With the retirement of cross country and track and field coaching legend Mike Woods ‘69, former assistant track and field coach Dan Moore ‘06 will take over as the head coach of the Geneseo cross country team. “I’m very pleased,” Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation Mike Mooney said. “It’s a great individual coming to be one of our head coaches.”
During his time at Geneseo, Moore was on both the cross country and track and field teams. After graduating with a degree in psychology, he went on to Alfred University to receive his master’s and certificate of advanced study in school psychology. It was there—while in graduate school—that he started his coaching career as a volunteer cross country coach.
“I didn’t have a lot of coaching background other than what I was given as an athlete,” Moore said. “I started reading books about running, training design and human physiology.”
After leaving Alfred, Moore gained plenty more experience coaching. He worked from 2008–2012 coaching at Wayland-Cohocton High School while working as a school psychologist. He eventually left to become an assistant cross country and track and field coach at Geneseo. Moore left Geneseo two years later to become associate head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach at St. John Fisher College from 2013 to 2014.
With regards to his selection as Geneseo’s new head coach for cross country, Moore expressed both relief and excitement. “I had the decision of a lifetime to make,” he said. “I had a secure job at Fisher—do I leave that to become an assistant coach and hopefully take over? … I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here, so I’m glad it all worked out.”
Moore emphasized his commitment to helping student athletes improve, passing on what he learned from his experience as a former Geneseo athlete and coach. “It’s instilling my knowledge and a passion for the sport that was instilled in me and giving it back to the athletes,” he said. “I want the athletes to be students of the sport.”
Woods left an impressive legacy in his time coaching at Geneseo. Moore expressed gratitude toward his predecessor and former mentor for giving him the skills to continue that tradition.
“I’ve got huge shoes to fill,” Moore said. “The way Woodsy coaches, that’s the way I’ve been taught to coach … it’s been that foundation, the cornerstone of my coaching. What he really instilled in all of us is just ‘believe.’ Believe in the training, believe in the coaching, believe in each other and most importantly, believe in yourself. That’s definitely got to stay.”
While Moore doesn’t want to fundamentally alter the way cross country is coached at Geneseo, he does want to bring a more scientific point of view to the table. “When athletes ask ‘Why?’ they’re going to have a more scientific understanding of what’s going on in the body; why we’re doing it this way, what energy system we are using today,” he said. “In my way of describing things, it’s going to be new to them.”
In addition to being involved with Geneseo Athletics, Moore is an avid triathlete—competing at national and international levels. He is involved in Geneseo Fellowship of Christian Athletes and has participated in SafeZone Training, leading an educational session for the entire Athletics staff.
Moore is optimistic about his new position and what the future holds for the program. “I’m just thrilled to be here,” he said.