Adam Ross is an owner and co-founder of Forge Athletics and Recreation as well as the creator and director of the Forge Futures and Forge Performance Academy youth athletic development programming.  Currently serving as the Chair and an Associate Professor within the Kinesiology Department at Dallas Baptist University, he continues to be fueled by a passion for health and human performance, specifically, the development of athletes and individuals across the age and experience spectrum. Coach Ross was recently a contributing author in the 2nd Edition of Developing Speed, a book published by Human Kinetics, an international leader in multi-form information and education provider and has served for the past 5 years as a Chair and Vice Chair of the Baseball Special Interest Group for the National Strength and Conditioning Association. 

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Coach Ross' passion for athletic performance and the sport of baseball merged through his professional pursuits in private, collegiate, and professional strength and conditioning. Coach Ross graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 2008, where he was also a starting pitcher for their nationally ranked baseball team, a senior captain, a William B. Wise scholar-athlete and a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He received his degree in Sports Medicine and interned with Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, where he began his career working with middle school, high school, college and elite level professional athletes.

 

After his time with Coach Boyle, Coach Ross pursued a graduate degree from Baylor University in Exercise Physiology and served as a graduate assistant instructor in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation at Baylor University and worked with a variety of athletic teams in their strength and conditioning programming. 

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Following his degree program at Baylor University, Coach Ross also spent time in professional baseball, coaching the 2010 season within the Houston Astros' organization as the strength and conditioning coach with their AA affiliate in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was mentored by Dr. Gene Coleman, the first strength coach in Major League Baseball, and was responsible for the in-season programming and implementation of their strength and conditioning program as well as assisting the athletic trainer with rehabilitation protocols.

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Prior to arriving at DBU in the summer of 2014, Coach Ross spent three-and-a-half years as an Assistant Strength and Speed Coach at Florida State University. While at FSU, Ross was responsible for the design and implementation of the strength and speed programs for the Seminoles’ baseball and women’s golf teams.

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Prior to his current academic role, Coach Ross served as the first Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Dallas Baptist University Athletics from 2014-2016. Then, from 2016-2019 he served in a dual role in as an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology while continuing to serve as the Athletic Performance Coach for DBU Baseball. 

 

During his time in athletic performance, from 2011-2023, Coach Ross has helped develop over 80 athletes that have gone on to have professional careers in their respective sport, with over 75 of those coming from those selected in the MLB Draft. 

Coach Ross is a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and United States Association of Weightlifting Certified Sports Performance Coach (USAW-SP1). He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) through the NSCA and a Titleist Performance Institute Certified Level 2 Fitness Professional (TPI-FP2). 

 

Coach Ross, his wife Laura, and his two sons have been a part of the Midlothian community since 2014. He has served the community as a volunteer on the Midlothian Amateur Baseball Association Board of Directors as the Vice President, President, and Treasurer over the past 2.5 years.