Gary Kinder is the Kindersport Foundation founder and Executive Director. Coach Kinder has dedicated the last four decades to training as a professional track and field athlete and developing an unmatched coaching philosophy.

 

Team USA

 

Kinder is the 1988 Olympic Trials Decathlon Champion and competed with Team USA in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. Coach Kinder is a 10-time United States National Track and Field Team member, competing internationally for more than a decade. Kinder ranked in the top three among American decathletes four years in a row, twice earning a top 15 world ranking.

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Kinder's dominance in the decathlon began when he placed 2nd in the decathlon in the NCAA National Championships in 1985 while competing for the University of New Mexico. He was on the 1987 United States World Championships team, competing in Rome, Italy, placing 12th in the world. Kinder traveled the globe, competing in Italy, Germany, France, Austria, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Korea, scoring over 8,000 points in the decathlon on ten separate occasions and winning 7 international titles during his career as a professional track and field athlete. His time on Team USA allowed him to experience diverse elite-level training and cultivate relationships with fellow athletes in every corner of the world.

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Training Philosophy

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Kinder credits his successful training philosophy to the time he trained with a group of the world's greatest athletes from 1986-1988.  It was during that time in southern California that Kinder met his mentor, two-time Olympic Decathlon Champion, Daley Thompson of Great Britain. Daley, who, to this day, is regarded by many experts as the world's all-time greatest competitor in any sport, unselfishly became Gary's mentor and helped craft a training schedule that was efficient, smart, and effective. Together, Thompson and Kinder worked harder and smarter than anyone in the world over the next three years, with Kinder even travelling to England each summer to live and train in London with the British National Team. 

 

College Coaching

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Kinder began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of New Mexico where he was a track and field assistant coach for 3 seasons. During his tenure at UNM, Kinder guided 12 athletes to All-American status. 

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Coach Kinder progressed from UNM to the University of Virginia where he served as the Assistant Head Coach, overseeing both the men's and women's track and field programs. While at UVa, Gary became a recruiting expert and earned Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors on three occasions.  In four seasons, Kinder brought Virginia Track and Field into the National Spotlight, where his athletes won 16 individual conference titles, and 12 All-American awards. 

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Coaching Success

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For more than 35 years, Coach Kinder has been responsible for guiding athletes from all over the world to the highest levels of international competition. 

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• 14 Olympians

• 25 NCAA All-Americans

• 6 NCAA Champions

• 4 Under 20 Team USA Members

• 35 High School National Champions

• 3 International Champions, 2 International Silver Medalists, 1 International Bronze Medalist

• 150 Individual State Champions (Tennessee)

• 70 High School All-Americans

• 18 Tennessean High School Track Athletes of the Year

• 4 Wilco Award Winners

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Personal Achievements

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Kinder has been recognized for his unique achievements and contributions by organizations across the U.S:

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• Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame Member

• Missouri State Coaches Hall of Fame Member

• Parkway (St. Louis, Missouri) School District Hall of Fame Member

• Nashville Business Journal “Impact Award” winner

• Recognized as one of Nashville Lifestyle’s “25 Most Beautiful People”

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Renaissance Man

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Kinder's achievements reign outside of the track and field arena as well. An accomplished singer-songwriter, Kinder signed two publishing contracts in Nashville with Curb Music and Warner Chappell Music Group. His songs are in films, television, and a few even found their way to the Top-40 charts in the early 2000’s.

 

For a short time, Kinder was a free agent wide receiver in the NFL, earning pre-season and training camp experience with the New Orleans Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs. He was also a member of the United States National Bobsled team in 1989, training for a year in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 

 

Kinder's coaching experience reaches beyond track and field, having worked with MLB players, NFL players, Arena Football Players and serving as the strength and conditioning consultant to the Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders for more than a decade.

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Kinder resides in Brentwood, Tennessee with his wife of over twenty years, Stacie, and their two sons, established track and field athletes in their own right, Jett (21) and Canon (16).

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The Kindersport Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization overseen by a 4-member board. To join the board or make a tax-deductible contribution, email kindersport@comcast.net. 

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