Jacob Smith began coaching at Christopher Newport University in August of 2015. In addition to coaching at CNU, since 2014 he has also provided health and wellness coaching to clients of the Vida smartphone app. Prior to coaching at CNU, from 2009 to 2013 he spent four years at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs coaching professional triathletes, including 2016 Olympic gold-medalist, Gwen Jorgensen, and Olympians Sarah Haskins, Katie Zaferes, Sarah True, Hunter Kemper, and Greg Billington.
From 2007 to 2009 Smith coached the distance and middle distance runners at the State University of New York at Cortland, helping to build the most successful cross country program in NCAA Division III at the time. In 2007 the men’s team finished in 3rd place at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. In 2008 the men’s outdoor track & field team finished 2nd at the NCAA Championships. In 2009 the team won the school’s first and only NCAA men’s cross country national championship title while the women’s team finished 9th at that year’s NCAA national championships. During Smith’s two years there, Cortland distance and middle-distance runners earned 14 All-American awards, eight SUNY Athletic Conference team championships, 20 SUNYAC individual titles, one SUNYAC Championship Track Athlete of the Meet award, and set conference all-time records in the men’s mile, men’s 1000, men’s DMR, and men’s steeple plus five additional school records including the men’s and women’s steeple, men’s 3k, men’s 800, and men’s 1500.
Smith began his coaching career in 2006 in NCAA Division I as an assistant cross country and track & field coach at Bowling Green State University, where he had previously competed as a distance runner. While an undergraduate at BGSU, he served 6 years in the U.S. Air Force, which included two tours of duty, and completed an internship as a sport physiologist at the Olympic Training Center. Smith is also a member of the Fremont (OH) Ross High School Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the 1994 varsity cross country team that finished 2nd at the OHSAA Division I state championships.
Smith holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in exercise science as well as USA Track & Field Level II coaching certification in distance events and USATF Level I coaching certification. In addition, he holds personal trainer certification from the American College of Sports Medicine, coaching certification from the Road Runners Club of America, and is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength & Conditioning Association.
