IATC Senior Team Members and Administration
The overall project brings together world leaders in their fields with the express intent of collaboration and working together during the term of the program.
Michael Spino, Ph.D.—Dr. Michael Spino has vast experience in organizing, coaching and teaching on the international level. He has conducted coaching programs for the IOC through Olympic Solidarity, researched mind/body topics within academic parameters, and published five books on the mental and physical aspects of sport including his bestseller, “Beyond Jogging: the Innerspaces of Running”, and “ Breakthrough: Maximum Sports Training.” He was a founding teacher, then Director and conference coordinator of the progressive Esalen Sports Center and directed numerous international research, coaching and athletic programs at the university level at Georgia Tech, Emory University and Life University, where he also coached cross-country and track teams that won 12 national championships. Dr. Spino directed the only US hosted UN conference for sport, development and peace at Kennesaw State University. He is adjunct professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also the President of the International Athletic Center Of Atlanta(IACA).
As the chief administrator of IATC, he will coordinate its synergetic team of expert leaders and maintain oversight of all aspects of operations and development. The IATC sport-training environment for mind/body/spirit training is derived from his experience with training designs. OPUS NOVUM fellow, master coach and intern mentor, Dr. Spino will initially assume the role of on-site director with outreach and consultation for internal and international collaboration, university-directed mentorship and masters degree and research consortium with potentiality of linking institutions and Sister City programs.
David Meggyesy—Co-Founder and Teacher Instructor
After being a stand out player for the St. Louis Cardinals for seven years in the National Football League (NFL), David was for 25 years the Western Regional Director for the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). He has acted as a mentor to hundreds of athletes from high school, college and the professional level. Mr. Meggyesy is the author of “Out of their League” that explored the world of professional football. It has been voted one of the top 100 important sport books of all time. His writings on personal development and the deeper meanings of sport have established his visionary place in contemporary sport philosophy. Mr. Meggyesy was co-founder of the Esalen Sports Center and Board President of Athletes United for Peace. His teaching involves using various consciousness methodologies such as voice dialog, guided imagery and visualization, sub personalities, centering and archetype awareness to illicit and encourage higher levels of athletic performance and awareness in workshops for elite and recreational fitness participants and athletes at all levels of performance.
Djankou NDJONKOU, Director Of International Relations brings 32 years of work experience with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations. He graduated in the University of Marburg, Germany and joined the ILO’s International Training Center in Turin, Italy in 1979 as Program Manager. Over the years, he held a succession of high level positions, including that of Senior Advisor in the Cabinet of the ILO’s Director General in Geneva. In 1995, he was appointed Director of the new post-Apartheid ILO Office in Pretoria, South Africa, covering all SADC countries. He started that office from scratch, as there was no ILO presence in the country during Apartheid. Starting in 1996, he was appointed Director of the ILO Office in Beijing, China, covering Macao, Hong Kong and the Republic of Mongolia, a position he held for 8 years. He was appointed Director of the ILO Office in New York and ILO Representative to the United Nations from 2004 to 2008, where he was instrumental in the adoption of the ILO Decent Work Agenda by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and by the UN World Summit 2005. During his long UN career, Djankou has been an active promoter and advocate of social justice and decent work. He has played a key role in the adoption and implementation by several countries of core ILO standards which include the conventions on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced and compulsory labor, the abolition of child labor, and the elimination of discrimination in the workplace. He has over 40 years of living, studying and working in diverse and international cultural environments in Africa, Europe, America and Asia. He is fully bilingual in French and English, fluent German and Italian and a very good knowledge of Mandarin Chinese.
Cees Vervoorn, Ph.D.—Consultant for Team and Player Development
Dr. Cees Vervoorn has a long history of developing elite sport in the Netherlands. After an extensive career as an Olympic swimmer and coach, Dr. Cees Vervoorn is now a professor and lecturer in Elite Sports and Education at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Applied Sciences. Cees swam in the Olympics in 1976, 1980 and 1984; his highest result coming when he finished fourth in the 100-meter and sixth in the 200-meter butterfly in the 1980 Moscow Games. He was an assistant national coach at three Olympic games, helping produce swimmers who won gold, silver and bronze medals, and has been Chef de Mission for the Dutch delegation for the Paralympic Games.
Nita Statham—Administrative Assistant to the Director
Nita has ties to the banking and information technology industry. For almost two decades she was a bookkeeper and customer service specialist in finance. Next, she advanced to become a pioneer administrator in the growing cellular phone industry expansion. After attaining a degree in Business Administrative Technology, and since 2007, she has been the administrative assistant for three prominent Department Deans at Chattahoochee Technical College in Atlanta.
Professors and Research Leaders
Professors and Research Leaders are responsible for the legacy producing aspects of the training and competitive program as help and recruit and attract our interns and set the stage for them to support our goals.
