Can anyone from CF.com attend this and give us a report?
http://smu.edu/education/wellness/speed/
SMU Human Performance Symposium
A Cross-Examination of the Science and Practice of Speed Training
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS
PETER WEYAND, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Applied Physiology and Biomechanics, SMU
Dr. Peter Weyand on the importance of hosting this symposium:
"The information pipeline between the practitioners engaged in daily
efforts to develop athleticism and the academicians interested in
advancing the understanding of human speed performance is not as well-
developed as it could be. By bringing together the leading scientific
authorities and cutting-edge practitioners, we hope to begin
expanding the information pipeline, knowledge and opportunity."
Dr. Weyand is a physiologist and biomechanist who joined SMU’s
Department of Wellness in 2008. Weyand has studied the basis of
locomotor performance in humans and many other animal species,
including chipmunks, emus, antelope and others. He brings a broad
biological perspective, expertise in both physiology and
biomechanics, and an extensive background in athletics to
considerations of human performance.
Weyand earned his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of
Georgia in 1992.
He subsequently directed research efforts at Harvard University’s
Concord Field Station, a large animal facility specializing in
terrestrial locomotion and later the Locomotion Laboratory of Rice
University. Weyand has also served as a Senior Research Fellow at the
US Army’s Research Institute for Environmental Medicine and as a
television science analyst for the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics Science Media Group.
Weyand is an expert in the locomotion of humans and other terrestrial
animals with broad research interests that focus on the relationships
between muscle function, metabolic energy expenditure, whole body
mechanics and performance. An expert in the scientific basis of gait
and movement, his global interests in muscles and movement have made
energy and performance central themes throughout his research career.
This research and expertise on the limits of human and animal
performance have led to featured appearances on CNN, NHK Television
in Japan, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The History Channel,
City TV of Toronto, CBS Boston and others.
His specific expertise on the mechanical basis of sprint running
performance led to his involvement in the "Michael Johnson, Wired
Athlete" project undertaken in conjunction with FitSense Inc. and NBC
prior to the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
In 2008, Weyand served as a lead investigator and the host of the
scientific team who performed the experimental work to appeal the
Olympic/IAAF ban of double amputee, South African sprinter, Oscar
Pistorius, aka the “blade runner” to the International Court of Sport
Arbitration in Lausanne, Switzerland.
FRANS BOSCH, Ph.D.
Professor
Fontys University for Applied Science in The Netherlands
Dr. Frans Bosch, a professor of biomechanics and motor learning at
Fontys University for Applied Science in The Netherlands, is also the
co-author of the outstanding book "Running Biomechanics and Exercise
Physiology Applied in Practice. Bosch produced the acclaimed
DVD, “Running: The BK Method.” Bosch was the national team coach of
The Netherlands from 2003-2006. He also served on that country’s
Olympic staff in 2000 and 2004.
MATT BUNDLE, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Division of Health and Kinesiology
University of Wyoming
Dr. Matt Bundle earned his Bachelors degree from Harvard University,
and for his doctoral work he studied the aerodynamics and muscle
physiology of bird flight at the University of Montana’s Flight
Laboratory. Bundle is an expert in human and animal locomotion who
has been invited to speak at NASA, USA Track and Field and other
scientific conferences around the world. Bundle and one of his long-
standing collaborators, Dr. Peter Weyand, have been actively
investigating the mechanical limits to top speed running, and the
muscle physiology responsible for the decrements in run performance
that occur as the duration of sprinting lengthens from seconds to
minutes. Their work on these topics has appeared in top physiological
journals, led to patented discoveries, and advanced the basic and
applied understanding of sprinting performance. Bundle’s interest in
improving the training for, and understanding of, running
performance, stems from his competitive running career and his
service as the captain of the Harvard Track and Field and Cross
Country teams. Bundle currently serves as the Director of the
University of Wyoming’s Biomechanics Laboratory.
JESUS DaPENA, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Kinesiology
Indiana University
Jesus DaPena has a Ph.D. in biomechanics from the University of Iowa
where he studied under famed biomechanist Jim Hay. His specialty is
the biomechanics of track and field. He has analyzed the techniques
of high jumpers at National USATF Championships, the World
Championships, and the Olympic Games, and he performs yearly
technique analyses of the top American high jumpers for USATF. Most
of DaPena’s research has focused on high jumping, but he has also
studied the mechanics of the four throws, hurdling, and the sprint
start, as well as other sports.
Currently, DaPena is working on a research project on the mechanics
of full-speed sprinting. DaPena’s research has earned him awards from
the International Olympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and
the International Society for Biomechanics in Sports.
VERN GAMBETTA
Director
Gambetta Sports Training Systems
Vern Gambetta is currently the Director of Gambetta Sports Training
Systems. He is recognized internationally as an expert in training
and conditioning for sport, having worked with world class athletes
and teams in a wide variety of sports. Gambetta was a conditioning
coach in Major League Soccer as well as a conditioning consultant to
the U.S. Men’s World Cup Soccer. He is also the former Director of
Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox and Director of Athletic
Development for the New York Mets. He received his BA from Fresno
State University and earned an MA degree from Stanford University.
CLYDE HART
Director of Track and Field Coach
Baylor University
In 2005, after 42 years as Baylor’s head track and field coach, Clyde
Hart became Baylor’s Director of Track and Field. Hart’s four-plus
decades of leadership have seen Baylor track and field reach
monumental heights while earning a worldwide reputation as "Quarter-
Miler U."
His pupils have captured three of the last four Olympic gold medals
in the 400M with Jeremy Wariner winning the event in 2004 and Michael
Johnson capturing Olympic gold in 1996 and 2000. All told, Hart has
coached eight Olympians who have won a total of nine Olympic gold,
one silver, and two bronze medals.
