USOC Hosting Training Design Symposium For Elite Coaches

USOC Hosting Training Design Symposium For Elite Coaches@USOC

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- More than 85 elite and emerging elite coaches have gathered at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for the 2007 Training Design Symposium. The symposium, which runs through Friday, April 6, is being hosted by the USOC's Performance Services Division.

The coaches are receiving training insights on such topics as preparation, pre-competition training, recovery, over-training, strength training, psychological training and nutrition.

"This symposium allows top summer and winters sports coaches to gain a better understanding of those training design elements that are critical to athlete success," said Doug Ingram, USOC Managing Director of Performance Services. "By engaging in this program, we hope that the coaches will walk away with the insight needed to further their own training methods and advance their coaching knowledge."

The three-day seminar includes some of the leading coaches and experts in their respective fields. The lineup includes the University of Illinois', Gary Winckler, now in his 22nd year guiding the women's track and field program, who will be discussing the preparation phase of elite-athlete training. Winkler is a five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year selection who has coached six different athletes to 11 individual honors and was the 1997 head coach for USA Track & Field's World Championship team.

Other guest speakers include: Sue Enquist, the recently retired UCLA softball coach who guided the program to 11 NCAA titles; Dr. Inigo Mujika, a renowned endurance coach who helped train five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Endurain; Cliff English, national coach of USA Triathlon; and Dr. Gloria Balague, who directs the Sports Psychology Services offered at the University of Illinois at Chicago Sports Medicine Center & Human Performance Lab.

USOC speakers include biomechanist and Athlete Recovery Center leader Dr. Bill Sands, physiologists Dr. Randy Wilber and Michael Shannon, sports dietician Bob Seebohar, and strength coach Mike Favre.