Lars-Eric Unesthal, Ph.D. Swedish native and world-renowned master teacher and researcher; Dr. Unesthal is the Center’s pioneering expert on mental training. He is an international icon in the field and will provide mental training protocols and oversight to curriculum development for all teachers and participants. Dr. Unesthal was the first sport psychologist to officially be credentialed within an Olympic Village. His theoretical and applicable construct of combining mental and physical training techniques together for research and sport-training activities is a cornerstone of the IATC philosophical and practical approach to sport peak performance and wellness. The esteemed patriarch of sport psychologist throughout the world, Dr. Unesthal’s dozens of books, article and research journals include: “Integrated Mental Training”, “Mental Training for Gymnastics”, “Golf Mental Trainer”, and his present book “Mental Training for Soccer” which is being published in 15 languages.
David Moreau, Ph.D. is currently a research scientist at Princeton University’s Human Working Memory Lab. At 28 years old he is an expert professor in the field of cognitive science on topics such as working memory, spatial reasoning cognition and motor performance, and has worked in more than 15 countries worldwide. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has received several awards from different federal governments for his work, including a Fulbright Fellowship in 2008.
Claude Sobry, Ph.D. Professor Sobry of Lille2 University in France will organize collaborative graduate degree programs with participating universities for intern training and research project development. The programs known as IRNIST (research) and IMISTE (master’s degree) that he has created for emerging sport professionals adds depth, outreach, and professional development of IATC. His numerous books include: “The Management and Marketing of Sport”, Management and Marketing of Sport: Local and Global”, and the three part series “Sport Governance in the World: A Socio-Historic Approach.”
Anthanasios D. Koustelios, Ph.D. Dr. Koustelios is an administrator and professor at the Department of Physical Education & Sport Science, University of Thessaly, Greece. He is uniquely qualified as a lecturer and researcher, as well as an expert in Human Resources Management & Recreation. His expertise will allow IATC to determine if the roles of our team leadership and segments of our projects are interacting and functioning for best reaching the goals of the overall project. Dr. Koustelios is a contributor and organizer of the National Greek Conference on Sport Tourism and a longtime central figure in soccer at the Hellenic Sports Academies in his native Greece.
Elie Assad Moussa, Ph.D. is chairman of the Division of Physical Education and a teaching professor at the University of Balamand in Lebanon. Dr. Moussa gained his Ph.D. in the area of Physiology and the Biomechanics of Physical Exercise at the University of Rennes, and has represented Lebanon at the 2006 Francophone Sport Minister Conference for youth and sports. Dr. Moussa has published over 40-refereed research journals to his credit including many that measure the physical fitness of youth in his nation.
Design and Construction Professionals
These project professionals will link with the work entities for the design and construction of the sport-training environment for mind/body/spirit unification.
INNOVATION
IATC Research members are considered for association to ON Research (www.onresearchinstitute.org), a collaborative network of intellectual, practical and institutional leaders that is an initiative of the OPUS NOVUM principles of responsible involvement. IATC’s sport projects join the ON focus areas that include aerospace research and exploration technologies, and earth and life sciences which ‘laser target’ subjects of immense interest to those involved and of vital importance to all society.
Victor Bergonzoli is CEO of Dartfish a digital video software company focusing on sports. Dartfish provides interactive internet content enhancements and the development of cutting-edge sport training applications. Dartfish’s technologies and know-how are widely recognized for exclusive televised broadcast footage and breakthrough training applications for sports, education, healthcare and more. At the last Olympics, 40% of the medal-winning athletes were Dartfish users and 90% of the United States’ Olympic teams utilized DARTFISH in their training and competion.
Christopher (Kit) Ratcliff is the owner of the pioneering architectural firm Ratcliff Architecture in the San Francisco Bay area. His firm specializes in academic, healthcare, and civic architecture aimed at ongoing sustainability. He will coordinate entity architects and builders on the design and implementation of the Center’s sport training environments in leading sport cities and nations.
William de St. Aubin, a partner at Sizemore Group, was the chief architect for the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. Bill has worked with Dr. Spino for many years on multiple aspects of the sport-training environment. The mission plan of Sizemore Group is to create public good that inspires as well as motivates sustainable towns and campus environments that are similar to the purpose of construction at IATC. His firm will also collaborate with appointed professionals and Sister City projects.
Andrew Gettig of Connors International will consult, build and interact with the participating entity in the construction of facilities of the sport training environment and playing locations for sporting activities such as fusal and team handball courts.
Activity Focused Teachers and Coaches
Activity Focused Teachers and Coaches carry out the designs and projects of the IATC. Each possesses world class abilities in their respective fields.
Patrick Walker is a high-caliber soccer coach with excellent qualifications to teach the playing skills of elite soccer and apply Dr. Unesthal’s “Mental Training for Soccer.” He coached Sweden’s U21 to the Toulon Tournament second place finish to France in 2004. Coach Walker is a modern leader with excellent experience as a professional footballer in England and Sweden, and has a university education in sports psychology.
