York University Athletics & Recreation announced on Thursday that Raymond Rudder has been selected as the full-time head coach of the Lions track and field and cross country programs after a national search.
 
Rudder is already very familiar with the Lions student-athletes as he served as the interim head coach of the program this past season and, before that, was the full-time assistant for one year and a part-time assistant leading the multi-events athletes in the prior season. In 2017-18, the Lions won 12 medals at the OUA championships and eight at the U SPORTS championships, with the men's team moving up nine places nationally from the previous year and the women's team climbing seven.
 
He came to York with a wealth of experience working with professional sports teams and Olympic, world and collegiate athletes, as well as implementing youth development programs to successful elite junior athletes. As the chief coach and manager of Athletics Barbados, he oversaw a number of tremendous performances by the country's track and field athletes, including Shakera Reece winning bronze in the women's 100m at the 2011 Pan Am Games and Akeila Jones claiming gold in the women's long jump at the 2014 world junior championships.
 
"From a nation-wide search, Ray emerged a clear leader. The combination of his experience, credentials and leadership make him the perfect candidate to lead the next transformation of our program," said Jennifer Myers, the executive director of York Athletics & Recreation. "Ray has established a tremendous positive culture within his teams and last year's results are testament to what he was able to build in just one season. York has a long history of success in track and field and we are confident in Ray's ability to continue to keep the Lions at the top of the standings."
 
Rudder has a bachelor's degree in physical education and sport from the International School of Physical Education and Sport in Cuba that he earned in 2006, and a master's degree in management science from the Indiana Institute of Technology earned in 2014. While completing his degree, he was an assistant coach with the Warriors and helped them win three championships in the 2013-14 season, the men's first ever indoor championship and the men's and women's outdoor titles.

He is also an IAAF Academy Level 5-certified chief coach and completed an internship at the IAAF High Performance Regional Development Center in Havana in the horizontal jumps.
  
He is an IAAF certified official and has diplomas in advanced sport management and sport administration from the International Olympic Committee and high-performance track and field coaching from the Pan American Sport Organization. He is also a licensed teacher from the Ontario College of Teachers.
 
"I am honoured to be chosen to serve the Lions student-athletes and I am grateful for the opportunity to have a positive impact on them and the York track and field program," said Rudder. "This program can certainly be a U SPORTS championship contender and will continue to be a feeder for Athletics Canada's Next Generation program. I am looking forward to seeing the current group of student-athletes develop their crafts and climb the rankings over the coming years."
 
Rudder will spend the rest of the summer continuing to recruit for the 2018-19 season and will welcome his team back this fall as the Lions look to build on a strong past year, where both track and field squads finished sixth at the U SPORTS championships.