Featured Alumni

Alabama Soccer Association (ASA) technical director Kevin Laux said his master’s degree from the United States Sports Academy showed him the science behind coaching and ultimately led to his career in coaching education. Laux holds a Master of Sports Science degree in sports coaching from the Academy. Like many Academy students and graduates, Laux pursued his degree while working full time in the profession as an assistant women’s soccer coach at the University of Mobile (Ala.). “The Academy helped me understand that coaching is a science and an art,” Laux said. “Studying at the Academy showed me that there has been incredible research done in the field of coaching and that successful coaches don’t just go out there make it up as they go along. There is a science and [...]

When the American Distance Project (ADP) was founded more than a decade ago as a training outlet for local long distance runners in the Colorado Springs area, Scott Simmons had no idea the organization would produce multiple Olympians and world championship competitors within the next 10 years. Simmons, who is a coach at the ADP, holds a Master of Sports Science degree in sports coaching from the United States Sports Academy. Since 2011, the ADP has helped more than 50 long distance runners on Team USA, including Olympic medalists at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games. Those athletes include American distance runner Paul Chelimo, who medaled in 5,000-meter races at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Simmons credited his “transformational” education from the Academy as a [...]

United States Sports Academy doctoral degree holder Dr. Mark Janas is the cycling coach at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, N.C. He’s also a prolific inventor, innovator and writer who has written extensively for the Academy’s Sport Digest blog. Janas is the founder of RevoRace.com, a virtual event and race management platform, and he uses his expertise in the field in his latest article titled “How to Build a Collegiate Virtual Sports Program.” The piece (read it here) covers everything you need to know about just virtual sports administration - from describing the difference between “virtual sport” and Esports to giving tips and pointers on getting your college’s virtual sports program off the ground. Janas, who earned his Doctor of Education degree in Sports Management with a sports medicine emphasis [...]

An experienced lacrosse coach with more than a decade working in the collegiate ranks, United States Sports Academy graduate Emilia Ward is a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Michigan women’s lacrosse program. Ward earned her Master of Sports Science (M.S.S.) degree in sports coaching in 2014, while she worked in the field as head women’s lacrosse coach at Kalamazoo (Mich.) College. She is also the owner of Ward Lax LLC, a company hosting lacrosse camps and clinics across the country for a decade. Like many Academy students and graduates, Ward took advantage of the institution’s flexible scheduling options to continue working in the field while earning her degree. “The Academy helped me to gain my master’s degree while still working full time, allowing me to excel in the [...]

Brian Daccord has been involved in hockey at every stage of his life – playing, coaching, parenting, and in business – and at every level from youth to professional and international across three decades. Throughout his prolific career, Daccord has used what he learned in a United States Sports Academy class nearly every day. A native of Montreal, Quebec, Daccord earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports management from the Academy in 1993. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Merrimack College, where he played goaltender for the Warriors hockey team. He played seven seasons of professional hockey in the Swiss National “A” league before working as an assistant coach at Merrimack, then Saint Anselm College before joining the NHL’s Boston Bruins as goaltending coach. Daccord is also the [...]

Bethel University assistant professor and sports management program coordinator Dr. Josh Greer is using what he learned in the United States Sports Academy doctoral program to benefit his students at the Christian university in McKenzie, Tenn. Greer earned his Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree in sports management from the Academy in 2020 while he worked within Bethel’s faculty ranks. Since 2018, Greer has led the development of the university’s Bachelor of Arts degree in sports management, its sport administration emphasis for the Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), the master’s degree in sports coaching, and the school’s varsity esports program. “I really enjoyed my Academy classes and the feedback and interaction I had with faculty there,” Greer said. “Even though the classes were fully online, I was able to have great [...]

Since earning her Master of Sports Science degree in sports management from the United States Sports Academy in 2009, Karen M. Carty has worked her way up through the ranks of collegiate athletics departments. Armed with her Academy degree and more than a decade of leadership in sports marketing and media relations roles, Carty has joined the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) as its assistant commissioner for media relations.  The MEAC is an NCAA Division 1 conference with eight Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) - Maryland’s Coppin State University, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and Morgan State University; Delaware State University, Washington, D.C.’s Howard University, Virginia’s Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University. A native of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Carty moved to [...]

A former Olympic hurdler and American record holder and current collegiate track and field coach, United States Sports Academy 2016 Alumna of the Year LaTanya Sheffield is entering her second Olympic Games as a coach in Tokyo later this month. Sheffield, who earned her Bachelor of Sports Science degree in sports management magna cum laude from the Academy in 2011, is the head women’s track and field coach at Long Beach State University and is a women’s assistant coach for Team USA’s sprinters and hurdlers. Sheffield makes her return to the Olympics after serving the same role for Team USA in the Rio 2016 games. Sheffield said her Academy education has been important to her success as a coach. “It made sense for me to pursue my degree at the [...]

Nationally acclaimed sports administrator and high performance professional Scott Novack is entering his seventh Olympic Games later this month in Tokyo as the Team Leader for the USA Rugby Men’s Eagles Sevens team. The United States Sports Academy’s 2018 Alumnus of the Year, Novack has more than 18 years of experience as a sports administrator, managing Olympic and national teams that have won eight Olympic medals, seven world championships and more than 60 World Cup medals. Novack – the USA Rugby Men’s Eagles Sevens program operations manager – will serve as the Team Leader at this year’s Olympic Rugby tournament, which kicks off on 26 July. A Colorado native, Novack, earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports management from the Academy in 1997 and participated in a mentorship [...]

A volleyball coach with more than a decade of experience coaching at the Paralympic and collegiate levels, Greg Walker has been named the United States Sports Academy’s 2021 Alumnus of the Year. Walker earned his Bachelor of Sports Science degree in sports coaching cum laude from the Academy in 2012 and is the current head coach of the U.S. Men’s Sitting Volleyball National Team and a consultant and training coach for the Men’s Indoor National Team. He is also the head volleyball coach at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. A native of Huntingdon, Pa., Walker has been active with the U.S. Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team since 2013 and has served as head coach since 2016. Sitting volleyball is a variation of the original game but designed for athletes with adaptive [...]

Dr. David Peterson retired from the U.S. Navy in 2018 after more than 20 years of active duty service and was immediately able to transition to work in higher education because of his doctoral degree from the United States Sports Academy. Peterson earned his Doctor of Education degree in sports management with an emphasis in health and fitness in 2014. The Academy’s 2015 Alumnus of the Year, Peterson began his work as an assistant professor of kinesiology at Cedarville University shortly after his retirement from the Navy. Now, Peterson has used his education and his faith-focused lifestyle to write two textbooks that are in use at Cedarville: A Practical Guide to Personal Conditioning (2018) and his latest work A Christian Guide to Body Stewardship, Diet and Exercise (2021), which was [...]

Former professional hockey player and United States Sports Academy alumnus Kris MacPhee was recently hired as the technical director for Hockey PEI in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. A native of Clyde River, Nunavut, MacPhee earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports coaching from the Academy in 2010 while working in the hockey field in Prince Edward Island. “My Academy degree has helped me in almost every aspect of my professional career,” MacPhee said. “I truly can’t say enough about how much they prepared me for the many challenges and opportunities in this career. “I thoroughly enjoyed all of my courses at the Academy. The courses were interesting, flexible in delivery, and ultimately provided me with the knowledge and skills required to be successful in the [...]