Cezar Honceriu, Ph.D. is a former professional soccer player whose focus of academic achievement is the physiological changes induced by training specific to soccer players. He teaches at Alexandry Joan Cuza University in Romania, has collaborated in research with elite research institutions such as Lille2 University in France, and applied his methodology in programs with many leading teams throughout Europe. Coach Honceriu’s specialty is combining high-level training with applicable evaluative procedures.
John Downes, D.C. International Program developer at Life University with outreach to China and Central America, his expertise and professional teaching mentorship will be a coordinating effort with other health professionals in participating nations. Dr. Downes’ treatments will add to the peak performance and wellness components of IATC by providing participant chiropractic adjustments as part of the program with other peak performance practices, injury prevention, and rehabilitation. Dr. Downes will provide mentorship to appointed health professionals.
Dr. Lou Pack, a former surgeon, specializes in structural analysis, finding the often hidden abnormalities we all have (such as a longer leg or flattened foot) to increase sports performance, decrease injuries and prevent arthritis. He has been a physician for over 40 years and has worked with 8 world record holders in different sports as well as Olympic gold medalists. Dr. Pack helped the UGA Golf Team (2004 national champions), has worked with professional athletes in all sports. Dr. Pack has just completed his book, The Arthritis Revolution, on the real cause of osteoarthritis as well as increasing performance as you age.
Jim Liston is the founder of CATZ Sports Performance Centers, which helped prepare Olympic Gold medalists for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The administration of the MLS Los Angeles Galaxy, touted him as the primary person that helped them be the fittest team in the professional league. He is the co-developer, with Dr. Lund of Georgia State University, of the Fit for Playing curriculum that inspires youth for a lifetime of physical activity. Mr. Liston presently serves as an adjunct faculty professor at the University of Southern California.
Kristen Ulmer is a formulator of mental training applications and has developed a mindset repertoire of techniques to create her mental training model derived from the ‘Big Mind’ training. She was the world-leading mogul skier for 13 consecutive years and now teaches hundreds of aspiring athletes at all levels of health and fitness. Her expertise is invaluable for the various teaching modules within the IATC. Her involvement will be especially inspiring to female participants who wish to excel in their chosen sport, represent their nations and find self-expertise and conviction.
Project Development/Fellows Leadership
IATC Project Development and Fellows Leadership members are world renown in their expertise and compliment each others specialties to create a cohesive teaching and study unit.
Tim Richardson’s focus will be to bring together interns and fellows as emerging professionals that have a role and integral purpose within IATC so they can both assist in the implementation of research and activity programs, and focus towards application of the results in participating entities interning dynamic sport leaders who will be the future decision makers is a major objective of the IATC. Mr. Richardson has vast experience with developing young people from his decades of directorship of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and in Atlas Corps of Washington, D.C. (www.AtlasCorps.org). Atlas Corps is represented by Points of Light Institute in Atlanta, Ga. and connects international fellows to non-profit organizations such as IATC.
John Bevilaqua is a 35-year veteran in the sports marketing, media, advertising, communications and special events industry. He served as National Sports Manager and Olympic Project Manager for Coca-Cola USA, Vice President of Corporate Relations and Communications for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Committee and has extensive international experience having worked on the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow, 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France, 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer and with several corporate clients on the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Long time friend of Dr. Spino, they worked together to organize the U.N. conference on Sport for Development and Peace in 2005 at Kennesaw State University. Mr. Bevilaqua also serves on the Board of Advisors of Lake Point Sports.
Drew Mearns A graduate of Yale University and University of Virginia Law School, Drew has frequently worked with Dr. Spino in the development of programs and special events that help athletes, coaches and administrators of all ages and abilities achieve their fitness and wellness goals. As an officer of the world’s largest sports management group and later his own firm, Drew personally managed most of the world’s best known track and field superstars, including Sebastian Coe, Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Mary Decker Slaney and many others during their prime. A former national class runner, educator and distance coach at the University of Virginia and the University of Kentucky, Drew currently advises parents and coaches’ youth and high school athletes, and has been the father to five national class high school and collegiate athletes. From his base in the East Coast of the United States, where the highest level academic universities reside, he will mentor the research and sport leader tutelage of IATC interns and fellows.
Edgar Oliveira (Brazil) was the foremost national coach leader in Dr .Spino’s Olympic Solidarity program for emerging national sport leaders in 2001. Over the last decade he has emerged with his nation to become a prominent leader in the Brazilian athletic leadership that will host both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Edgar assists in organizing the international university and national training center liaisons with IATC. His company, Ed Sports conducts training programs and techniques training for elite and recreational fitness participants to reach a better level of wellness and performance both in entities and hosting intern fellows in his native Brazil. Besides being a leading youth sport professional at the world level, he is a sport consultant for the Brazilian Athletic Federation and the Brazilian Olympic Committee.