DeeDee Trotter coach, sprint coaching

It’s a pleasure to welcome a true pioneer to Sports Coach Radio this week. Caryl Smith Gilbert is one of the very few women in the world to lead a major sports program for both men and women.

She’s director of track and field at the perennial powerhouse University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, as well as having coached at the London Olympics. One of her charges – multiple medalist DeeDee Trotter, is now an assistant coach at USC.

Before joining the Trojans in 2013, Coach Smith Gilbert was six-time Conference USA Coach of the Year at the University of Central Florida. Prior to that, she held senior coaching positions at Tennessee, Alabama and Penn State.

Coach Smith Gilbert hails from the great state of Colorado, where she was two-time state champion in the 200-meter dash and long jump and a three-time champion in the 100-meter dash.  She went on to become a three-time All-American at UCLA.

Track & Field coaching, sprint coaching, DeeDee Trotter coach, values and principles, coaching philosophy, gender issues in coaching, athlete-to-coach transition,