Take the fast track to college
Fast Track Recruiting was created to assist qualified track and field / cross country athletes increase their college options. Our mission is to help current high school student-athletes find the best fit for them. Utilizing our long list of coaching contacts, college track and field recruiting experience and keen understanding of the admissions and financial aid process, we have had our recruits take official visits to most of the top schools in the country.
We simplify the recruiting process and help you find the best fit for track and field in college
Fast Track Recruiting is not a do-it-yourself, web-based platform; it is a personalized collaborative process designed to help you maximize your recruiting experience by proactively creating opportunities at the top schools in the country.
Over the past six years, Fast Track recruits have been offered admission spots at all of the top 50 ranked National Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, all eight Ivy League schools, and the top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges in the nation.
Fast Track recruits have received offers from programs in the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12, Big 12, Big East, Ivy League, and many others.
COACH WOOD
Coach Willy Wood, an NCAA Division I Track and Field/Cross Country Head Coach with 26 years of experience—20 of which were spent at Columbia University in the Ivy League—will guide you through your college recruiting process. His expertise encompasses decades of coaching excellence, from leading Ivy League champions to developing national champions and Olympians. Learn more about Coach Wood and his impressive track record below.
COACH WILLY WOOD
COACH WILLY WOOD FILE
NCAA I Head Coach - 20 years at Columbia University
NCAA I Assistant Coach - University of Georgia and University of Kansas
2012 London Olympic Games Coach - Commonwealth of Dominica
150+ Fast Track Recruiting Commits and Matriculations
Coach Wood boasts 26 highly successful years of head coach experience, two decades of which were spent at Columbia University.Among his many accomplishments in his 20 years as Head Coach at Columbia, Wood led the Lions to eight Ivy League team titles and ten NCAA Cross Country Championship appearances, produced a pair of Olympians and coached 29 NCAA Division I All-Americans in addition to setting 68 school records.
Over his last 10 years, Wood led the Columbia Women’s Cross Country team to four Ivy League Championships and the 2012 Women’s Track and Field team claimed the Ivy League Indoor title.
The Men’s Cross Country squad won Ivy League championships in 2004, 2009 and again in 2013. His last cross country season went down as the best in Lions’ history with the men’s team finishing second at the NCAA Northeast Regional and earning a program-best national ranking of eighth while making a third consecutive appearance to the NCAA Cross Country Championship.
The Women’s Cross Country team boasted four top-20 national finishes under Wood, including an 11th-place showing in 2002, and made six NCAA Championship appearances in his 20 seasons; while the men’s team finished as high as 17th (2012) at the NCAA Championships.
During Wood’s time at Columbia, the Lions had a women’s runner at the NCAA Cross Country Championship six consecutive years (2000-05). On the track, Columbia produced 65 Ivy League individual titles in the last five years and boasted more than 70 NCAA Track & Field Championship qualifiers in his last eight seasons.
The 2012 Indoor NCAA I Region Coach of the Year, Wood coached the second individual (Kyle Merber) in Ivy League history to break four minutes in the indoor mile. Merber later went on to break the American Collegiate Record in the 1,500 meters.
At the 2007 Penn Relays, Columbia’s 4x800 meter relay team won the Championship of America Race for the first Penn Relays title by the Lions since 1938 and the first victory for an Ivy League school at the Penn Relays since 1974.
Under Wood’s tutelage, five-time NCAA All-American Caroline Bierbaum received the 2005 Cross Country Honda Award, presented annually by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards to the top women athletes in NCAA-sanctioned sports.
He also coached a pair of Olympians with Lisa Stublic going on to become Croatia’s first female Olympic marathon runner. Erison Hurtalt was a two-time All-American and 11-time Ivy League champion at Columbia, where he was the first Ivy League champion in one event all four years (400 meters indoor & outdoor). Hurtalt ran for Dominica in the 400 meters at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and again in 2012 in London.
Wood served as a Coach for Dominica at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Wood also served as the Head Track and Field / Cross Country Coach at Bradley University. He guided the Braves’ Women’s Cross Country team to their only outright Missouri Valley Conference title and had them knocking on the door to a team berth in the NCAA Cross Country Championship after placing third at the NCAA Midwest Regional, their best regional finish in program history. The Braves’ men also enjoyed a program-best 2014 Cross Country campaign, placing third at the MVC Championship. Wood was named the 2014 MVC Coach of the Year.
Our Services
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RECRUITING PACKAGES
Maximize your athletic potential with our tailored packages! The Bronze Medal Get Started Package jumpstarts your journey with personalized email campaigns, school recommendations, and expert consultations. Elevate your game with the Silver Medal Recruiting package, including full engagement from our team and high-performance training advice. Upgrade to our Gold Medal package for comprehensive coaching, covering every aspect of your performance year-round. Reach for your peak with our all-inclusive services!
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IVY LEAGUE RECRUITING
As the Head Coach of Columbia University Track & Field/Cross Country for twenty-years, Willy Wood has a deeply profound understanding of the Ivy League athletic recruiting process.
Let us walk you through the process from start to finish and explain to you how the Academic Index, Financial Aid Pre-Reads and Likely Letters relate to your recruitment. Coach Wood will give you a candid look at what it takes to get recruited in the Ivy League.
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PERSONAL COACHING
Fast Track Coaching provides private coaching services to athletes of all abilities who are looking to compete at a higher level. Since the inception of our coaching program, our runners have produced numerous national top-ten high school performances, state championship performances and PR’s!
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RECRUITING 101
Free recruiting advice for parents and athletes alike, including the do´s and don´ts of recruting.
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ONLINE COURSE
FTR founder and Coach Willy Wood and Coach Ty Andrews have created this online course, designed for athletes and parents, to learn more about high school track and field recruiting process.
TESTIMONIALS
Our Results - Successful Outcomes
