Georgia's First Ever Sports Combine for Elite Youth Track &Field Athletes
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Georgia's first-ever track & field combine featured 33 of the state's finest athletes, including Georgia State Champions, State record holders, USATF and AAU Junior Olympic Champions, and All-Americans, ages 9-18. (photo by Dan McCauley)
Athletes powered through a series of drills designed to test and evaluate their endurance, speed, power, flexibility, and agility. Life University research faculty compiled the performance data, which included body composition and competition anxiety, as part of its study of the growth and development of athletes who consistently outperform their peers. The combine will take place annually to allow for the evaluation of the maturation of high-performing youth athletes.
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Flying High - The USATF National Discus Champion exhibited prowess in the broad jump. (Photo by Dan McCauley)
The combine was jointly hosted by Ian Dube and Pamela Hudson, of Oval Street Productions, and the Sport Health Science Department of Life University; Department faculty included Catherine Faust, PhD, Department Chair and head coach of Life University's women's cross country team; and Mark Kovacs, PhD. The athlete selection committee included Kevin Young, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist and 400m hurdles world record-holder; Ron Williams, Head Coach, 2014 IOC Youth Olympic Games; Dominic Demeritte, 2004 World Indoor Champion, 200m dash, and an experienced set of youth coaches, Monica Ross, Sapphire Ruff-Riders Track Club; Tony Dunning, First Light Track Club; and, Korrey Hammonds, Job Corps.
The Distance guys shine in the VO2 Max Beep Test. No surprise who was the last man standing - The State XC Champion. (Photo by Dan McCauley)
