Former Tennessee State Tiger student-athlete to work with Eagles’ distance events

August 7th, 2014

STATESBORO, Ga. – Franz Holmes joins the Georgia Southern Track and Field and Cross Country program after spending five years as an assistant at Tennessee State, including two with Coach Kelly Carter, and this past year at Middle Tennessee State. Holmes, a former sprinter at Tennessee State, will coach the Eagles in distance events.
“Coach Holmes brings considerable knowledge to our distance program as a USA Track and Field Level II certified endurance coach,” said Georgia Southern Coach Kelly Carter. “As one of my former student-athletes, Franz understands the approach it takes to build a team atmosphere. His tireless dedication in recruiting is going to be a great benefit to the program.”

While Holmes was part of both the MTSU and TSU coaching staffs, 99 student-athletes were conference finalists with 26 winning individual titles. In the extremely competitive East Region, 19 qualified for the NCAA preliminary round with seven advancing to NCAA competition and two earning All-America honors.

At Tennessee State from 2009-2013, Holmes was responsible for recruiting and training student-athletes in the sprints, hurdles, middle-distance racing events as well as multi-event performers. In addition, he assisted with the academic and compliance aspects of the Tigers’ programs as well as coordinating practices, home meets and monitoring the strength and conditioning program. He reunited with Coach Carter at Middle Tennessee State for the 2013-2014 season.
A member of the United States Paralympic Staff with Coach Carter since 2011, he has helped coach three Paralympic national champions and two 2012 finalists.

Franz earned USA Track and Field Level I certification in 2010 and added Level II certification in Sprints and Hurdles in 2013. His most recent certification, in Endurance was completed earlier this summer. He also possesses USA Weightlifting Level I Sport Performance certification and is a U.S. Paralympic guide runner for visually impaired athletes. His background also includes a two-year internship with Tennessee State strength and conditioning program where he assisted with the preparation of workouts for the Tiger track and football teams.

Holmes is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Exercise Science and served as an instructor for the Tennessee State University’s Health and Human Sports Science program in addition to coaching the Tigers. From Nashville, Tennessee, he attended Tennessee State on a full Presidential Scholarship and graduated with honors with his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science in 2008. He completed his master’s degree in Exercise Science in 2010. A former walk-on, he was named captain of the Tigers’ team his final year, advanced to the 400m finals at the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships, and was the Tennessee State nominee for the 2008 OVC scholar-athlete award.

Courtesy of: gseagles.com

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