Women's Track and Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach - Sprints and Jumps
- Email:
- waterl01@ipfw.edu
- Phone:
- 481-5713
Former NAIA National Champion Rod Waters enters his third season with the IPFW women's track and field program as an assistant coach. Waters specializes in the hurdle, sprint, relay and jump events.
In 2008-09, Waters' first season of collegiate coaching at Indiana Tech, he guided the men's 4x400m relay team to NAIA All-American honors. That group set a school record with a time of 3:11.
Waters coached three individual NAIA All-Americans (Takeisha Hunt, Tiffany Aikin, Zach Chapman) as well as six conference champions. Under Waters' tutelage, seven athletes qualified for the NAIA Indoor National Championship in nine individual events and one relay. At the NAIA Outdoor National Championship, six athletes qualified in six individual events and one relay receiving two seventh place finishes and a fourth place All-American honor. Under Waters' direction, athletes broke ten individual and two relay school records. Prior to Indiana Tech, Waters coached girls cross country and both boys and girls track and field at the high school level.
Waters is a 2009 graduate of Indiana Tech where he received a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. In 2007-08 Rod was a student-athlete when he became Indiana Tech's first male National Champion by winning the National Title in the 110 hurdles in a time of 13.98. Waters also won four conference titles,and was named Outstanding Performer at the 2008 WHAC Conference meet. Waters is the school record holder in the men's 60m hurdles, 110 meters hurdles, and fifth on the all-time list for 400m intermediate hurdles with a personal-best time of 52.98.
A Fort Wayne native, Waters graduated from Wayne High School in 2004. While at Wayne, he was a letterman in football, cross country and track and field. As a high school runner, Waters won the sectional title in the 110- and 300-hurdles, and placed 2nd in the 300 hurdles and 3rd in the 110 hurdles at the Wayne Regional Meet. He was a state qualifier in the 110m hurdles, 300m hurdles, and was a member of the 4x400m relay team that placed 4th at the State Meet, garnering All-State honors.
After high school Waters went on to Vincennes University, where he earned All-American honors, and after a two year stint at VU, Waters went to Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana, where he was coached by former Canadian Olympic hurdler Katie Anderson. Under Anderson's direction, Waters won NCCAA Nationals in the 55m high hurdles in a school-record time of 7.43 and was part of the 4x100 and 4x400 National Championships,earning NCCAA All-American honors as well as being a three time MCC conference champion. Waters' personal highlights at Bethel includebeing a part of the men's 4x100m relay that received NAIA All-American honors at the NAIA National Outdoor Championship and having the best 60m high hurdle time in the NAIA with a 7.94, a mark which qualified him for the 2007 USA Indoor Championships.
Prior to becoming an assistant coach at Indiana Tech, Waters coached at Homestead High School where he coached the 2008 sectional champion in the 110m high hurdles and 300m intermediate hurdlerunner up. Under Waters' tutelage he qualified two individuals to the Indiana Boys Track State meet. In 2009 Waters coached at North Side High School where he coached an individual to sectional and regional runner up finishes, earning the athlete a spot at the Indiana Girls State Track meet.
Waters holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, and he is currently working on his Master's Degree in Business Administration. Waters is also USTAF Level 1 certified.
