The 2nd Annual Darlington School/Shorter College Cross Country Camps will give your student-athlete an opportunity to become a stronger, smarter and more efficient distance runner. Participants will run on Darlington’s trail system – which includes eight miles of dirt, grass and gravel paths – and at other parks in the Rome area. A variety of informative sessions on topics like nutrition and technique as well as stretching, drills and deep-water running in Darlington’s pool will help your child sharpen his or her skills. The camp is led by Darlington varsity cross country coach Alan Parish and Shorter College cross country coach Jay Stephenson, who have a combined 30 years of experience competing in and coaching cross country.
The camp takes place on Darlington School’s 400-acre college preparatory campus, complete with a 96,000-square foot athletic center, natatorium, weight room, running trails, air-conditioned dormitories, and the best camp food imaginable.
Alan Parish enters his fourth year as Darlington’s head cross country coach, and also serves as distance coach for the track and field team. In 2010, he led the Darlington girls cross country team to the GHSA Class-A State Championship. The girls have won five consecutive region titles. In 2010, the boys won their second straight City/County Championship and were seventh at state. In 2009, Parish helped start the Running for Life sports camp in Kiev, Ukraine. He is also a current school record holder at Samford University, where he ran the 1,500 meters in 3:50 and the 3,000 in 8:30. In college, he was a member of team conference championship teams in track and cross country. He has personal records of 1:53 in the 800 meters, 15:14 for 5K and 25:10 for 8K.
For questions about the camp please contact Coach Parish at aparish@darlingtonschool.org or 615-480-6138.
Jay Stephenson enters his sixth year as head cross country coach at Shorter College, and also serves as the middle distance and distance coach for Shorter’s track team. He is a USATF-certified Level 2 Track and Field coach, and was named the Southern States Athletic Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Shorter’s track team has had 30 All-Americans in the short history of the program. Stephenson coached the individual winner of the 2009 and 2010 NAIA Women’s National Cross Country Championship, and helped lead the men’s cross country team to SSAC championships in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, scoring a perfect 15 points in both 2008 and 2010. At Berry College, he was a three-time All-American. He holds personal bests of 14:18 for 5K, 29:43 for 10K, 8:53 for the 3K steeplechase and 4:12 for the mile. In 2005, Stephenson was the USATF Club Track and Field National Champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Additional camp counselors will be experienced competitive runners and will be present 24 hours a day in the dorms and at all sessions. A certified athletic trainer will be present daily.
