Coaching Youth Track & Field

Coaching Youth Track & Field was written by the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) in conjunction with Matt Lydum and other experts from Hershey’s Track and Field Games and USA Track & Field.

Matt Lydum is actively involved in the sport of track and field at the national and international levels. He has served as USOC delegate to the International Olympic Academy and on the USA coaching staff for the World Championships in Youth Athletics. As a coaching educator, he has certified hundreds of high school coaches in the Great Lakes region and around the country and coordinates the Instructor Training Course for USA Track & Field.

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the national governing body for track and field, long-distance running, and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the number-one high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. Nearly 100,000 Americans are members of USATF. The mission of USATF is to foster sustained competitive excellence, interest, and participation in the sports of track & field, long-distance running, and race walking.

Hershey’s Track & Field program promotes youth physical fitness and is the largest program of its kind in the United States and Canada with more than 400,000 participants. Hershey’s Track & Field Games encourage children ages 14 and under to participate in track and field events. Regardless of a child’s ability, each child is treated like a winner.

ASEP has been developing and delivering coaching education courses since 1981. As the nation’s leading coaching education program, ASEP works with national, state, and local youth sport organizations to develop educational programs for coaches, officials, administrators, and parents. These programs incorporate ASEP’s philosophy of “Athletes first, winning second.”