With the World Championships happening this week in Eugene and the relay races just a few days away, can the USA Men's team take advantage of their 100m sweep and get the baton around the oval in record time? This week's 'cast is a repost from almost exactly 1 year ago, with Hall of Fame coach Brian FitzGerald joining J,T. to talk all things 4x100m and 4x400m relay related. All the nuances that go into the race and which athlete should run which leg and why. Which style of handoff is best, and which style is the riskiest. J.T. and Brian break it all down as we head into the relays this weekend.

Born: May 29th, 1957 in Oxnard, California
Rio Mesa High School 1975
UCLA 1979—BA English
Graceland University 2008—MS Education

During his high school years, Brian was an all-league football player and track athlete at Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard.

After graduating from UCLA in 1980, he returned to his alma mater to teach English and coach.

In his 29 years as the school’s track coach, Brian’s boys’ and girls’ teams have won 44 league titles, 5 CIF Southern Section runner-up awards, 3 CIF-SS and the girls’ State Championships, Championship in 1988. Brian has played a major role in the development of 4 outstanding Southern California female sprinters: Angela Burnham (5 state titles, twice National Female Athlete of the Year); Marion Jones (4 state titles while at Rio Mesa, National Athlete of the Year in 1991); Porchea Carroll (2nd 3rd & 4th place finishes at the State Meet); and, most recently, Valexsia Droughn (2009 State 100 Meter Champion).

All told, Brian has coached 7 of the top 9 female sprinters in Ventura County history. He was honored as the Southern Section Girls’ High School Coach of the Year in 1994, and is currently a member of the CIF-SS and California State Advisory Committees for Track & Field.

The late 1980’s saw his organizational skills come to the forefront with the birth of the Spartan Relays and his fundraising efforts to install the first all-weather track in Ventura County at Rio Mesa.

For the past 18 years, Brian has developed curriculum and been a Lead Instructor for the innovative coaching education program offered by the LA84 Foundation, and his expertise in sprint mechanics and relays has made him a speaker in high demand throughout the country.

He was inducted into both the Sunkist Indoor Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays Hall of Fame, and was the Oxnard Union High School District’s Teacher of the Year in 1992.

In 2005, he was honored with the ‘Outstanding Service to High School Track & Field” award at the Arcadia Invitational, and in 2009 he received the CIF Southern Section “Champions for Character” award. In his 22nd year as Athletic Director at Rio Mesa, he is currently the longest tenured AD in the County.

Brian—the great-grandson of Adolfo Camarillo-his wife Koreen, and their two sons, Michael and Patrick, make their home in the beautiful city that bears his ancestor’s name.

Follow Brian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/itzbfitz

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About On Track & Field Podcast

By On Track & Field, Inc

The weekly On Track Podcast, hosted by Coach J.T. Ayers, covers all things Track & Field and Cross Country. Listen to some of the most respected coaches in the world, hear from the biggest athletes in the sport and keep up to date with the leading trends in training. New episodes drop every Tuesday morning!

Subscribe to the podcast: podcasters.spotify.com

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