Early-bird clinic registration ends in…

Ascent Track & Field Clinic at PeNN

Join us for two days of expert track & field instruction at a state-of-the-art facility.

July 26-27 | Philadelphia, PA

Save $100 before 4/1/25

Save $50 before 4/1/25

20+

1:10

Olympians coached by clinic staff

Staff-to-athlete ratio at clinics

10+

400+

Colleges represented

NCAA All-Americans coached by clinic staff

FeaturED COACHES

Clinic staff come from top college programs to instruct coaches and athletes of all levels.

MOOSE AKANNO

Men’s Associate Head Coach/Clinic Director

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

  • Moose Akanno joined the Penn staff in the spring of 2020 as an assistant coach and was promoted to an Associate Head Coach position in 2023. Currently he serves as the lead on men's sprints, men’s and women's horizontal jumps, and women’s multi events.
     
    Penn has won three Ivy Heptagonal titles during Akanno’s tenure, the women winning the team championship in the 2022 outdoor season and then sweeping the indoor and outdoor crowns in 2024. His athletes currently hold six program records, he has coached two relay groups to program marks—the men’s indoor and outdoor 4x400—and three of them have won individual Ivy Heptagonal titles.

    Before joining the staff at Penn, Akanno was an assistant director for his alma mater, the University of Connecticut. He directed all aspects of the Huskies' sprints, jumps and multi-event programs while also developing strength & conditioning programs for all speed and power events.

    Akanno had countless career highlights with UConn that included coaching two NCAA All-Americans, 34 NCAA qualifiers, a Southeast Asian Games champion, a Philippines national record holder(400) and the fastest 4x100 relay in the New England area. He has helped the Huskies to 15 school records, eight American Athletic Conference (AAC) championships, 120 all-conference selections, and an AAC team championship in 2015 when he was included among the Coaching Staff of the Year.

    Akanno came to Penn with previous Ivy League experience, spending four years at Dartmouth College before his return to UConn. Working with the Big Green's sprints, jumps and multi-event programs, he coached an NCAA All-America, 12 NCAA qualifiers, and 14 Ivy Heptagonal champions including Janae Dunchak who won four straight pentathlon titles. Overall, Akanno guided student-athletes to 24 school records and 46 All-Ivy selections.

    Akanno was named an assistant coach for the United States National Team’s vertical jumpers and decathletes at the 31st Summer World University Games in 2020 and 2021.

    Prior to coaching, Akanno was a four-year letter winner at UConn and was a part of Huskies teams that won three Big East Conference Championships. A captain his junior and senior season, Akanno was an eight-time All-East Performer in heptathlon, triple jump, and long jump.

    Akanno graduated from UConn with a specialized degree in Exercise Science and Psychology with a concentration in sports psychology.

CHENE TOWNSEND

Women’s Associate Head Coach

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

  • Chene Townsend joined the Penn staff in January 2021 as the Rogers Family Assistant Track & Field Coach, taking the lead on women’s sprints as well as men and women’s hurdles. She was promoted to an Associate Head Coach position in July 2023.
     
    Townsend has already had a sizable impact in her areas and has been recognized as the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Women’s Assistant Track Coach of the Year three times since arriving at Penn (2024 indoor season, 2023 and 2024 outdoor seasons). That came on the heels of Bella Whittaker earning the regional Women’s Track Athlete of the Year award for the outdoor season and Whittaker and Fore Abinusawa sharing Most Outstanding Track Performer at the Indoor Ivy Heptagonal Championships. The Penn women have won three Ivy Heps titles during Townsend’s tenure, winning the outdoor championship in 2022 and sweeping the indoor and outdoor crowns in 2024.
     
    In 2024, Whittaker shattered Ivy League records that had stood since 1990 in both the indoor and outdoor 400 and ended her Penn career by finishing fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn first-team All-America honors. A few weeks later, Townsend had three athletes compete at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track Trials in Eugene Ore.—Whittaker finished sixth in the 400 and made the Olympic Team as a member of the women’s 4x400 and mixed 4x400 relay teams, while Ryan Matulonis and Aliya Garozzo both advanced to the semifinal round in the men’s and women’s 400 hurdles, respectively.
     
    Townsend’s athletes hold 12 program records, seven of them have totaled 17 Ivy Heps individual titles, and two of them—Whittaker and Matulonis—have raced to top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships.
     
    Townsend joined the Quakers after a four-year stint at Division I Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa., where she worked primarily with sprints, hurdles and jumps. Through those four years, she mentored 10 Northeast Conference (NEC) champions, 25 All-NEC selections, a two-time NCAA East preliminary qualifier, and a first-team All-America. She also coached her student-athletes to 14 school records.

    Prior to her time in Loretto, Townsend spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at West Virginia University, working primarily with hurdles and jumps. She also worked with the West Virginia Flyers club program, preparing and managing training programs for that program’s athletes, and Morgantown (W.Va.) High School where she assisted with sessions for hurdles and jumps.  

    A standout track athlete at West Virginia, Townsend earned Academic All-Big 12 second team honors and Big East Academic All-Star honors. She was also named to the Big 12 Commissioners’ and Garrett Ford Honor Roll.

    Townsend graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise physiology and a Master of Science degree in athletic coaching education. She is certified in USOC Safe Sport and Level One USA Track and Field.

BOO SCHEXNAYDER

Featured Coach

SAC SPEED

  • With over 40 years of experience in coaching and consulting, Boo Shexnayder is regarded as one of the world’s premier field event coaches. He was the mastermind behind 26 NCAA Champions during his collegiate coaching career and is regarded as one of the greatest field event coaches in NCAA history. He has been a part of 13 NCAA Championship teams and a pair of Juco National titles, as well as developing a host of conference champions and All-Americans.

