Coach Poole

Coach Poole (also a physiology teacher) was a great teacher, coach and most of all a great man! Not only did he inspire me to run track in 7th grade (at Churchill Jr. High) but he is a great mentor and friend. Skyline took 'State' our first two seasons ('71 and '72) while I was at Skyline. He went on to coach numerous Skyline teams  to state championships until 1980 before taking the BYU women's track head coaching job.

Thirty plus years as
Head Coach for BYU's Women's Track

Under his guidance, the Cougar track team has recorded an almost perfect record on conference and regional levels and has consistently been national contenders. Since 1983, his teams have won all eight HCAC crowns, seventeen of eighteen WAC titles, nine of ten MWC indoor titles and seven of eight MWC outdoor titles since the inception of the conference in 1999.

Awarded the 2006 Cougar Club Dale Rex Memorial Award for his success as a coach, Craig Poole has coached six individual National Champions: Christy Opara in the Long Jump, Anu Kalijurand in the Heptathlon, Tiffany Lott-Hogan in the Heptathlon, Anna Mosdell in the Discus, Amy Menlove in the Pentathlon and Lacey Cramer in the 800-meters. During his 30 years at BYU he has coached 81 athletes to All-American status.

Pooles athletes have earned a total of 165 All-American honors and 18 of his athletes have been named National Champions.
Poole has been honored as the MWC Coach of the Year seven times, including the 2009 season, and WAC Coach of the Year 10 times. He also received HCAC Coach of the Year and IAC Coach of the Year awards.

In 2004, Coach Poole was the head coach for the United States at the World University Games in Beijing, China. He also served as coach and advisor to the Taiwan National team at the Asian & World Championships in 1987 and technical coach for Taiwan at the Asian games in 1991. He served on the coaching staff for the West Team at the 1989 Olympic Festival and as head coach for the U.S. National Team vs. Great Britain in 1990 and for IAAF U.S. World Indoor Championships Team in 1993.

He was named to the 2004 Olympic coaching staff, traveling to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He coached the U.S. athletes in the Heptathlon, Long Jump and Triple Jump.

Poole is a respected force in USA Track and Field where he is the National Development Chair, a position he has filled for over ten years. He now has an additional role as the Multi Events Chair, responsible for the national development of the long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault and heptathlon. He was a member of the NCAA Rules Committee.

In 1993, he was the head womens USA Coach at the World Championships in Toronto, Canada.
Poole received an Ed.D. in physical education and educational administration from the University of Utah in 1970. He is a full-time professor at BYU in sports psychology. He is married to Sharon Woodland. The couple has four children.

STATS:

• 30th season at BYU
• Women have won 17 of 19 indoor and 26 of 28 outdoor conference championships under Coach Poole
• Named MWC Coach of the Year seven times
• Coached more than 160 All-Americans
• U.S. head coach at World University Games and World Championships
• U.S. Olympic Coach at Athens, Greece
• Coached six Olympians

After BYU

INDIANAPOLIS - Longtime Brigham Young University Head Coach Craig Poole has been named the new Head Coach for the USA Track & Field Resident Program at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center in California.

The U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista (CVOTC), near San Diego, is a 150-acre facility dedicated to the development of Olympians and Olympic hopefuls. Opened in 1995, the CVOTC serves athletes year-round in a variety of sports. Some athletes are residents of the center training in residence on campus a year at a time, while others access the facilities for short term programs.

As head coach of the USATF Resident Program, Poole's responsibilities include coaching staff and athlete training supervision and oversight of USATF programs conducted at the Olympic Training Center. His responsibilities will also include, but are not limited to, individual coaching in a specialty area, planning and oversight of the budget for the program, scheduling, and training plans for all resident athletes.

"We are pleased to have coach Poole join USATF to lead our efforts at the Training Center," said Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, Chief of Sport Performance with USATF. "His experience and record of success made him an easy choice for this important position as we look to provide the resources needed for our athletes, particularly in the throwing and jumping events, as they prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games in London."

Since taking over the BYU women's track program in 1980, Poole has built a program that is consistently among the best in the nation. Poole's athletes have earned a total of 169 All-American honors and 14 of his athletes have earned 18 National Championships.

Under his guidance, the Cougar track team has recorded an almost perfect record on conference and regional levels and has consistently been national contenders. Since 1983, his teams have won all eight HCAC crowns, seventeen of eighteen WAC titles, nine of 11 MWC indoor titles and nine of 11 MWC outdoor titles since the inception of the conference in 1999.

Poole has been honored as the MWC Coach of the Year nine times, including the 2010 indoor and outdoor seasons, and WAC Coach of the Year 10 times. He also received HCAC Coach of the Year and IAC Coach of the Year awards.

In 2004, Coach Poole was the head coach for the United States at the World University Games in Beijing, China. He also served as coach and advisor to the Taiwan National team at the Asian & World Championships in 1987 and technical coach for Taiwan at the Asian games in 1991. He served on the coaching staff for the West Team at the 1989 Olympic Festival and as head coach for the U.S. National Team vs. Great Britain in 1990 and for the U.S. World Indoor Championships Team in 1993.

He was named to the 2004 Olympic coaching staff, traveling to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where he led the U.S. athletes in the Heptathlon, Long Jump and Triple Jump.

Poole is a respected force in USA Track & Field where he served as the Development Coordinator for the women's combined events for over ten years.

Poole received an Ed.D. in physical education and educational administration from the University of Utah in 1970. He is a full-time professor at BYU in sports psychology. He is married to Sharon Woodland. The couple has four children.

View Coach Poole's latest news at http://www.usatf.org/groups/HighPerformance/AthleteDevelopment/OlympicTrainingCenters.asp

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