A&M-Commerce at Dallas to Host Summit on Elite Athlete Performance

The Department of Health and Human Performance at Texas A&M University-Commerce will present an Elite Combined Event High-Performance Summit on Monday, July 11 at the A&M-Commerce at Dallas site located at 8750 N. Central Expressway.

In conjunction with the Thorpe Cup—an international track and field competition presented by USA Track & Field in Dallas on July 9-10 between the United States and Germany—the summit will benefit individuals who seek to enhance their coaching, training and research efforts by providing insight into the elite mindset of Olympic athletes.

Dean Culpepper, Ph.D., who serves as head of the Department of Health and Human Performance at A&M-Commerce, said the summit is a great opportunity for the department.

“Our department will team with international track and field coaches and sports science experts to discover and discuss the key performance indicators necessary for elite athletes to address during training and competition,” Culpepper said. “In addition, the summit proceedings will be published in various professional journals.”

The summit will feature world-renowned coaches Harry Marra and Boo Schexnayder as keynote speakers. ESPN consultant Jill Montgomery will serve as the master of ceremonies and participate in a panel discussion.

Attendees will network with Thorpe Cup coaches and athletes, listen to a panel discussion regarding key performance indicators, and learn about applied biomedical and physiological research to improve elite performance using DARI Motion.

“DARI Motion is designed to help athletes perform at their best by combining functional and sport-specific movement screening,” said Michael Oldham, Ph.D., an instructor and researcher for the department. “Athlete performance data is collected using high-speed videography and validated kinetics and kinematics to provide longitudinal tracking of athlete progression.”

Glen Sefcik, assistant track and field coach at A&M-Commerce, said the summit will help enhance the university's track and field program.

“This event will provide valuable information that our coaches can implement in future training strategies,” Sefcik said. “It's also an opportunity for high school and club coaches to network with collegiate coaches and recommend prospects for scholarship opportunities.”

View a list of panelists and register for the event.