Head coach Rich Ellerson added a familiar face to his original West Point staff in March 2009 when he announced the hiriing of Joe Ross as an assistant. Ross is a 1995 West Point graduate and was a three-year letterwinner for the Black Knights from 1992 to 1994. The Cumberland, Md., native serves as Army's assistant special teams coach, working with Ellerson in developing the Black Knights' kicking game. He also focuses on the fullbacks, a position he played in his final two years at West Point.
One of Ross' charges, current fullback Jared Hassin, posted the 14th 1,000-yard season in Black Knights' history in 2010 (1,013 yards), becoming only the second sophomore ever to reach the milestone at West Point.
Ross played in 37 games during his West Point career, rushing for 1,089 yards and five touchdowns. He rushed for 721 yards on 158 attempts as a senior. Ross was nominated as the ESPN Hero of the Game during the 1994 Army-Navy classic, and was voted the team's co-captain. He remained at West Point for his first assignment as an assistant strength coach following graduation.
Ross' initial troop assignment in 1997 was with 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, where he served as a rifle platoon leader, executive officer, and support platoon leader. Following the Captain's Career Course, he served as the 2nd Brigade, 101st Division Adjutant from September 1999 to May 2000 under Gen. Robert Caslen, former West Point Commandant. Ross commanded Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion 502nd Infantry Regiment from May 2000 to January 2002, and completed a deployment to Kosovo. The Secretary of the Army commended Ross' unit for capturing two insurgents on the Central Intelligence Agency's top 10 most wanted list, bringing the Serbian and Albanian leadership together to start the dialogue of reconciliation, and preventing an armed conflict in Macedonia that would have threatened the NATO peace process.
After commanding troops, Ross attended graduate school at Springfield College where he received a master's degree in athletic counseling in May 2003. While at Springfield, Ross worked with the football program as fullbacks coach during the 2002 season. In addition, he served as a strength coach for Commerce High School in Springfield, Mass., as part of the Play It Smart Program, sponsored by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, Inc.
Ross returned to West Point in April 2003, serving as the liaison to the Army football team and Director of the Military Enhancement Program at the Academy's Center for Enhanced Performance. Ross designed and co-taught an upper level elective course for 21st Century Warriors and conducted team-building workshops with a variety of teams including the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association.
Ross advised the U.S. Army on developing and building a standardized framework for educating and training all military personnel about the intangible skills of performance. He is responsible for helping write the Soldier's Creed and creating innovative training techniques to develop multi-skilled leaders with agile and adaptive mindsets in order to improve military performance as part of the Army transformation in October 2003. In addition, Ross spearheaded the proposal, development, and execution of the Army Center for Enhanced Performance (ACEP), an Army-wide lifelong peak performance program for all Army soldiers and families. Senior Army officials validated the plan in 2005 and initiated its execution in August 2006. As part of a Presidential committee, Ross designed a holistic care plan in October 2007 for transitioning wounded soldiers back into the Army or civilian life as part of the Army Medical Action Plan.
As a respected Academy graduate, Ross served on a 10-member panel selected by the Superintendent in 2007 to help develop a strategic plan for continuing the winning tradition of Army football.
Ross served 14 years in the military and was retired with the rank of Major in March 2008. He is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Infantry Captain's Career Course, Combined Arms Services Staff School, Basic Airborne School, Bradley Leader Course, Air Assault School, and Ranger School.
Ross' military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf, the Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the National Defense Service Ribbon with one oak leaf cluster, the Kosovo Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Basic Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Ranger Tab and the Expert Infantry Badge.
Ross served as a performance consultant in the Hartford, Conn., and Springfield, Mass., metro areas before returning to his alma mater. Currently, Ross is working on his doctoral degree in Organizational Psychology from Walden University. Ross and his wife, Sherri, have two sons, JP and Joey, and a daughter, Lilah. The family resides at West Point.