From the time he took over the program from his mentor, Jack
Patterson, in 1964, through the 2008 season, Hart has coached 32
national champions (14 individual and 18 relay) and 503 All-America
performances – 381 men’s All-America honorees (129 individual and
252 relay) and 122 women’s All-Americans (45 individual and 77
relay). His men’s 4x400M relay teams have earned outdoor All-America
status for 29 consecutive years and captured 18 NCAA titles. His 2004
4x400M relay team set a then-NCAA indoor record with a 3:03.96
clocking and his 1997 unit set a then-World Record at the Big 12
Outdoor Championships. All told, Hart’s teams have turned in 10 World-
record performances (nine individual and one relay) and nine NCAA
record efforts.
Those accomplishments are just a few in a long list by Hart, a coach
widely regarded as one of the best in the country. Selected as USA
Track & Field’s 2004 and 2006 Nike Coach of the Year, Hart is a
member of the Baylor Wall of Honor, the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame,
the USA Track & Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Texas
Sports Hall of Fame and the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame. He served
as an assistant coach on the United States’ 2000 Olympic team and was
named the U.S. Olympic Committee’s National Track & Field Coach of
the Year in 1996, 2004 and 2006.
KEN JAKALSKI
CEO
Faster than Gravity Speed Enhancement
Ken Jakalski has been coaching cross country and track and field at
the high school level for 34 years. He is President of the Illinois
Coaches Association, CEO of Faster than Gravity Speed Enhancement,
and former coaching education chairman for Illinois United States
Track and Field. He is a member of the Illinois Track and Cross
Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame, a three-time recipient of
the ITCCCA Coach of the Year award, and a recipient of the 1989
Franklin Life Golden Clipboards Award for over 100 team victories in
both cross country and track.
Jakalski has been Host/Director/Keynote Speaker to five specialty
clinics offered through the Illinois Coaches Association as well as
an author of numerous articles related to conditioning, speed
enhancement, and endurance training. He has presented seminars on
speed training to coaches associations across the country and has
served as a member of the IHSA Track and Field Advisory Committee as
well as Meet Manager for the 1998 USATF National Cross Country
Championships. He was a 2007 National High School Coaches Association
Finalist for Coach of the Year.
RALPH MANN, Ph.D.
Sports Performance Analysis Consulting
An authority in the field of sports biomechanics, Dr. Ralph Mann has
analyzed the performance of top amateur and professional athletes in
numerous sports, including track and field, golf, baseball, football
and horse racing. He was a world-class track and field athlete,
winning numerous national and international championships, including
an Olympic silver medal in the 400M Hurdles. Following a tenured
teaching and research career at the University of Kentucky, Mann
began a consulting career that specialized in sports performance
analysis.
In 1982, Mann was one of the six individuals who created the Elite
Athlete Program that brought sports science to USA Track and Field
and has since served as the Director of the Elite Athlete Sprint and
Hurdle Program. Every elite sprinter and hurdler during this time
period has been biomechanically analyzed, with the goal of
understanding the characteristics of great sprinters and hurdlers.
This information has been used to evaluate and improve the
performance of virtually every US sprint/hurdle athlete since the
program’s inception.
Mann holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.) and Biomechanics
(Ph.D). In addition, he has developed two patents, authored numerous
articles in both scientific and trade publications, and presented at
a wide variety of national and international scientific and teaching
conferences.
CALVIN MORRISS, Ph.D.
Senior National Fitness Coach
Rugby Football Union
Dr. Calvin Morriss is Senior National Fitness Coach with the Rugby
Football Union of the United Kingdom. He currently directs the
Strength and Conditioning program for the England Senior Squad and
has been involved with various England rugby teams since 2002,
including the successful Rugby World Cup squads of 2003 and 2007.
Previously, Morriss was Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for UK-
Athletics, which included overseeing the fitness programs of many
Olympic athletes. His time supporting British athletes ran from 1990-
- Morriss also has a Ph.D. in Sports Biomechanics from Manchester
Metropolitan University in the UK.
BARRY ROSS
Author and Founder of BearPowered.com
Barry Ross is a freelance coach and author of "Underground Secrets To
Faster Running" and is one of the developers of Asrspeed.com, an
online training site that uses a patented algorithm for speed
enhancement. He is also the founder of Bearpowered.com, a speed and
strength training company.
Ross served as the high school strength coach of Olympic sprint
silver medalist and two-time world champion Allyson Felix and
numerous other nationally and internationally ranked athletes in a
variety of sports. Over the last five years, Ross has collaborated
with scientists to develop a unique strength training protocol based
upon the most recent research available.
GARY WINCKLER
Former Head Coach Women’s Track and Field
University of Illinois
After the 2008 track and field season, Gary Winckler retired after 23
seasons as head coach of the Illinois women’s track and field team.
While at Illinois, Winckler’s teams won a total of 11 Big Ten
Championships, and he built a reputation as one of the nation’s
premier developers of student-athletes both on and off the track.
Additionally, Winckler was named Big Ten Coach of the Year 11 times
and National Coach of the Year once. Under Winckler’s leadership,
Illini athletes won 265 individual Big Ten titles and 46 earned All-
America recognition 186 times.
As a coach, Winckler is nationally recognized for his ability to
consistently produce extraordinary athletes. Over his career at
Illinois and Florida State, Winckler turned out over 300 All-
Americans, and coached athletes to eight collegiate record-breaking
performances, including Perdita Felicien’s 60m hurdles time of 7.90
seconds set in 2002. In addition, Winckler has coached 13 different
athletes who have reached the Olympic Games in the sprints, hurdles
or relays and have won gold, silver and bronze medals. Dating back to
1992, athletes coached by Winckler have appeared in every World
Championship and Olympic Game.
