Former Cross Country Runner Cummings Selected As New SCTCCCA President
8/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Former USC Upstate cross country runner and current Riverside High School head boy's and girl's cross country and girl's track and field coach Eric Cummings was named South Carolina Track and Cross Country Coaches Association (SCTCCCA) president as members joined at the Carolina First Center to discuss track and field at the high school level.
Cummings has been with the SCTCCCA since 1998 and has served on the association as the vice president from 2008-10 before his promotion in late July to president. A SCTCCCA Coach of the Year in 2000-01 and South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association (SCACA) Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2010, Cummings currently serves as the Shrine Bowl Run assistant coach and will take over the head coaching position in 2011.
Before his stint with SCTCCCA, Cummings ran at Springstead High School in Spring Hill, Fla. where his team was twice state runner-up, and Cummings earned individual honors as a state runner-up during his senior year of cross country. Cummings also ran for four years at Upstate where he won the Peach Belt Conference Championship his sophomore year. Since then, Cummings has run several marathons and half marathons, including the Goofy Challenge which is a full and half on consecutive days.
"My main focus as president of SCTCCCA is to help bring cross country and track and field to an equal footing with the other sports in the state in terms of participation and the number of kids we can practice with out of season, compared to other sports" said Cummings. "In addition to that, I would also like to get coaches working together on uniform registration and meet management policies."
Though he no longer competes competitively in cross country races, Cummings finds time to participate in 5K runs with his 8 year old son, Alex.
