Ward-La Salle returns to The Flats as a volunteer distance coach for his second stint at Georgia Tech, having previously worked in a postgraduate intern position with the athletic communications department from February 2020 to July 2021.
Mc Kinley is currently studying for his masters in sports administration at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La. During his time in Natchitoches he worked as a kinesiology & yoga instructor, as well as a physiology lab assistant in the Health & Human Performance Department. Ward-La Salle specialized in simultaneously teaching and running in VO2max tests under the guidance of Dr. Zidong Li. He also volunteered as a coach with the Natchitoches Central High School cross country and swimming programs.
Prior to his first stop in Atlanta he worked as a graduate assistant for the Northern Arizona University cross country and track & field programs in a communications role, working as a staff member on the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship team. Throughout his time at NAU he covered 14 all-Americans in total, while also adding over 20K followers across the Lumberjacks social networks. Head jumps coach Matthew Harmeyer played a large role in guiding Mc Kinley towards his coaching aspirations.
While in Flagstaff he volunteered with the physical education department at Flagstaff Middle School collaborating with Athletic Director Jake Dixon to host, coach and referee events for the student body.
In March of 2018 he earned his bachelors degree in kinesiology from Louisiana Tech University. Ward-La Salle totaled five years performing duties with the athletic media relations department as a student-worker, intern and eventually working a short term volunteer communications role for the cross country program for the Bulldogs/Lady Techsters under the guidance of Malcolm Butler.
Mc Kinley originally graduated high school having studied at Saint Andrews College in Dublin, Ireland.
