You may know Jon Green as Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel’s coach, or as a proud Georgetown University alum (go Hoyas). Now, there’s another reason to have him on your radar.
Green recently founded Verde Track Club after moving to Flagstaff, AZ, to focus on training Seidel and expand his reach into coaching amateurs. The club borrows its name from Camp Verde, AZ, where the group does many of their workouts, and of course, from Green’s own last name.
“Molly and I have thrown around the idea of Verde TC since we started working together. We both decided this was the time to make it a reality,” explains Green.
Verde TC has since added Emily Infeld and Grayson Murphy to the group, and hopes to continue to grow.
“I think this is something pretty special we have with the women on board right now and I’m just excited to continue having it grow with the right people,” says Green.
Verde TC joins a number of smaller, more personalized training groups that are cropping up across the world of elite running. Names that come to mind include Very Nice Track Club, Union Athletics, Tinman Elite, and Team Bosshard.
While the elite athletes very much rely on sponsorships as a form of income and support, the idea that training groups need not to be centered around sponsorship is becoming more mainstream, and with demonstrated success.
“Over the years I think you see more instances of more diverse sponsorship situations like the Bosshard group where there's athletes training together from all different sponsors and coming together in one spot to train together,” explains Green. “It's about the athletes finding the best training situation for themselves at the end of the day.”
Prior to founding Verde TC, Green wore many hats. Alongside coaching Seidel full time, Green also worked with Mary Cain in developing her startup, Atalanta NYC. Green coached their elite athletes including Aoibhe Richardson and James Morrisey, in addition to providing coaching and guidance for amateur runners.
“When Mary explained what Atalanta was doing in November, 2020, it was something that was really exciting to me,” remembers Green. “… I was able to grow with that startup and…I was able to watch Mary adapt to changing situations and keep moving forward.”
Atalanta provided Green more exposure to coaching amateur athletes, which is fundamentally important to the mission of Verde TC. The club offers training plans and coaching for runners of all levels, opening up the opportunity to interact with a world-class coach.
While expanding his reach to amateurs, Green remains focused on nurturing elite talent. As the USATF Outdoor Championships approach, he is zeroing in on encouraging Infeld and Murphy to perform their best, while staying focused on what matters most: having fun.
“I want to make sure we are consistent in training and having fun doing it. If we don’t have one of those parts, usually the other one isn't happening either. My main focus is really on competing well, enjoying training, and staying healthy,” explains Green.
We’ve already seen the power of Green’s coaching in Seidel’s skyrocketing to the upper echelon of the American and Olympic marathon scene. Now, audiences can see Green’s methodology come to life as Infeld prepares to compete at the USATF Outdoor Championships (and hopefully Worlds), and Murphy gears up for the US Road and US Mountain Championships this summer.
