Speed Symposium in April 2009

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-

  1. 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.

Some big names speaking there. What’s the Bear been up to since Allison left to train with Kersee?

Talking about Allyson.

Yes Felix…

lol, no. i meant that’s what Barry has been up to the past few years. still talking about Allyson Felix

As of right now I plan on being there…Anyone else?

hahahaha :smiley:

Barry Ross is not an expert

Randy, hope you manage to get there. Sounds like a lot of people with their own agendas but there is sure to be a lot of information coming out of there. Information though is not necessarily knowledge (my own interpretation: Information + Experience = Knowledge).