Track & Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Bryan Fetzer is entering his third season at Mississippi State University. In 2009 he saw four Lady Bulldogs qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Marrissa Harris earned her second-straight All-America accolades in her eighth-place finish and tenth-place finish in the heptathlon and 100-meter hurdles. Wendy Copeland jumped 21-00 ¾, the second-longest in school history, giving her a second-place finish at the Mideast Regional Championships, while Priscilla Gaines placed fourth at 20-05, the fourth-best jump in school history. In all six Lady Bulldogs qualified for the Regional Championships including the 4x100-meter relay team and two 100-meter hurdlers.
In his inaugural season coaching the Lady Bulldogs he tutored Marrissa Harris into only the third Indoor All-American in school history in the pentathlon. Nine athletes entered the Mississippi State top five all-time in just his first season breaking two school records.
Before coming to Mississippi State he spent three years at Cal building the Golden Bears into a national power. His athletes broke 11 school records in under his direction in the sprints and hurdles events. He also helped coach the women's squad to their highest NCAA finishes with an eighth-place showing at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships and 15th at the 2007 indoor championship. Fetzer also served as recruiting coordinator and oversaw the strength training for the men's and women's teams.
Prior to arriving in Berkeley, he spent a season in Muncie, Ind., where he was an assistant women's cross country and track and field coach at Ball State University. Under his guidance, three athletes (long jump-three, 400m, high jump) qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships and one (heptathlon) for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The season also produced two school records in the multi-events that stood for 10 years.
Preceding his one-year stint at Ball State, Fetzer spent four years as the Director of Track and Field and Cross Country at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C. From the summer of 1999 to the summer of 2003 at Gardner-Webb, Fetzer started the track and field program and led its transition from NCAA Division II to Division I status. During his tenure, he coached six NCAA National Champions along with twelve All-Americans including; the 2000 IAAF World Leader in the 55m, Julia O'Neal. The women's team produced a pair of top five finishes at the NCAA National Championships in their only year at Division II and additionally finished as the Atlantic Sun Conference runner-up in the school's first year in Division I. After the 2000, season Fetzer was named the USTCA NCAA Division II Women's Southeast Coach of the Year.
Fetzer's collegiate coaching experience started at Ranger College in Ranger, Texas, in both track and field and football. In building the women's track and field program into a national junior college power, he had eight NJCAA National Championships in 1999 and finished no lower than 11th at the NJCAA Championships under his tutelage.
In addition to collegiate athletics, he has consulted and worked on speed and power development and strength training with several professional athletes in the NFL, Arena Football League, WNBA, WUSA, and MLB. One of Fetzer's post-collegiate track athletes, Adam Shunk (Nike), has a lifetime personal-best of 2.30m (high jump) and has been ranked in the IAAF Top 20 World Ranking. Fetzer boasts an international experience having, been an assistant coach in 2001 at the World University Games for Uganda as well as serving on staffs at the Commonwealth Games and NACAC Under 25-Championships. Fetzer was also a member of the 2008 USATF Men's World Junior Staff.
