John Frazier Assistant Coach Arizona

John Frazier Position:
Assistant Coach






Frazier, 39, was the assistant throws coach for the Florida women's track and field team during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Under his direction, three Gator athletes won All-America honors and Emily Carlesten was the 2000 NCAA runner-up and top American in the field in the javelin. His athletes at Florida also set school records in the javelin, hammer throw and the 20-lb. weight throw.

Under his direction, 24 of Frazier's athletes have achieved All-American honors, 13 at the Division II level and eight in the Division I ranks. He has coached four NCAA Division II Champions and has coached several athletes in the professional ranks at the national and international levels.

Former UCLA thrower and current Arizona State weight coach Dawn Dumble trained with Frazier after she finished her Bruin career. She represented the United States in the discus and shot put at the 1998 Goodwill Games, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively.

He has worked with 1996 British Olympian Shaun Pickering, who owned the No. 2 shot put mark in the country's history. Frazier also coached the 1995 U.S. Junior National shot put champ, Matt Pentecost, as well as Steve Albert, who finished seventh in the shot put at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Frazier brings a strong knowledge of the Pacific-10 Conference to Arizona. As a collegian, he threw against the Wildcats and was a three-time All-American in the shot put and also competed in the hammer throw at UCLA from 1981-86.

Frazier graduated from UCLA in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in political science and public administration. He made the move in to the coaching ranks two years later, accepting a job as throws coach at California-Irvine in 1988. There, he produced his first All-American as a coach.

After his stint at Irvine, Frazier moved on to Humboldt (Calif.) State University, where he coached for one season before going to Cal State-Northridge. He was a coach in the Matador program from 1990-94. While there, he coached three All-Americans and also received his master's degree in kinesiology and athletic administration.

Next, he coached at Cal State-Los Angeles, where he directed four NCAA Division II champions and 10 All-Americans from 1996-98.

Frazier has coached some of the Wildcats' great throwers in the past two years. During the 2002 season, he coached the record-breaking freshman Sean Shields. Shields won the U.S. Junior title in the shot put, placed second in the shot put and eighth in the discus at the World Junior Championships, set the American Junior and World Junior shot put records, set the UA freshman record in the shot put. Along with Shields, Frazier coached Julie DeMarni (javelin) and Angela Foster (hammer throw) to school records.

Frazier also guided current Wildcat Rich Legarra to a monstrous throw of 60 feet, 6 inches in the indoor shot put. Along with Legarra, he coached Jared Morell and Matt Wagner to second and third-place finishes at the 2002 Pac-10 Championships, continuing the strong UA javelin tradition.

In non-collegiate coaching, he has mentored former Wildcat Chima Ugwu, who had one of the world's top discus throws in 2002. He also coached the current World Scottish Highland Games Champion Ryan Vierra.

Frazier was born April 27, 1963 in Lancaster, Calif., and is married to the former Julia Barnes. They have two daughters, Lana (8-7-97) and Courtney (11-6-99), and one son John Jr. (6-3-02).




Courtesy Arizona Women's Track