Athletics in an Educational Environment
A lecture detailing the tradition of an educational approach to athletics – an
environment where the well-being of the individual is more important than
his/her performance and where a student-athlete's personal responsibility is
primary and inherent in an individual and team success. This informative
and entertaining presentation will detail the unique methods Coach Doug
Watts utilized to achieve extremely high educational goals and athletic
success. Specific topics include a look at the developmental history that
brought Coach Watts to his views of athletics, a smattering of long-distance
training techniques that enhanced educational goals, and, at times, the
odd differences that Edinboro distance running defied professional athletic
acceptances, norms, and measures.
– Doug Watts, M.Ed.
Doug Watts, M.Ed., retired from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 2014 after
completing 44 years as the Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach. In that
span, his teams won six National Team Titles, six runner-up trophies, as well as 25
Top Ten finishes. He guided nine Individual National Champions and well over 100
“All Americans.” A five-time National Coach of the Year, Watts is an inductee of five
“Hall of Fames,” including the USA National Coaches’ Association. His squads have
excelled academically every year – several times earning the No. 1 academic team
ranking in NCAA II athletics. In addition, Watts played a major role in the development
of the “National Coaches Association,” introducing sweeping changes that initiated
tremendous growth. He served a variety of national-level offices, including President
of the Division II XC/TF Coaches and years as a Board of Directors member for the
USTFCCCA. Each year, the D-II Outstanding Male Cross Country runner in the country
is awarded the “Doug Watts National Runner of the Year” award. He received a
master’s degree in education from the University of Akron, where he also completed
his bachelor degrees in history and health.
