Donald Cooper is in his second year as the assistant head coach for cross country/track and field coach at South Carolina State.
Cooper came to SC State after serving one season (2006-07) as the assistant head cross-country/track and field coach and wellness coordinator at Savannah State. Prior that, he served two seasons as the assistant head cross-country/track & field coach at Fort Valley State University under current SC State head coach Tyree Price.
Cooper’s coaching experience began at Morris Brown in Atlanta in 2000 where he remained until 2002. He has trained professional athletes in the National Football League as well as for the Paralympics Games and the National Youth Sports Program.
Cooper’s non-coaching experience include working at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta, GA and opening his own business, Donald Cooper O&M Services, which specializes in providing Orientation & Mobility services and independent living skills to the physically challenged.
As a student-athlete, Cooper excelled in two-sports at SC State – track and field and football. On the track, he was an Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) All-Conference performer from 1993-96, a champion in the 400 meter hurdles (1994-96), 110 hurdles (1994 & 1996) and 60 meter hurdles (1996).
He was also an NCAA Qualifier (110 hurdles-1996) and an Olympic Trials Qualifier (110 hurdles-1996). In 1994, Cooper was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Outstanding Outdoor Track Athlete, and was also the first recipient of the Robert “Jet” Johnson Award which is given to the best male and female track athlete at SC State.
On the football field, Cooper was a member of the 1994 Bulldog team which defeated Grambling 31-27 in the Heritage Bowl. And, in 1997, he was named most valuable defensive back at the university. That same year, he participated in the Walter Reed All-Star Game and was signed as an un-drafted Free Agent by the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League.
In addition to his collegiate accomplishments, Cooper served as a guide runner in the 2004 Olympic Trails (exhibition race), the 2004 Paralympics Games in Athens, Greece and the 2005 ESPOO International Paralympics Committee Athletics European Championships in Helsinki, Finland. He has also guided current SC State 400 meter hurdler, Tempest Vance, to the NCAA East Regional Championships and the 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference record breaking win in the pentathlon.
As a coach at Fort Valley State University, he led hurdler Lynnesy Dailey to two consecutive Division II Outdoor National Titles; the 100 meter hurdles in 2005 and the 400 meter hurdles in 2006. In those same years, she qualified for the USA Outdoor Nationals. Dailey currently holds the Division II Outdoor National Record in the 400 hurdles (57.18) which she set in 2006 and is currently training under Cooper in Orangeburg, SC.
Cooper received his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology in 1997 and his master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling/Orientation & Mobility in 1999, both from SC State. He holds several certifications, including USATF Certified Official and USATF Level II Certified Coach in combined events, sprints/hurdles and jumps. He is also a USATF Level I Instructor. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Cooper currently resides in Orangeburg, SC with his wife Linnell, who was a two-time MEAC Champion in both 100 and 400 hurdles (1996 & 1997) and his three kids, Lindon-8, Jourdon-6, and Sydney-5.
