Isaac Wood
Salt Lake Community College welcomes Isaac Wood, the new head coach of the College’s first Cross-Country and Track and Field teams.
Pronouns:
He/him/his
Degree earned and institutions:
Bachelor’s degree in history, BYU
SLCC Start Date:
May 16, 2022
Current title:
Head Coach of Cross-Country and Track and Field
Department:
Athletics
Previous titles in Athletics:
- Development Coordinator, BYU Athletics
- Olympics Sports Recruiting Liaison, BYU Athletics
- Director of Cross-Country and Track and Field Operations for BYU Athletics
- Assistant Cross-Country and Track and Field Coach for Weber State University
Other experience working in Athletics:
- Started marathon group in the Utah State Prison in Draper from 2015 to 2017: I would go and volunteer in the prison all summer. I coached these guys to run a marathon around [a little path]. That was a cool experience.
- Co-founded Run Elite Program and works as club director: I also started a non-profit, professional running team in Utah. Utah’s never had a professional running team before, and we are officially the very first running team in the U.S. that has been funded by a state entity. We convinced the state of Utah to fund pro-running. I started that non-profit about a year and a half ago, and we will receive our funding in a month.
On building community around a sport:
I love the community aspect of running and want it to keep growing, especially in Utah. I think there is a lot of running talent here and a lot of great people [in cross-country] in the state. There are lots of running talent here, so we’re just trying to keep developing it and create those ties back to the community.
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| Isaac Wood standing in front of banners in the Lifetime Activities Center. |
Why SLCC Athletics?
It was an amazing opportunity to start a program from the ground up. We’ve never had a team here before, and I love the idea of building that program, building that culture, and setting a standard of excellence here.
When the job became available, I was excited to throw my hat in the ring for this opportunity. There’s so much running talent here in the state that doesn’t even get the chance to compete at this next level because there are only so many schools that sponsor running, college track and field, and cross-country.
With Salt Lake Community College starting a team, I was like, ‘I want to be that guy to build that up.’ So, that was a huge pull for me.
What are you hoping student-athletes involved in cross-country and track and field get out of this program?
I hope they have a springboard to further their success in running and educationally. For a lot of athletes, I think that if it weren’t for college athletics, they wouldn’t go to college. So hopefully, for the team we’re bringing in, there is a significant spectrum for where people are educationally.
For some people, going to college was an absolute no-brainer, and you have others where nobody has been to college, and they are a first-generation college student. It’s amazing to have both sides of that spectrum and everything in between. I hope I can help those by bringing them here to give them a springboard to further their education and give them opportunities to fund their education through their athletic talents and achievements.
I also want to be competitive. I would also love to bring home some high achievements of excellence in our sport. I want Salt Lake Community College to be known. That’s why I chose not to do ‘SLCC’ on our jersey — I want people to see ‘Salt Lake.’ I thought that was important for me, from my branding perspective.
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| Isaac Wood, leaning against a column. |
What are you excited for while working in this position?
I’m excited to start the season and get the team together. I’ve worked hard on recruiting for the last month and a half since I’ve had the job. We already have almost 40 athletes that are going to be on the team. We’ve had a bunch of good athletes decide to come to Salt Lake Community College over other schools, so that was big.
I’m excited to teach the process and teach it the right way, and hopefully, that will lead to great outcomes. Whatever those outcomes are, I’m not sure, but hopefully, they will lead to some success.
Who or what inspires you at work or in life and why?
My family. Everything I do is to support them and set a good example for my son of how to work hard and to set goals and achieve them. I have mentors that have given a lot to me that I would love to be able to give back and shed some gory onto them by achieving some success here and by doing good here as well.
The school and the Athletic department, who took a shot at me to start this program. These things motivate me to help us find as much success as possible.
Share something about yourself outside of your work life.
I’m a "Survivor" nut. I love "Survivor." I don’t know if you could call me an aficionado, but I’m a fan. Every night before I go to bed, I watch a couple [of] episodes. I enjoy watching social relationships come together and seeing how people play the game. It’s so interesting to me.
Family:
My wife, Elisa, is a professionally trained ballerina. She got her degree from the University of Utah in ballet, and then she was a trainee at Ballet West. Now, she is going to Italy to perform with a ballet company in Florence. She’s awesome — she sets a high bar, and I’m grateful that she keeps us to a high standard of living.
My son, Beck, is five years old and a typical kid. [He] loves animals, space, and robots. He’s my little buddy.
Hobbies and/or interests:
I am really into stats and data analytics. I started my own cross-country data analytics website and software that I run on the side. It’s called The Wood Report. In the college cross-country world, it’s a well-known data analytics software. My brother and I even had an MBA party for the draft. We both created mock drafts and played against each other for who was closest.
Awards or accomplishments:
When I was at BYU, I was a part of a national championship-winning cross-country team. My peers also voted me onto the NCAA Cross-Country Executive Committee, which was cool.
How has your experience at SLCC been so far?
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amazing level of support from Salt Lake Community College. The support has been great. I’m super grateful to have this opportunity to lead this team, start it from the ground up, and make Salt Lake Community College and our community proud.
We will be able to participate in all three sports — cross-country, indoor and outdoor track and field — and compete at the Junior College National Championships in indoor track and field and outdoor track and field.
New Running Programs Offered at SLCC
- Cross-Country, men’s and women’s: Fall season
- Indoor Track and Field, men’s and women’s: Winter season
- Outdoor Track and Field, men’s and women’s: Spring season
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