USADTF Staff Announcement

We are pleased to announce the following staff who will work closely with head coach, Dave Frank. They bring an abundance of experience in preparation for the 2020 World Deaf Athletics Championships in Poland and 2021 Summer Deaflympics. USA Deaf Track & Field (USADTF) is committed to the safety of athletes and creating safe and fun environment for athletes and all are now SafeSport certified.

STEVEN FUERST, SPECIALTY COACH
As Fuerst has done it in the 2013 and 2017 Summer Deaflympics, he will continue to work with hurdlers and relay teams. He will head to his ninth season at the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf in Faribault as the head track & field coach, where he also teaches mathematics, consumer education, and investments. He previously spent 14 seasons at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in Delevan. He was voted USADTF’s Coach of the Year three times in 2014, 2016 and 2018. He and his wife, Suzette, both of Lakeville, MN, are proud parents of four active children, Isabelle, Camelia, Tomas, and Lukas.


OWEN J. “OJ” LOGUE, SPECIALTY COACH
Logue, who will work with long distance runners, coached both cross country and indoor track at the University of Maine for seven years and outdoor track at Bangor High School for two years. As a 1981 and 1985 Deaflympian in 5k and 10k events, he founded the still-active Acadian Running Camp In 2012 and was inducted into the Maine Running Hall of Fame. Logue, who holds an Ed.D in Higher Education Leadership from Vanderbilt University, is currently the executive director of Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing/Governor Baxter School for the Deaf. He and his wife, Barbara, both of Southwest Harbor, ME, have three children, Amanda, Peter, and Robbie.


HOLLY MASON, SPECIALTY COACH
After being a teacher and coach at the Texas School for the Deaf for three years, and athletic director, teacher, and coach at the Mississippi School for the Deaf for 13 years, Mason is currently a high school inclusion teacher and coach at the Northwest Rankin High School in Flowood, MS. Mason, a former heptathlete at Stephen F. Austin University, will work with athletes on high jump and weight events. She lives in Pearl, MS and has a daughter, Alex, and a son, Eli. Alex is a sophomore neuroscience major at Wellesley College and Eli, a high school senior who plays baseball, is headed to Ole Miss to major in chemical engineering.


JULIET SIMMONS, LOGISTICS COORDINATOR
Simmons will handle logistics, including for passports, flights, uniform sizes, and the like, for the entire squad. She will see that each of us, athletes and coaches, is good to go to Poland without experiencing any difficulty! She is a skilled photographer who hopes to take pictures of athletes in action at the WDAC. She lives in Frederick, MD with her husband, Alex, and she works at the Maryland School for the Deaf. They have four children: Giuletta, a 2018 Gallaudet University graduate, who is currently a member of the USA national volleyball team that will compete in the 2021 Summer Deaflympics; Giovanni who is a senior at Gallaudet, and a member of the basketball team; Cody, a 2018 Gallaudet graduate who works as a physical education teacher at the Maryland School for the Deaf in Columbia; and Alexa who will graduate from Gallaudet with a degree in communication arts on May 2020.


LARRY SMITH, ASSOCIATE COACH
Smith, a former college hurdler, will coach in his 4th Deaflympics in 2021 and will assist other specialty coaches as well as leading the fundraising campaign for USADTF. He will enter his 17th season as the head track & field coach at the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin where he also teaches U.S. Government and economics. He lives in Austin with his three children, Jazmine, Isiah, and Kimani.


ROHAN SMITH, SPECIALTY COACH
Smith, who represented Canada as an athlete in four different Deaflympics and coached USA in two Deaflympics, will work closely with sprinters. As a 100m and 200m deaf Canadian record-holder, he trained, teamed, and competed with Donovan Bailey, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist in 100 meters. Smith has a daughter, Olena, and has worked as a financial advisor with Desjardins Financial Security Investments, Inc. for 21 years.


Welcome them aboard!