OC athletic trainer and coach Keinan Briggs guides athletes during challenging times

Keinan Briggs is coach of the Leap Squad Track Club. (Photo courtesy Emarie Marie photos, Keinan Briggs)

Orange County athletic trainer and coach Keinan Briggs seems determined as ever to guide athletes through some challenging times.

The coronavirus pandemic has put a hold athletics, but Briggs remains committed to helping youth and high school athletes.

In fact Briggs, who trains about 150 athletes, is busier than ever. He’s been trying to help athletes by providing tips on how to remain in top physical condition while guiding them in decisions about college.

Briggs is also busy planning for the next season coaching his Leap Squad Track Club, which he started in 2012 while looking forward to returning as jump coach for the Mater Dei track and field squad, where he was worked for nine years.

Athletes have faced many challenges the past few months forcing Briggs to shift a lot of his training to a mental approach. He acknowledges how athletes have lost cherished time competing in sports and their time with their friends and their school experiences during the pandemic which he said took away the “structure” for youngsters.

“During this time, I created a course which helps kids start to think more on their own to be able to identify what maybe some of the issues they’re dealing with and how do they move forward with it,” Briggs said.

“A few things athletes can do is one, stay mentally active, whether it’s art, writing poetry or singing, just do something that gets your mind active, that’s a huge part of any direction in life and then be active at least an hour a day whether it’s playing with your friends or getting out for a walk or hiking and getting out to the best of your ability especially being respectful to your parents rules and then setting an actual schedule of your day,” Briggs said.

“All kids from first grade up to high school have a set schedule, they have school, they have class. Set your schedule and live by that schedule because it helps guide you. Once you get in college, you’re going to have to set your own schedule with your classes, your study time.”

Briggs, who played football and basketball as a youngster, knows what it takes to be successful.

At Valencia High School, he was the 110-meter and triple jump record holder, a two-time league MVP and was a league champion in eight events.

Briggs then went on to compete at Orange Coast College where he was the school’s male athlete of the year wnner and the 110 meter hurdles and triple jump record holder.

He then earned a track scholarship to Cal State Los Angeles , where he was the conference triple jump champion and competed in the Division 2 nationals twice.

Briggs then went on to have a successful professional career and was ranked sixth nationally in the triple jump. In 2010, he was the Southern California Regional triple jump champion and the San Diego/Imperial Regional triple jump champion.

Then, he began to focus on his professional career and said he “ended up going full-time into coaching and taking a backseat to my professional career so I could give more time to the kids.”

Briggs was 20 when he first got involved in the fitness industry and he began working with athletes in 2004 at Cal State Los Angeles. He found his passion helping athletes and leading them toward making the right decisions in the future.

Briggs has also put together a course for athletes who are seeking scholarships and said he has many contacts in the coaching profession who he can contact about potential recruits.

“A lot of my friends are head coaches of these universities,” Briggs said. “So I have a lot of contacts.”

Briggs’ course is designed to help athletes find the right place to compete at college.

“It teaches athletes how to identify what they want out of a college,” he said. “Many times kids say, ‘I want to go to a big-name university.’ It’s very important the kids understand the difference between D1, 2 and 3, NAIA and junior college and when they understand it and know what it’s about, they might find a better fit for them education-wise.”

Athletes should also create a highlight tape for themselves, Briggs said.

“And once you finally have that contact with the coach, what do you say, how do you say it and how do you actually talk to a coach respectfully during this process and finally, how do you negotiate scholarships if that’s an opportunity,” Briggs said.

“Coaches are always watching and they’re always thinking ahead. Coaches are always recruiting and always looking for the next talent because sports continues and it will always continue. There are always a new batch of athletes, so it’s very important that athletes are alway proactive in the recruiting process.”

Briggs is also devoted to leading his Leap Squad Track Club, a competitive track travel club for youngsters ages 6-17.

“Each year I kept getting more and more kids who wanted to be a part of the program and every year the kids kept developing and getting better and stronger and getting recognized in the state and the nation and that’s kind of been our standard,” Briggs said.

“The kids come to our program and they end up being one of the best in their school and their region. We mainly specialize in short sprint but we do all the jumping events and hurdles.”

One of the best was Woodridge High track and field star Maddie Lyon, a standout triple jumper who won every won of her events at the Pacific Coast League finals as a junior. Lyon joined Briggs’ Leap Squad when she was in the sixth grade and said she benefited greatly from his coaching.

“That was the main thing that got me to where I was because he was just such an amazing coach,” said Lyon, who is headed to Oregon State on a track and field scholarship. “And I look up to him a lot, because he’s not only a coach, but he’s also a mentor to a lot of kids. And it comes with being an athlete. You have to have a mental game, as well as a physical game when it comes to playing sports.”

Briggs said his program involves more than sports and each letter in Leap stands for a different quality. L stands for leader because as Briggs said, “when you think about it, as an athlete, when you’re good, people look up to you, they want to be a part of your success.”

The E stands for elevate: “Elevate your standards. The main part is to set your standards beyond what you think is humanly possible and live outside of reality,” he said.

“The A is for achieve, celebrate all of your achievements. Once you have your goals set, you can achieve your goals.”

P stands for prevail. “The journey is never easy; it’s always going to have challenges. You’re prevailing through all types of adversity,” he said.

Briggs said he also takes pride in his involvement with the Mater Dei track and field program.

“I took the job at Mater Dei because Rick Martinez allowed me to run my own program so basically I’m the head coach of the jump program at Mater Dei,” he said. “He puts complete trust in my program. This will be my ninth year and it’s just a blessing dealing with kids that work hard and I’ve had about 45 athletes who have gone on to compete at the D1-D2 collegiate level just from my jump program itself at Mater Dei. I’m happy with that number so far.”

Briggs said he wants athletes to think outside the box and continue to dream about their goals. He welcomes those who are interested in his courses and other services to go to his website: keinanbriggs.com

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com