Wilson to Attend USATF/USOC Elite Coaching Camp
KEENE, N.H. 7/13/09 - Kids aren’t the only ones who attend camp during the summer. Keene State assistant track coach Darcy Wilson has been selected to participate in the United States Track and Field and Olympic Committee (USATF/USOC) Emerging Elite Coaching Camp at the Arco Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., from July 18-23.
Wilson, who specializes in throwing events, is one of 20 coaches in each field event picked to attend the week-long camp. “It’s a really exciting opportunity,” said the Westmoreland, N.H., native. “I’m looking forward to fine tuning my knowledge and returning home and working with KSC athletes Bryan Kolacz and Nick White and other potential recruits.”
Camp Director Mike Holman, who initiated the program 12 years ago, and his staff go through the list of quality applicants and nominations, looking for coaches that have shown the ability to develop athletes in particular areas. “We’re trying to take that group and broaden our base of coaches in the country,” he said. “We want to help them touch more athletes and hopefully get them to develop Olympians and world champions.”
Wilson will not only rub shoulders with some of the top coaches in the country, but she’ll learn from a star-studded staff that includes Harold Connolly, a multiple world-record holder and the 1956 Olympic hammer throwing champ, and Ramona Pagel, a four-time Olympian in the shot put.
“I plan on filling my notebook,” said Wilson, who is required to submit a follow-up report in the spring, detailing how she has implemented the information received while attending the camp. “A vast majority of high schools around the country don’t have hammer and javelin, so it’s critical we find coaches to develop those athletes,” said Holman.
Wilson, set to begin her third season at Keene State, has been instrumental in developing a top-notch Owl throwing program. Last spring, Kolacz was the national Division III champion in the hammer throw while Dave Colina and Samantha Hirsch both qualified for the nationals in the javelin event. Wilson’s daughter, Kelsey Huckins, is also a nationally ranked thrower at Boston College.
This won’t be Wilson’s first trip to an Olympic training center. As an athlete at Keene High School and later at Boston University, she attended training sites at Colorado Springs and Lake Placid.
