National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

PRESS RELEASE

June 19, 2020 – For 30 years, the NSAF has opened doors to the world for our youth, through athletics, and provided them opportunities to succeed. That “world” is ever-evolving and the most recent acts of racial violence and injustice call us, perhaps more than ever before, into action to create a better and more just society. How do we, especially our student-athletes, respond?

The NSAF’s new “8 Lanes of Conversation,” a Roundtable Discussion on Zoom, is part of that response. The discussion will be livestreamed on Youtube (http://youtu.be/sI_6jIFnFtY) Monday, June 22 at 8:00pm Eastern time. It’s part of helping our unique track & field community, especially our young people, in “Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Stride in a World Thirsting for Racial Understanding.”

The NSAF has extended invitations to eight (mostly) high school track and field coaches from around the country to participate in this discussion with NSAF Sports Psychologist Dr. Margaret Ottley and other NSAF staff. The NSAF is also privileged to have world class triple jumper Omar Craddock as part of the panel. The 2019 Pan American Games Gold Medalist, Craddock is also a 3-time USATF champion and a 4-time Team USA member.

This discussion will provide student-athletes and our entire T&F community with tools for self-expression during this evolving time of our country's and planet’s racial development and encourage questions.

The coaching panel includes:

• Carmen Jackson, Miami Northwestern HS (FL)
• Joe Lee, The Bullis School (MD)
• Brandon Jiles, Oak Park HS (MI) and Motor City Track Club
• Mike McCabe, Union Catholic HS (NJ)
• Lauren Jones, Mansfield Lake Ridge HS (TX)
• Kelly Snyders, Minnesota Flyers (Minneapolis)
• Keinan Briggs, Mater Dei HS (CA)
• Krystle Schade, U. of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Most of the coaches have coached teams in NSAF events with great success, with Coaches Jackson, Lee, Jiles and McCabe all having coached athletes who have won multiple Indoor and Outdoor Nationals individual and relay titles.

Craddock also has strong NSAF ties. He had a stellar prep career at Killeen HS in Texas (Class of 2009), where he represented Team NSAF in the 2008 Caribbean Scholastic Invitational in Puerto Rico – winning triple jump and 4x100m gold – then topped the podium again at Nike Outdoor Nationals a week later. While at U. of Florida, he won the 2010 World Junior bronze and three NCAA indoor and outdoor titles.

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CONTACT: Steve Underwood, Director of Media & Public Relations, NSAF
steve.underwood@nationalscholastic.org

About the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation, Inc.

The National Scholastic Athletics Foundation (NSAF) was founded in 1990. It is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization with the mission of opening doors to the world for our youth, through athletics, and providing them opportunities to succeed. That includes supporting high school and junior-aged track and field athletes in the US through national high school competitions, including the New Balance Nationals Indoor and Outdoor; The Great American XC Festival and HBCU Challenge; and the American Javfest and Ironwood Throws Classic. It also includes Team NSAF international competition and team-building events in Cuba and Iceland; clinics and event-specific special projects, such as Project Javelin Gold and Project Triple Jump; vigorous grant programs, which enable high school athletes to compete around the country, at USATF Junior Nationals, and internationally; and with program development grants, which are awarded in the winter and fall each year. The NSAF provides approximately $250,000 in grants annually.  For more information about the NSAF, please visit NationalScholastic.org.

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