Schedule | Speakers

The following is a preliminary schedule for the Symposium. This will be updated as more speakers are confirmed. 

Thursday, August 8

8:00 - 5:00 pm           USAW L1 Coaching course
8:00 - 5:00 pm           USAW L2 Coaching course

Friday, August 9

8:00 - 2:00 pm           USAW L1 Coaching course
8:00 - 2:00 pm           USAW L2 Coaching course
1:00 - 5:00 pm           Registration open
3:00 - 6:00 pm           Pre-conference session 1: Lifting with Pyrros Dimas (Limited to 40 spots; included in price of symposium; sign up early to secure your spot)
7:00 - 9:00 pm           Welcome reception for all Level 1/Level 2 and Symposium attendees

Saturday, August 10

6:30 - 8:00 am           Training hall open
7:00 - 11:00 am         Registration open
8:30 - 9:05 am           Mike Gattone: USAW State of the Union and Welcome
9:15 - 10:15 am         Danny Camargo: Athlete-Driven Training
10:30 - 12:00 pm       Bill Foran: Strength and Conditioning, Building a Culture and Stories from Four Decades in the Profession
12:00  - 1:30 pm        Lunch on your own
1:30 - 2:30 pm           Dr. Gloria Balague: Include Your Mind in Your Training Design
2:45 - 4:30 pm           Dr. Junichi Okada: The Japanese Approach to Weightlifting Training: Current Trends of Japanese Weightlifting
4:45 - 5:45 pm           Kevin Simons: Youth Athletic Development
5:45 - 8:00 pm           Training hall open
5:45 - 7:30 pm   Coaches social

Sunday, August 11

6:00 - 8:00 am           Training hall open
7:45 - 8:45 am           Cathlyn Pistolas: Anti-Doping 101
9:00 - 10:15 am         Julie Miller: Lessons in High Performance
10:30 - 12:00 pm       George Asanidze: Georgian Approach to Weightlifting Technique
12:00 - 1:30 pm         Lunch on your own, for female attendees, Women in Weightlifting Lunch with Cara Heads Slaughter: Creating Your Pathway to a Successful Weightlifting Business Model: From Vision to Implementation
1:30 - 2:45 pm           Dr. Mike Israetel: Cutting Weight for Performance
3:00 - 4:00 pm           Pyrros Dimas: My Training Experience: Applying What I Learned to USA Weightlifting
4:15 - 5:30 pm           Roundtable Q&A: Moderated by JP Nicoletta

 

Confirmed Speakers

Giorgi Asanidze
2004 Olympic Champion (85kg) representing Georgia and coach of current World and Olympic Champion, and World Record holder Lasha Talakhadze (109+/105+kg)


Dr. Gloria Balague  		 Dr. Gloria Balague is a native of Barcelona, Spain. She is a Clinical Associate Professor Emerita in Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has worked extensively with USA Track & Field, USA Gymnastics and USA Field Hockey. She was at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics as a sport psychologist. She is currently the sport psychologist for the Chicago Bears, the USA Rhythmic Gymnastics program, and a consultant for USA Weightlifting. 

She is a former president of Division 47 (Sport and Exercise Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, and also of Division 12 (Sport Psychology) of the International Association of Applied Psychology. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Professional Practice Award from the Association of Applied Sport Psychology.



Danny Camargo 

Daniel Camargo, author of the book Olympic Weightlifting: Cues & Corrections,  is a 30-year veteran of Olympic Weightlifting as both a high level athlete and coach.  Camargo is a U.S. Senior International Level Coach and was the Head Coach for the 2015 World Championships in Houston, Texas.



Pyrros Dimas		 Pyrros Dimas currently serves as USA Weightlifting’s Technical Director. Representing Greece, Dimas had unparalleled success as a weightlifter, competing in four Olympic Games (’92-04) and taking home the gold in (’92,’96, ’00). 

 


Bill Foran
 Bill has been the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Miami Heat for 31 seasons. Prior to that he was the Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Miami and Washington State University. In 2009, Bill was voted Strength Coach of the Year in the NBA, the first year of the award. In 2014, he was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Hall of Fame. A graduate of Central Michigan University, he earned a dual degree in physical education and health education in 1977 and his master’s degree in exercise physiology from Michigan State University in 1981. Foran is the former president and co-founder of the National Basketball Conditioning Coaches Association (NBCCA) and a published author.

 

Cara Heads-Slaughter  Cara Heads Slaughter is one of the most sought-after weightlifting coaches in the DC metro region providing guidance to 100+ athletes and coaches weekly. Cara is a USAW International Coach and she has coached lifters to medals at national and international competitions. Cara enjoyed a successful 18-year career as an elite weightlifter, earning 2 junior and 8 senior national championship titles, setting numerous junior and senior American records, and representing the United States at 6 world championships and as a member of the 2000 USA Olympic Team in Sydney.

Prior to competing in the sport of Weightlifting full time, Cara was a Division I collegiate athlete, earning an athletic scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley. As a freshman, Cara competed in the discus and hammer throw, placing third in the hammer at the (Pac-10) track & field conference championships. 



Dr. Mike Israetel 		 Cofounder and Chief Sport Scientist of Renaissance Periodization, Dr. Mike Israetel holds a PhD in Sport Physiology from East Tennessee State University. Formerly a professor of Exercise and Sport Science in the School of Public Health at Temple University in Philadelphia, Mike has taught several courses, including Nutrition for Public Health, Advanced Sports Nutrition and Exercise, and Nutrition and Behavior.
Originally from Moscow, Russia, he has worked as a consultant on sports nutrition to the U.S. Olympic Training Site in Johnson City, TN, and has been an invited speaker at numerous scientific and performance/health conferences worldwide, including nutritional seminars at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY. Mike is a competitive bodybuilder and professional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu grappler.  
 



Julie Miller 		 Julie Miller is a seven-year veteran of the USOC and is an Associate Director on Sport Performance Team IV. Miller will also be serving as the Village Director at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Miller works closely with track and field, swimming, equestrian, shooting, weightlifting, golf and sport climbing and has attended seven Olympic Games in her lifetime. Prior to her tenure with the USOC, Miller worked in the High Performance Division at U.S. Figure Skating.

 

Dr. Junichi Okada 
Japanese weightlifting coach and Sport Sciences professor at Waseda University in Tokyo


Kevin Simons

Kevin Simons is the owner and head coach of Alpha Barbell of Pacific, Washington, which is home to many talented youth, junior and senior level lifters. He is also the coach of Youth World Record holder and World Championship medalist Harrison Maurus. Simons is an accomplished CrossFit athlete, having competed in the CrossFit Games in 2012 and 2015.