Robert Sausaman is in his second year on the Mizzou staff, serving as the Director of Applied Performance. Sausaman brings nearly a decade of coaching experience at multiple levels to Mizzou, including a stint in the NFL. The veteran coach most recently worked as the Director of Sport Science/Performance with the women’s soccer program at East Tennessee State from 2016-19.
At East Tennessee State, Sausaman worked with the women’s soccer program as the Director of Sport Science and Performance, as well as serving as a Sport Performance Coach for Olympic athletes training at ETSU’s U.S. Olympic Training Site. At ETSU, Sausaman constructed and directed an annual training plan for his athletes, incorporating strength, speed, power, endurance and flexibility.
Prior to his time at ETSU, the Gainesville, Fla., native spent one season as a Strength & Conditioning Associate with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2015), where he assisted in strength training, conditioning, speed development and performance testing sessions. Sausaman also played a key role in the team’s athlete performance and recovery education, and was responsible for data collection and input for coaching reports used by the Jaguars coaching staff.
Sausaman first broke into the coaching world at his alma mater, Memphis, where he served as the lead assistant coach for five seasons (2010-15). For the Tigers, Sausaman developed and directed team technical and tactical training sessions, and acted as the program’s sports performance liaison.
Sausaman holds four degrees, earning a B.A. in Finance (2009), an M.B.A. (2011) and M.S. in Sport & Leisure Commerce (2012) from Memphis, as well as a Ph.D in Sport Performance from East Tennessee State (2019). Sausaman played soccer collegiately at Memphis (2005-08), where he was as two-time Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District IV Team recipient.
