University of North Carolina Athletics
Abigi Id-Deen Joins Track & Field Staff
September 21, 2017 | Track & Field
CHAPEL HILL - Abigi Id-Deen will become the coordinator of men's and women's sprints, hurdles and relays at the University of North Carolina, Director of Track and Field Harlis Meaders announced Monday. Id-Deen comes to Carolina with 13 years of coaching experience at the Division I level and has guided 37 student-athletes to All-America status.Â
"I am very excited that Coach Abigi Id-Deen will be joining our track and field family," Meaders said. "In his 13 years of coaching at the Division I level, he has established himself as one of the young stars in our sport. He has a deep respect for the University of North Carolina and our goal of academic and athletic excellence. I am confident that he will be able to assist me and the rest of the staff as we work to prepare our student-athletes for both ACC and NCAA competitions. He is an terrific coach with a great deal of integrity, and I am delighted that he and his family are coming to UNC."
A native of Staten Island, N.Y., raised in Arizona, Id-Deen most recently spent two years as an assistant coach for sprints at Tennessee from 2015-17 where he specialized in long sprints, hurdles and relays. With the Volunteers, Id-Deen coached 400-meter student-athletes Nathan Strother (45.07) and Felicia Majors (51.29) and two 4x400 teams to All-America honors in 2016. Also during the 2016 season, the Volunteer women broke the 4x400 school record on their way to winning the SEC Indoor Championship.Â
Under Id-Deen, freshman Ari Cordell ran 46.27 to become of a member of the United States Junior 4x400 team, which win the gold medal at the 2016 U-20 World Championships in Poland. He also coached freshman Brooklynn Broadwater to the seventh-fastest time in Tennessee history in the 400-meter hurdles when she finished in 58.20 at the 2017 NCAA East Preliminary Round.
"I want to thank Coach Meaders and the committee for the opportunity, and I'm excited and ready to help the Tar Heels any way I can," Id-Deen said. "I'm excited for the journey."
Id-Deen believes in Meaders' vision that Carolina can be one of the top track and field programs in the country, and that the student-athletes who come to Carolina are those that have great ability in the classroom and in competition.
"Track and field is definitely a lifestyle sport." Id-Deen said. "One of the things I like about UNC is that when student-athletes are willing to work they can be a part of a place where they can be successful at the highest levels in the classroom and on the track. When you tend to give your best effort in everything you do, that's your character. Hard workers - they're working hard in the classroom, they're working hard on the track and that's just who they are."Â
Prior to Tennessee, Id-Deen spent nine years at George Mason, beginning his stint there as an assistant coach. In 2011, Id-Deen was promoted to associate head coach after guiding student-athletes to 10 All-America performances in the Patriot sprints and jumps and the men's team to Colonial Athletic Association titles in 2010 and 2011.
Following the promotion, Id-Deen earned the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year Award after helping the Patriot men to their third consecutive CAA title. Eleven of his athletes qualified for the NCAA East Region Championships that year, with two moving on to the National Championships. Also in 2012, Id-Deen coached LaVell Handy to the Most Outstanding Field Performer Award at the CAA Championships. Handy qualified for the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the long jump and took part in the Olympic Trials at the end of the season.
In 2013, Id-Deen coached the Patriot men's 4x400-meter relay team to All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Sprinter David Verburg was second-team All-America during the indoor season and earned first-team honors during the outdoor campaign in the 400. Verburg would go on to the USA Championships where his 400 time of 44.75 earned a place at the World Championships in Moscow, Russia. The women's 4x400 also picked up second-team All-America honors that season.
In 2014, the Patriot women's squad claimed the Atlantic 10 Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Three of Id-Deen's athletes seized individual titles at the A-10 Outdoor Championships, as did the men's and women's 4x400 relay teams.
In total, Id-Deen coached 21 All-America individuals, six All-America relays, 48 individual conference champions and 18 conference relay champions in his nine seasons at George Mason.
Prior to George Mason, Id-Deen spent two years as a member of Richmond's track and field staff, working primarily with the sprints, jumps and hurdle events. During his two-year tenure, his athletes broke 17 school records and earned five all-conference selections.
Id-Deen coached Richmond's Jessica Young to the World Junior Championships and five school records, including the 60, 200, and indoor 400, and outdoor 200 and 400. Young was the first female sprinter in Spider history to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 400 and the NCAA East Regional Championships in the 200 and 400.
Before becoming a member of the Richmond staff, he served two years as a volunteer assistant at Phoenix College (Ariz.), primarily working with the sprints and jumps.
Id-Deen competed in track and field at Central Arizona College from 1997-99 prior to transferring to Arizona State. He set a long jump personal best of 24-06, ran the 200 meters in 21.32 and set a personal mark of 47.50 in the 400 meters. He graduated from ASU in 2002. He and his wife, Kia (formerly Kia Davis) were married in August of 2014; Kia is a 2008 Olympian for Liberia, where she holds six-national records.Â
Id-Deen is a USATF level I and II certified instructor in sprints, hurdles, jumps and combined events. He also holds USTFCCCA certification in advanced strength and conditioning.
With the addition of Id-Deen to the North Carolina staff, Jon Debogory will now coach horizontal jumps in addition to pole vault, and Nicole Hudson will coach men's and women's multis and high jump.
