Coach Terry O'Neill has been obsessed with speed from a very early age;
he joined his first track club at age six and has been racing ever since. Terry
ran with Speed Dynamics Atlanta from 1999 to 2001 under world class coaches
Loren Seagrave and Paul Doyle. Experiencing what top-notch coaching can do for
an athlete's results, O'Neill became inspired to learn everything he
could about speed training across all sports. He has been sprint Coach for Greater
Boston Track Club, Men's and Women's Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps coach at
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Women's Sprints/Hurdles coach at M.I.T.
and Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps coach at Notre Dame: San Jose in California. He has
also coached speed for other sports including World Championship qualifying
Ultimate Frisbee team "Six Trained Monkeys" and the Irish National
Bobsled team. Terry coaches recreational runners too and has coached over thirty
adults to complete their first Triathlon.
"The most important thing I know about speed is that it can be taught.
People have this belief that endurance is made and speed is born, but it's
just not true. Yes, we all have a different starting point, but everyone can
learn to be faster, quicker and more agile. With proper acceleration and
sprinting technique learned from the right drills, a nervous system tuned by
the correct workouts, and muscles conditioned from rigorous hard work, any athlete
can become considerably faster"
As an High School athlete Coach O'Neill was twice Massachusetts class D
champion in the 300m Hurdles and anchored the Class winning 4x400m relay team.
At the University of Massachusetts he was a four year letterman and the teams
highest scoring sprinter as a Freshman. After graduating with a Computer Systems
Engineering degree Terry was New England club champion in the 400m hurdles and
a finalist at the Irish National Championships in the same event. In 2004 and
2005 he was a member of the Irish Two-Man bobsled team qualifying for the World
Championships in 2005 and eventually placing 35th.
Coach Wilson is one of the only coaches in Maine who has coached state championship teams in both soccer and track & field. He coached Maine state championship soccer teams that were known for both skill and speed in 1996 and 2008. He coached state championship track teams that excelled in the sprint and explosive power events in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.
He has coached individual Maine state champions in the 55 meter and 100 meter dashes, the 55, 100 and 110 hurdles, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, long jump, triple jump, high jump, and pole vault. Waterville athletes show impressive improvement each year while following Coach Wilson’s intense training regimen.
"The great thing about speed is that it's really fun," notes Coach
Wilson. "Once an athlete learns the skills and develops the strength to
be faster, it's fun to use that speed and skill as an advantage in any athletic
competition. Greater speed helps athletes be more successful in nearly all sports."
Waterville athletes have also set state records in the 55 hurdles, long jump,
triple jump, high jump, pole vault, 800, and 4X800 relay.
Coach Wilson is a 1989 graduate of Bates College with a major in Philosophy. He is also pursuing a master's in Kinesiology through the University of Texas. Coach Wilson teaches Honors sophomore English and all levels of senior English at Waterville High School.
Coach Hefty is head coach of 2009 class A state champion Edward Little girls track team. Edward Little won the state meet with impressive performances in the sprint, speed, and explosive jumping events. During four indoor and six outdoor seasons as head coach she has led Edward Little to four conference championships, and three runner-up finishes in the Maine Class A state meet.
Coach Hefty was a sprinter and hurdler in high school and college. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin LaCrosse with a degree in physical education teaching and concentration in adapted physical education. Currently, she is a PE teacher at Edward Little High School specializing in fitness and nutrition.
Coach Hefty specializes in coaching speed and jump events. Her physical education training helps her transfer speed and jump training to help make field sport athletes faster and more explosive athletes.
Coach Hefty resides in Auburn with her husband Mike and 2 children Emma (7),
Brooks (4) and dog Lambeau. Her hobbies include running marathons and triathlons.
Peter Slovenski has coached Track & Field at Bowdoin since 1987.
Bowdoin teams regularly finish among the top 5 teams in New England Division III
championships, and in nine seasons placed among the top 20 teams in NCAA
Division III. Slovenski was the New England Division III Coach of the Year for
Men's Cross-country in 1991 and for Indoor Track in 2000. He was voted Coach of
the Year for New England III Women's cross-country in 1991 and 1992. He has also
won NESCAC Coach of the Year for men's cross-country in 2000, 2001, and 2002.
Slovenski is a 1979 graduate of Dartmouth College, and a 1980
graduate of Stanford University's School of Education. At Dartmouth he was a
4-year letter winner in winter and spring track. He set freshman records in the
decathlon and pole vault in 1976. He made the All-Ivy League track team as a
pole vaulter in 1977 and 1978.
Slovenski has twice served as NCAA Championship
Meet Director when Bowdoin hosted the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field
Championships in 1989 and 1993. He founded the Bates Track & Field Camp
in 1989, and the Dick Fosbury Track Camp in 2004. He has also been director
of the Bowdoin College Day Camp since 1989.