CONVENTION UPDATE: Endurance Symposiums

REMINDER: The early registration discount for the USTFCCCA Convention ends two weeks from today – November 30 at 11:59pm CT. Register now before rates increase!

NEW ORLEANS – The 2015 USTFCCCA Convention from December 15-18 at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, will serves as an opportunity for endurance coaches to attend Symposium sessions – presented by Connor Sports – featuring some of the nation’s premier experts.

As with the other disciplines – jumps, sprints/hurdles/relays, throws – eight prominent endurance coaches will give hour-long presentations on specific aspects of their areas of expertise, available to all attendees registered for the convention.

Leading these technical sessions at the convention will be:

Scott Christensen, Stillwater High School – Over the past 34 years, few coaches have been as successful at the high school level than what Christensen has done at Stillwater. Christensen has won 11 state titles and in 1997, his team was named the National High School Champions in Cross Country. During that span of 34 years, five of his milers have won the state 1,600-meter title and since 2003, four different Stillwater alums have run sub-four minutes for the mile. Christensen worked 13 years as an instructor in the USATF Level II Endurance Schools from 1997-2010 and is currently serving as the lead instructor of the Specialist Certification Course of the USTFCCCA Track & Field Academy. His topic is “Fatigue Determines Endurance Performance – The Training Application.”

Dave Emmans, Wayzata High School – Emmans turned the girls cross country program at Wayzata High School into a powerhouse. After winning the school’s first Minnesota Class AA state title in cross country in 2012, the team went back to back to back and captured titles in 2013 and 2014. It was also in 2013 where Wayzata won the Nike Cross Nationals team title, becoming the first team from outside the state of New York to win it. His topic is “The Changing Dynamics of Volume, Intensity and Density.”

Rick Hammer, Edinboro – Replacing a legend is never easy, but Hammer is trying his best at Edinboro in the stead of Doug Watts. Hammer is in his third year with the program and the team is progressing under his watch. He came to Edinboro after a four-year tenure at Lewis, where he coached more than 40 runners to All-GLVC honors in track & field and cross country. His topic is “Training Today’s Cross Country Athlete.”

Lance Harter, Arkansas – It was a great 2014-15 academic year for Harter and his Arkansas Razorbacks. After being inducted into the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame in December, his women won the NCAA Indoor team title in front of its home crowd, the university’s first women’s national title in any sport. Harter’s prodigy Dominique Scott was a national champion in the 3K, anchored the DMR and was runner-up outdoors in the 5K and 10K. Before taking over at Arkansas, Harter was successful at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, leading teams to 14 NCAA Division II titles. His topic is “Development the Arkansas Way – Evolving the Average Athlete to Elite Status.”

Stanley Redwine, Kansas – Redwine is a former world-class distance runner turned national-championship-winning coach. The five-time IAAF World Championships team member and two-time USATF 800-meter champion was among the world’s best during his competitive heyday. As a coach, his Kansas Jayhawks have been stellar. Redwine has coached 15 NCAA individual champions, 98 individual Big 12 champions, 153 All-Americans and four Olympians. In 2013, his team won its first NCAA Outdoor team title in school history and he was named the Women’s Head Coach of the Year. His topic is “Training for the 800.”

Lisa Senakiewich, Michigan State – In five years as an assistant coach and now associate head coach with the Spartans, Senakiewich has seen her share of success. She helped guide Michigan State to a cross country title in 2014, its first in program history. That team was led by four All-Americans, including fifth-place finisher Rachele Schulist. Senakiewich also helped mold Leah O’Connor, who completed her career in 2015 with a third-place finish in the steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor meet, one year after winning the title. Senakiewich’s topic is “Developing a Cross Country Team at MSU.”

Patrick Shane, BYU – In his 35 years at BYU, Shane has seen his share of success. In 1997, the women’s cross country team became the first women’s team in BYU history to win a national title. The Cougars didn’t stop at one as they won in 1999, 2001 and 2002. Those four national titles headline a strong run that included 19 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. BYU also won 24 conference titles under his watch. His topic is to be determined.

Derek Stanley, UW-La Crosse – Since 2012, the UW-La Cross men’s cross country team has been a mainstay at the national level, large in part to what Stanley has done as head coach. The Eagles have recorded four top-4 finishes at the NCAA Division III meet in Stanley’s first three years – fourth in 2012 and third in 2013 and 2014. Both the men’s and women’s team has been strong at the conference level as well, cleaning up countless Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championships. His topic is “Individualizing Training Based on Lactate Testing.”

Convention-goers can attend one-hour presentations from these coaches beginning Tuesday, December 15, at 1:00 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. Presentations will continue Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.; and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The full schedule is available here.

Registration for the 2015 USTFCCCA Convention is now open.