Louis Kao

Head Coach / Parish Coordinator

925-895-7047

Coach Louis Kao has been coaching adults and youths for over 20 years, specializing in the Middle Distance and Distance Events both locally and nationally. He is Founder and Head Coach for 2ndWind Athletics since 2005. Based in the Tri-Valley Area, 2ndWind is a private running club for middle school, high school, college and master runners. Some of the successes produced while training with 2ndWind racing resulted in Junior Olympic champions, state-runner ups, regional champions and qualifiers, district
champions and 5K, 10K, marathon age group winners.

Louis has spent his previous one season (2014-2015) as head Cross-Country and Track & Field coach at The Athenian School in Danville, CA. Prior Athenian he severed two seasons (2013-2014) as head coach at Hart Middle School in Pleasanton where he organized and hosted the school’s first meet in its history. Louis was also an assistant coach at Cal High Cross Country and Track & Field for 3 years. Louis is a Chinese Canadian. He is an architect by profession. He lived in Toronto, New York, Boston, Hartford and Chicago before settling in San Ramon in 1997 with wife Ruby and three children: Nicholas, Kathlyn and Kyle.


Coaching Credentials:
• United States of America Track & Field (USATF) Level 3 Endurance Registered Coach, in progress
• International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Level 5 Endurance Registered Coach, in progress
• USATF Coaches’ Registry Approved Coach
• USATF Level 2 Endurance Registered Coach, 2012
• National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS) Level 1 Track & Field Registered Coach, 2012
• USATF Level 1 Endurance Registered Coach, 2006
• Team USA SafeSport Training Certification, 2015
• American Red Cross First Aid/Adult CPR Certification
• Recognize, Report & Prevent Child Abuse Certification - Diocese of Oakland

Coaching Accomplishments:
• Boy’s 1500m Silver Medalist 2013 National Junior Olympics Championships
• 3 National Junior Olympics Championships appearances, 2012, 2013 & 2014
• 2014 BCL Women’s League Championships
• 1 California State XC Championships appearance, 2014
• Women 3rd place finishes at 2014 NCS XC Championships

Clinics and Workshops:
• 2014 – IAAF Endurance Academy at Chula Vista Olympic Training Center
• February & September, 2013 – The Running Summit West
• 2013 – Mt. SAC/LA84 Foundation Clinic
• 2012 – USATF Level 2 School, Las Vegas, Endurance Events.
• 2006 – USATF Level 1 School, Hayward, CA

Running Highlights:
• 2:01/880 yards
• 4:25/1 mile
• 2:39:40/marathon
• As a master’s competitor, 35:22/10K; 16:48/5K, 4:49 for one mile and 2:47:05 for the marathon.

Coaching Philosophy:
Kao’s philosophy goes along with this ideology -- to give the athlete all the necessary tools to succeed, not just on the track but also in life. I will accomplish this by doing 3 things. 1) When an athlete is on a team, I will make them feel like they are really on a team. 2) As a coach I want to be a person that the athletes can come and talk to me about anything on or off the track. 3) As a coach I will motivate my athletes to set attainable goals and be the best all-around person they can be.

Training Philosophy:
Kao’s training philosophy is based on sound scientific training principles, 50 years of running experience and methods put forth in the USA Track and Field Coaching Education Curriculum. His program is designed to develop the “TOTAL” athlete. Periodization is one aspect of his philosophy. It is the continuous cyclic structure of training to achieve optimal development of performance capacities. It consists of periodic changes of objectives, tasks, and content training.

Other Principles Are:
• Individualization
• Specificity
• Progression
• Overload (variables include frequency, intensity, time and stimulus type)
• Reversibility
• Variation

The program also places emphasis on the importance of prevention, which is the ability to avoid injuries, illness or burnout during training. Methods of prevention that we
emphasize are: weight training, flexibility training, proper shoes, proper hydration, and good nutritional habits.

Louis Kao
Personal Coach’s Profile
Cell # (925) 895-7047
coachkao@pacebell.net
coachkao@2ndwindathletics.com