Concordia University Chicago
Track & Field Camp of Champions
Head Cross-Country Coach Dave Risch

David Risch begins his fourth season assisting with the Concordia track team this season after serving as head coach for 10 years. Risch, who has also headed up the Cougars' cross-country team for the past 15 seasons with five championships and four Coach of the Year honors to his credit, is responsible for 18 track records since 1998, five of which were setby his distance runners this past season..

Risch, a 1987 graduate of Concordia, earned his B.A. in elementary education. He taught junior high at Bethel Lutheran in Chicago for 10 years where he was Director of Athletics, coach of numerous sports, and Chairman of the Lutheran School League of Chicago for eight years. In addition, he was one of four finalists for the Good News Award for excellence in teaching in 1996.

Risch was a four-year letterman at his hometown Seymour (Ind.) High School where he received the Senior Athlete of the Year Award in 1983. He was a four-year letterman in Concordia's track and cross-country programs, the team captain in Concordia's first-ever conference championship, and all-conference for four seasons in both sports. In addition, Risch received NIIC All-Scholastic honors twice and as a senior received Concordia's Terry-Schubert Award for Christian Service.

Coach Risch has received his USATF Level One Coaching Certification. He is currently an active member of the United States Track Coaches Association, United States of America Track and Field, American Running Association, Illinois Track and Cross-Country Coaches Association, International Amateur Athletics Federation, National Federation of Interscholastic Coaches Association, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Bell-Lap Ministries.