Martin appointed as USTFCCCA DII Chairman
Selected by peers to act as representative for all of DII cross country and track & field
NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) has announced that Adams State Director of Cross Country & Track Field Damon Martin has been selected by his peers to become the next Division II Executive Council Chairman during the association’s annual convention, which took place in San Antonio, from Dec. 12-15.
Martin, who has well over 20 years of Division II head coaching experience – 23 at the helm of the women’s program and 17 with the men’s – will preside over the Division II Board of Directors and, along with USTFCCCA CEO Sam Seemes, will act as the representative to the NCAA DII coaching membership of the organization.
"Im excited to serve my profession in this manner. I look forward to this new opportunity in my coaching career," said Martin of his new role. "The chairmen before me have done a tremendous job and I hope to carry that on, and am honored to have this vote of confidence from my fellow coaches."
Martin has coached 25 Adams State cross country and track & field team to national championships, and has led more than 800 student-athletes to all-American honors and 83 individual national titles. He believes that his longevity, as well as his success, will help him to a successful term as chairman.
And he’s not the only who thinks so.
“[Damon] is someone who is known and respected by all distance coaches as a leader,” commented Sterling Martin, head track & field coach at the Missouri University of Science & Technology and USTFCCCA NCAA DII Track & Field 2nd Vice President, who nominated Damon Martin for his position. “He’s someone we feel will be respected by the whole body, and that was an important trait we were looking for.”
“I’ve been involved with the organization for years, I’ve been at the meetings and conventions, and I really believe in the organization,” said Damon Martin. “It has grown so much in size and number, and has become a tremendously powerful group with more than 8,000 coaches, and we all want to make cross country and track & field better in America.”
Aaron Russell, Damon Martin’s predecessor as the chairman and co-head coach at Lock Haven (Pa.) University, will continue to serve until the summer of 2012, at which point the baton will be handed off.
Damon Martin will work with both the USTFCCCA’s Division II Cross Country and Track & Field Executive Committees, as well as the Executive Council, in overseeing issues that affect both sports, and help in guiding the direction of Division II cross country and track & field.
“We were pleasantly surprised when [Damon] said yes to being nominated for the position,” said Sterling Martin. “There was some uncertainty in the [Executive Council] about whether or not he’d accept because it involves a great deal of responsibility.
“But, we’ve had some great chairmen in the past, and I think Damon is someone who continue to grow the position,” Sterling Martin added.
Previously, Damon Martin served the then U.S. Track Coaches’ Association (USTCA) as secretary treasurer from 1993-94. He plans on shadowing current chairman Russell before taking over the position, as he believes that Russell has been a great leader for the Division II Executive Council.
Martin, whose resume includes having guided the ASC men’s cross country and track & field programs to the first three USTFCCCA DII Men’s Program of the Year Awards (2009-11), recently earned Central Regional Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year honors for the fourth straight year.
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