team of coaches and researchers from 2006-2009. Over a three year period Matt had 13 articles submitted and accepted for publication in international peer-review journals, and has presented his research at international conferences. Matt also served as an international reviewer for various peer-reviewed journals in the areas of sports medicine and strength and conditioning.

Over the last two years, Matt has been involved with consulting for Olympic and professional sports clubs in Australia, Spain and Tunisia. Some of the clubs that Matt has worked with include: Osasuna FC, Melbourne Storm, and Tunisia National Volleyball and Basketball. His areas of consulting include: assessment, prevention and rehabilitation of muscle strain injuries, as well as strength and power development.