BATON ROUGE — LSU head track and field coach Dennis Shaver completed his staff Thursday with the hiring of former Tiger John Woosley as the program’s new throws coach.
“John brings with him a wealth of technical understanding of all the throwing events, as well as a highly accomplished academic background,” said Shaver. “He also has strong national and international connections which should prove useful in recruiting top athletes to LSU.”
Upon graduating from LSU in 1997, Woosley began working with several of the nation’s top javelin throwers, a list that includes former American record holder Tom Pukstys and former LSU standout Delyle Woods; athletes he coached to top finishes at the 1999 and 2001 USATF Championships and the 2000 Olympic Trials.
At the collegiate level, Woosley has been a volunteer throws coach at both LSU and UL-Lafayette. In addition, he has served as the assistant director of the Louisiana Throws Camp since 1997, offering technical and training instruction to high school throwers and track coaches around the state.
A three-year letterwinner for the Tigers, Woosley specialized in the hammer and the weight throw, events in which he still ranks third and sixth respectively on LSU’s all-time lists. A two-time Academic All-SEC selection, Woosley was also a four-time recipient of LSU’s Athletic Director’s Cup.
Woosley, a native of Baton Rouge, completed his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 1997 and has earned a pair of master’s degrees from LSU in motor behavior and information systems and decision sciences (ISDS).