Don Babbitt Position: Assistant Coach - Throws Coach Alma Mater: UCLA 1989

Email Coach Babbit

With the arrival of his 16th year in red and back, Don Babbitt has transformed the Georgia throws program into arguably the most talented group in the country. Six NCAA titles, 16 All-American honors and 12 SEC crowns during the past six seasons further solidified Babbitt's hold as one of the premier throws coaches in the track and field world. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) recognized his outstanding contributions following the 2009 season and named him the East Region Men's Coach of the Year.

Under Babbitt's guidance, Georgia's throwers have reached a high level of success including 11 NCAA titles, 55 All-American certificates and 42 SEC titles. Nikola Lomnicka has registered three All-America certificates in the last two seasons to go along with the 2010 national title in the hammer throw, marking Georgia's third championship in the event in the last six years. The Bulldogs also won a pair of SEC outdoor titles in 2011 as Lomnicka and Brian Moore (javelin) each repeated as league champions. In 2009, Chris Hill won his second consecutive NCAA title in the javelin throw and capped his NCAA career with a USATF National Championship as well with a throw of 268 feet, 4 inches. This mark established a new NCAA American Collegiate record.

In 2007, Jenny Dahlgren finished her Bulldog career with three NCAA titles, eight All-American certificates and four SEC titles while shattering school, SEC, collegiate, NCAA Championship and South American records in the hammer throw under Babbitt's guidance. Babbitt, a former UCLA Bruin, led his throwers to eight top-20 finishes during the 2005 NCAA Championships, highlighted by Trevor Snyder's second-place finish in the javelin and Dahlgren's pair of top-five finishes in the NCAA Championships.

Nine seasons ago, Babbitt guided Lucais MacKay to All-America honors in the weight, hammer and discus as MacKay became a six-time All-America thrower while at UGA. He also coached MacKay to an NCAA title in the hammer throw and led Panagiotis Mavraganis to All-America honors in the weight throw as well as SEC titles in the weight and hammer throws in 2003.

In 2003, Babbitt was named National Assistant Coach of the Year in the men's throws category by the U.S. Track and Field Coaches Association. He was also later named the USTFCCCA East Region Women's Throws Coach of the Year in 2007.

Babbitt has coached 39 throwers who have competed in the Olympic Games and/or World Championships and who have won eight medals. These include 2005 World Outdoor shot put champion Adam Nelson and 2006 World Indoor champion & 2007 World Outdoor shot put champion Reese Hoffa. He is has also served as he personal coach of eight-time U.S. Champion and current American record holder Breaux Greer (javelin), as well as Canadian record holder Jason Tunks (discus) and three-time Canadian Olympian Brad Snyder (shot put). In addition, Babbitt has been the long-time coach Andras Haklits, the three-time Croatian Olympian and hammer record holder, who finished eighth in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and seventh in the hammer at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Babbitt came to Athens from California State University in Los Angeles where he was an assistant from 1988-96. He built the Cal State-Los Angeles throwing program into the strongest at the NCAA Division II level, producing 45 NCAA qualifiers, 39 All-Americans and 15 NCAA Champions.

A native of Santa Monica, Calif., Babbitt received his bachelor's degree in Biology from UCLA in 1989 and his Master's degree in Exercise Science from Cal State-Los Angeles in 1994.

An avid writer and clinician, Babbitt has written over 50 articles and three book chapters for publications on five continents and in five different languages He has spoken on the throws at clinics in 14 states. Internationally, he has conducted clinics and seminars in Santa Fe, Argentina, Canberra, Australia, Sao Paolo, Brazil, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Windsor, Canada, Tampere, Finland, Paris, France, Toyota, Japan, Birmingham, Glasgow, Loughborough and London, United Kingdom, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Taipei, Taiwan. He also hosts an annual Throws Clinic at the University of Georgia, which has attracted 754 coaches from 14 different states and three different countries over the past 12 years. Babbitt is also the Throws Editor for the IAAF Coaches Education Program and an IAAF Level V Lecturer for the IAAF Throws Academy Courses. Most recently, Babbitt produced and taught the throws curriculum for the new USATFCCCA Coaching Academy which was established in 2011.

Babbitt is also an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and designed strength and conditioning programs for Cal State-Los Angeles' basketball, soccer and track and field teams. He also served as assistant manager and throws coach for the U.S. men's track and field team at the 1997 World University Games in Italy. He has also been a national team coach for Canada, Croatia and Argentina in various major international championships.

While at UCLA, Babbitt competed in the javelin throw for the Bruins, placing seventh at the 1988 Pac-10 Outdoor Championships.

Babbitt is married to the former Petra Juraskova. They have two daughters, Julia (13), and Veronika (5).