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Coaches
Steve and Lori Taylor Camp
Directors and University
Of Richmond Head
Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches |
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Coaches
Steve and Lori Taylor Camp
Directors and University
Of Richmond Head
Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches |
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For the Taylor's, running is a way of life. The camp directors have over 40 years of running experience and over 25 years of coaching experience between them. For the past 2 and one half years they have headed the University of Richmond Spiders track & field and cross country programs leading the program to national prominence. In the winter of 2003 they lead the Spiders women's team to their first conference title for Indoor Track & Field and they placed 2nd at the Outdoor Championships. During the outdoor season the Spiders, Ruth Chege qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 1500M (4:20.12) and 5000M (16:27), electing to race the 1500M. In the fall of 2003 their men's and women's teams had an excellent season with the women winning the conference championships with the 2nd lowest point total (29) in league history while the men improved to place 11th at the NCAA Regional Championships with a team average of 32:04 for the 10K event. Prior to moving to Richmond they served as the head cross country coaches at their Alma Mater, Virginia Tech where for 10 years they lead the Hokies to numerous top 20 National Rankings and Conference Championships as the head coaches. While in college they both earned All-American honors in cross country and track. Steve was a two-time Kinney (now Footlocker) National finalist. Placing 3rd his Senior year (’82) and 7th his Junior year (’81). He won 11 WV state high school titles in cross country and outdoor track & field, as well as being named the West Virginia Track Athlete of the Year for three consecutive years. In college he earned All-American honors in cross country and track in 1987 and went on to win the USATF 10K and RRCA National Titles in 1988. He represented the USA at the 1991 World Track & Field Championships, and the 1991 & 1995 World Cup. He qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1988 (10K), 1992 (Marathon), and 1996 (Marathon). In 1992 he finished 6th at the Trials becoming an alternate for the USA Olympic Team. After earning All-American honors in cross country and the 3000M in college, Lori continued her competitive running and became a coach at the high school level. She spent five years teaching and coaching in Virginia high schools from Chesapeake to Roanoke to Henry County the headed the Tech program. She coached Kristen Price to All-America honors in the 3000M (9:18.77) and 5000M (15:56.86). Kristen also established school records in every event from 800M-5000M. Steve and Lori have taken their experience and made the transition to successful coaches. Both have earned “Coach of the Year” honors on numerous occasions. They believe in providing an opportunity for athletes of all backgrounds to achieve success. That sets the foundation for Taylor’s New River Running Camp: Education, Experience, Challenge, Discovery, Self-Discipline, Motivation, and Ambition."We believe in providing useful information to every athlete that attends the New River Running Camp. The experiences and knowledge of our staff can be the catalyst for a successful career in the sport of distance running. We do not want to be the biggest camp out there...We want to be the BEST." --- Steve Taylor, NRRC Director FOR MORE DETAILED BACKGROUND ON THE COACHES (See below) Steve's Biography: Steve Taylor enters his third year at the University of Richmond. During his three seasons as a Spider Taylor’s men’s cross country team competed at the NCAA Southeast Regional Competition where they have made remarkable improvement. In his first season as the Spiders coach his team placed 24th (2001), 15th last year (2002) and improved to 11th (2003) this year. In 2003 his Spiders won the Maymont XC Festival and placed 2nd at the prestigious Walt Disney World Classic. Under Taylor’s guidance, last year two athletes qualified for the NCAA East Regional Championships and seven earned All-Conference honors. The men’s cross country and track & field teams also earned NCAA All-Academic team honors for the second straight year. The men cross country team maintained an overall GPA of 3.43 which ranked them fifth nationally. Before coming to Richmond, Taylor coached at Virginia Tech for 10 years. As a Virginia Tech graduate he earned All-American honors in cross country and track, finishing third in the 10,000 meters at the 1987 NCAA Championships and finishing ninth in the 1987 NCAA Cross Country Championships leading the Hokies to a 4th place finish at the National Championships. Taylor has also guided athletes to the national stage and to the World Championships. Howard Nippert, Mike Cox, and George Probst have all competed at the international level under his guidance. According to Steve, "Running and coaching is not just something we do; it is who we are. Both Lori and I have dedicated our lives to competing and training athletes to compete at the highest level. For us it is a way of life. It is not a 9-5 occupation. It is not something we do for a couple of hours per