    Schexnayder has also been a prominent figure on the international scene. He has coached 18 Olympians and 7 Olympic/World Championship medalists. He has served on coaching staffs for Team USA to the 2003 Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing, and was the Jumps Coach for Team USA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

    Schexnayder has been just as successful off the track. He is certified at Level I, II and III, and owns the prestigious Master Coach Designation from USA Track and Field. He is also certified by the NSCA as a Strength and Conditioning coach.

    Schexnayder has been heavily involved in Coaching Education. He formerly served as national chair of USATF’s Coaching Education Committee, Jumps Subcommittee chair, and chair of the Biomechanics subcommittee. Schexnayder was the founder of the Track and Field Academy, the educational branch of the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. He served as program director from its inception in 2009 through 2017, and still serves as an instructor in biomechanics, training design, and event-specific courses.

LAST YEAR’S CLINICS FEATURED COACHES FROM…

  • Penn

  • UMass-Lowell

  • UMass

  • Harvard

  • Princeton

  • Columbia

  • UConn

  • Amherst

  • URI

  • Northeastern

  • NYU

  • And More!

What to expect

Spend 2 days learning from some of the best minds in the sport.

TRAIN WITH WORLD-CLASS COACHES IN EVERY EVENT GROUP

With experience coaching high school, college, and professional track & field, clinic staff have found success at every level. Collectively they’ve coached over 400 NCAA All-Americans and 20 Olympians. Through 12 total hours of training instruction, you’ll learn the skills you need to take your performance to the next level – no matter your event group.

LEARN THE CONCEPTS BEHIND ELITE PERFORMANCE

In addition to training, you’ll learn the building blocks of elite performance. From periodization to acceleration mechanics, we’ll break down concepts that will help you improve even after you leave the Ascent Track and Field Clinic. Not only that, but we’ll send you a link to download training programs that you learned at the clinic, as well a 40-routine, 400-exercise training inventory from our featured coach and track & field legend, Boo Schexnayder.

EXPAND YOUR NETWORK AND STAY CONNECTED

Ascent Track Clinics are open to any and all entrants – athletes and coaches of all skill levels, and even passionate fans of the sport.

Come meet your peers and college coaches from all over the country, and forge relationships in the track & field community that can last a lifetime.

TRAIN AT A STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY

The Ott Center for Track & Field is a brand-new, $69M indoor track and field facility featuring a 200m banked track, long and high jump pits, a throwing area, and 990 spectator seats. Nearby, the prestigious Franklin Field, home of the Penn Relays, draws some of the world’s most talented athletes every year. Follow in the footsteps of legends like Usain Bolt, Athing Mu, Michael Johnson, Syndney McLaughlin Levrone, and Allyson Felix. Find out what you’re capable of at a facility built for collegiate & professional competiton.

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN PROVEN CURRICULUM

Coaching attendees get access to “coaches only” classroom sessions led by renowned coaches like Boo Schexnayder, Kebba Tolbert, Tramaine Shaw, Jason Saretsky, and more.

When you’re not in the classroom, observe real-life applications of proven training strategies as staff lead exercises, critique performance, and empower athletes throughout the clinic. When you leave, take home a complimentary gift, as well as a 40-routine, 400-exercise training inventory from featured coach Boo Schexnayder.

SAVE YOUR SPOT:

Clinic Schedule

9 AM - 4PM Each Day

(Tentative)

MORNING SESSION (VARIES BY EVENT)

8:15 - 9 AM - Registration

9:00 - 9:10 AM - Staff Introductions

9:10 - 9:45 AM - Active Isolated Stretching/Dynamic Warm-Ups

9:45 - 10:15 AM - Acceleration Mechanics

10:15- 11 AM - Acceleration Session

11:00 - 11:30 AM - Breaking Down the Drive Phase

11:10 - 12 PM - Max Velocity Mechanics

12:00 - 1 PM - Lunch

AFTERNOON SESSION (VARIES BY EVENT)

1-1:45 PM - All-Clinic Lecture: Approaching Track & Field from a Mental Health Perspective

1:45-2:15 PM - Strength & Conditioning: Event Specific Periodization and Proper Form

2:15 PM-3 PM - Dynamic Warm-Up #2

3:00-3:25 PM - General Strength Circuit Session

3:25- 3:45 PM - Medicine Ball Routines

3:45- 4 PM - Q & A, Recap of Day

4 PM - Depart Clinic

SAVE YOUR SPOT:

frequently asked questions

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Already signed up? Visit the info hub for an extensive FAQ and announcements for attendees.

  • No. Athletes of all skill levels are encouraged to attend!

  • Though we have access to indoor space, the 2025 Ascent Track & Field Clinic will be run outdoors, rain or shine. In the event of thunderstorms, the clinic will be delayed until the weather clears.

  • There are many hotels in the area, but the number of attendees means space may be limited, so we suggest reserving lodging as soon as you can.

  • All event groups are represented. Sprints (55/60m, 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m), distance (800m, 1600m, 3200m, cross country), throws (shot put only), jumps (high jump, long jump, triple jump, pole vault), and hurdles (55/60h, 100/110h, 300/400ih).

  • The $25 fee partly covers the additional costs of insurance and rental of specialized gear (landing mats, poles, standards, etc).

  • The Ascent Track & Field Clinic at Penn is located in Philadelpha, Pennsylvania on the University of Pennsylvania Campus. Specifically, the clinic will take place at Franklin Field and the Ott Center for Track & Field.

  • Early Bird Pricing $349 through March.

    Regular Pricing $399 through April

    Late Pricing $449 after April

  • Early Bird Pricing $199 through March

    Regular Pricing $225 through April

    Late Pricing $249 after April