Dana LeDuc inducted into TTFCA Hall of Fame

WYLIE, Texas - Longhorn All-American Dana LeDuc was inducted into the Texas Track & Field Hall of Fame Class of 2019 last weekend. A native of Tacoma, Wash., LeDuc captured the Southwest Conference championship in the shot put in 1974, '75 and '76. He set the UT shot put mark at 67-0.25 and in 1976, won the NCAA Championship with a throw of 65-5.50.

As a strength and conditioning coach at Texas beginning in 1978, LeDuc helped revolutionize full-body training and was considered an early pioneer of "unitizing strength and flexibility exercises to combat joint injuries." During his career at Texas, LeDuc initiated weight room design change as well. Having studied at the Institute of Sports and Physical Education in Moscow, Russia in 1987, he was able to provide ideas for state-of-the-art equipment during the design phase of the Vernon F. Neuhaus - Darrell K. Royal Athletic Facility. LeDuc added machines that allowed athletes to work through a range of 360 degrees of motion during exercise and thus become a more forceful athlete. LeDuc also developed a computer program that customized workouts to meet the specific physical needs of each athlete. This allowed for more intensified programs for younger athletes in order to accelerate their weight room development.

LeDuc left Texas in 1992 after accepting a job as the head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Miami. In 1995, he moved to the Seattle Seahawks as their head strength and conditioning coach. In 1999, LeDuc accepted a job as the head strength coach for the St. Louis Rams and helped lead the team to a Super Bowl victory in 2000. He remained with the Rams until his retirement in 2008.

The rest of the Class of 2019 consists of Joe DeLoach, Jolanda Jones, Darvis "Dog" Patton, Raymond Pierre, Lee Williams, Gerald "Corky" Oglesby and Lloyd Weatherspoon.

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics