“Once I started training with him, my whole everything got serious for track & field. He was like a complete shift—the amount of time I put into track, the amount of determination that I had for track, and the amount of work, hard work. After I started training with him, that’s when the goals started coming,” Jacious Sears once revealed. But track and field was not the first sport Sears started with. Yep, you read it correctly. Well, the American track star first tried gymnastics as a child.
However, her career transitioned into a track and field star, and she initially started her training in 9th grade through the Fast Lane Track Club of Derek Walker. All thanks to Jacious Sears’ coach, we got to witness an immense talent.
Meet Duane Ross: Jacious Sears’ Coach
Duane Ross, head coach and director of track and field at Tennessee University, is not just coaching Jacious Sears. Athletes like Randolph Ross and Trevor Stewart are also under his tutelage. And not only did his mentees perform well on track, winning medals at regional competitions, but he has also coached seven athletes who reached the Olympics and even won medals. Its expected though as Ross has been a coach for quite some time, as his coaching journey started in 1996 from his alma mater—Clemson University. But what before he dove into coaching?
Well, Jacious Sear’s coach, Duane, has been a successful hurdler and has also been a football standout at North Gaston High School. But why track and field then? He shifted his sport to track to rehabilitate his ankle injury before the next football season started. But fate wanted him to stay in track only. While Ross has various achievements in his coaching career, his competitive era was no less. He won the 1995 NCAA championship at Clemson in 110mh. And not only that, he also became a 7-time All-American and 6-time ACC Champion. Well, that’s not all, as he has garnered quite a lot of accolades.
Duane Ross’s career highlights and achievements
One of the top achievements of Duane Ross includes more than 19 individual or relay NCAA championships for men and women combined, 214 All-American honors, and much more. Jacious Sears’s coach started his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach in 1996 after he graduated in financial management from Clemson.
Duane Ross has coached several great athletes at various places, and one place he coached at was North Carolina, which he joined in 2012 to mentor six programs—cross country for both men and women. Having been named men’s coach of the year twice for the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region, Ross helped athletes reach the US national team, one such athlete being Trevor Stewart.
Fast forward to May 2022, Ross joined the University of Tennessee as a head coach and director of both women’s and men’s track and field programs. And he blew up the stats. 17 school records—Vols and Lady Vols, a total of 39 All-America honors, and 12 SEC medals in just two years. Not only this, during 2023-24, the women’s team managed to rank 6th nationally in the regular indoor season. And the list goes on.
Who else had Duane Ross coached besides Jacious Sears?
While Jacious Sears got a big title under Duane Ross’s guidance—USTFCCCA South Region Track Athlete of the Year. Sears also finished 3rd in the 100 meters and 4th in the 200 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships 2023. But she is not the only one.
If we look at Trevor Stewart, for instance, he managed to finish second in the 400 m race at the NCAA championship, and his major achievement was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics mixed 4x400m relay. On the other hand, Charisma Taylor shone bright in the 2023 indoor season, as she finished second in the triple jump at the NCAA indoor championship, and not only did she get second place, but she also gave the second-best performance in the collegiate history.
Another track star under Duane Ross is his son, Randolph Ross; he clinched the national title at the 2021 NCAA outdoor championship in 400m—the third fastest time in collegiate history, with a time of 43.85 seconds. With such great performers under his tutelage, Jacious Sear’s coach, Duane Ross, is surely doing something right.
The post Who Is Jacious Sears’ Coach? Meet the Man Behind Her Sprinting Success appeared first on EssentiallySports.