day. It is who we are. We are both passionate about this sport. We are professionals and expect our athletes to be committed and dedicated. That means that they will be expected to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve success. As coaches we believe in developing all aspects of our student-athletes. That is one of the reasons we are so happy to be coaching at the University of Richmond," Taylor said. During Taylor’s tenure at Tech, his Hokies earned three league XC titles and never finished lower than the runner-up position and they swept the Indoor and Outdoor Championship titles each year they were members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Also, 27 individual champions were crowned during that time as well as 108 All-Conference performers and 13 All-Region performers in cross country. Taylor, a former two-time member of the United States World Cup Marathon team (1991 and 1995) that competed in London, England, and Athens, Greece, and a member of the 1991 United States World Track & Field Championship Team that competed in Tokyo, Japan, is dedicated to success. During the summer of 1999, Taylor was awarded two prestigious honors. In June, he earned induction into the Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame. During the fall, Taylor took his place among the Hokie greats by being inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. He joined head football coach Frank Beamer and his wife, Lori, as the only inductees voted in while still serving the Tech athletic department. Taylor was one of Tech's finest athletes in the 1980s. He paced the 1987 Tech cross country team to a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Championships while placing ninth among individuals. In 1987, he finished third at the NCAA Championships at the 10K distance. Taylor earned All-America honors in track as a 10,000 meter runner and holds school records in the 3,000 and 5,000 meter runs. As a professional runner, Taylor finished sixth in the 1992 Olympic Marathon Trials held in Columbus, Ohio, and he was named an alternate to the Olympic team. In 1988, he won the TAC (USA Track & Field) national championship at 10,000 meters and RRCA 10 Mile national championship. Taylor received his Bachelor of Science degree in education with a sport management option from Tech in 1988. Lori's Biography: Lori Taylor begins her third year as director of track & field and cross country for Richmond. Lori and her husband Steve joined the University of Richmond track and field program in 2001 after a 10-year tenure as the head coaches at Virginia Tech. This fall she lead the Spiders to their first conference title in cross country soundly defeating the competition with a low score of 29 points and placing 5 runners in the top 9 over-all. For her teams efforts she was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year for women's cross country. Last year Taylor was named Coach of the Year for the 2002-03 season after her women’s indoor team captured the program’s first-ever conference championship when they out-legged host Rhode Island in the final relay for the title. The indoor team also set 10 school and four conference records and the outdoor team finished second in the championships having won four event titles. Her athletes re-wrote the record books again last year. In all, 17 new school records were set during the 2002 indoor and outdoor seasons and in 2003 another 19 school records were set during the track & field seasons. In addition to the team’s success, the Richmond program sent a representative (Ruth Chege-1500M-4:20.12) to the NCAA championships in the 1500M. Also, both the 2002 and 2003 cross country and track & field teams earned NCAA All-Academic honors for their efforts in the classroom.. Throughout Taylor’s nine years as head coach at Virginia Tech, her outdoor teams claimed Atlantic 10 Championships in 1997 and 1998. The team won indoor conference championships in 1997 and 1999 while she garnered coach of the year honors in 1997 and 1998. She has been the coach of 3 All-Americans, 59 Conference Champions, and 207 All-Conference performers. As an athlete, Taylor earned All-America honors in cross country and track & field as an undergraduate at Virginia Tech, understanding that dedication and toughness are essential in excelling in cross country. Taylor’s plan is to mold Richmond’s track and field program with the same ideals. In June of 2000, Taylor was selected to the Virginia Tech Hall of Fame. She is just the second member from the women's cross country team to be bestowed with the honor. She joins legendary football coach, Frank Beamer and husband, Steve, as the only inductees voted in while still serving the Tech athletic department. Taylor graduated from Virginia Tech in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in technology education. In 1988, she earned a master's degree from Virginia Tech in vocational and technical education. Taylor began working on a doctorate in 1991 in vocational and technical education while coaching the women's cross country team as a graduate assistant. Lori Taylor’s
Coaching Accomplishment’s 2003 Atlantic 10 Conference Indoor Coach of the Year Coached 4 NCAA Division I All
American Athletes: *1998 GTE National Academic
Athlete of the Year for Spring Sports Athletics Achievments:
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