Coaching

Lars PoRter

Lars Porter is a Birmingham native, running at Vestavia Hills High School before pursuing his running career at Birmingham-Southern College. Following graduation, Porter was named Head Coach of the program, making him the youngest NCAA Division I Head Coach in the country.  With a young family, Lars stepped back from collegiate coaching and spent a couple of years working in youth ministry. During this time he volunteered with Mountain Brook Junior High’s cross country and track teams. Working with younger kids offered tremendous perspective regarding athlete development.  This time in the public school system ultimately led him back into education, where he accepted a job at Homewood High School, teaching math and serving as the Head Cross Country Coach and Director of Distance Running. His tenure saw six straight boys cross country team state championships, one girls team state championship, and three girls state runner-ups. In addition to the cross country titles, Porter’s work with the distance runners contributed to thirteen track and field team state championships and seven runner-ups that includes eight athletes earning thirty individual state titles, nine 4x800 state championship titles, and thirty athletes to receive All-State recognition. Two athletes were also recognized as the Gatorade Player of the Year in cross country, a title reserved for the top high school athlete in the state. While Lars is proud of these many accomplishments, his true passion is athlete development. Whether it is run coaching or triathlon coaching, he believes that with the right support and direction everyone can improve. His hope is to help as many people as possible realize their goals.

Lars Porter has USATF Level 2 coaching credentials in Endurance, Throws, and Sprints/Hurdles along with USAT (Triathlon) Level 1 coaching credentials.  He is also a USATF Level 1 Instructor.