Scott Irving - Assistant Coach | Javelin - Track and Field Support Staff

Scott Irving

Title:
Assistant Coach | Javelin

Former Air Force assistant Scott Irving returned to the Academy in the fall of 2025 as the javelin coach for the track and field team. Irving is in his second turn with the Falcons, having previously spent 14 years on staff as an assistant coach (1999-07) and associate head coach (2008-13).

During his first stint at the Academy, Irving coached Dana Pounds to back-to-back NCAA titles in the javelin (2005, 2006) and a still-standing Mountain West record throw of 195’8”. Their partnership continued after Pounds graduated from USAFA, as Irving served as her personal coach in the Air Force World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) – helping her to the national title at the 2007 USATF Outdoor Championships and a runner-up finish at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials.

At the time of his retirement in 2013, seven of the 10 female NCAA Division I All-Americans in Air Force history – across all sports – were under Irving’s guidance. In addition to three All-America citations in the javelin for Pounds (2004-06), he coached Olivie Korte (2006 discus), and Sara Neubauer (2009-10 discus, 2009 shot put) to four All-American finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. During his tenure, Irving-coached athletes also accounted for 12 of school’s 18 women’s Mountain West titles, with six throwers combining for 11 conference titles in the throwing events – Dominique Boivin (2003 discus throw), Pounds (2004-06 javelin), Korte (2007 discus throw), Neubauer (2010 indoor shot put, outdoor shot put, weight throw, discus throw), Katie Weber (2010 javelin), and Paige Blackburn (2012 javelin). In addition, he was the event coach for Ana-Maria Ortega when she won the conference pole vault title during the 2001 season.

On the men’s side, Irving-coached athletes accounted for nine Mountain West titles, including three of the first four conference championships in the javelin (Joe Bonner: 2000, Tim Fritz: 2002-03). With Matt Schwandt claiming the MW javelin title in 2007, Irving saw throwers from his combined roster account for six-straight championships in that event (2002-07). Also under his watch, Robert Drye claimed back-to-back titles in the hammer throw (2011-12), David Lissy won the shot put at the 2008 MW Indoor Championships, and Anthony Park swept the indoor and outdoor long jump titles in 2004. The men’s throwers out-scored their counterparts from the Mountain West at three conference championship meets (2008 indoor, 2011 outdoor, 2013 outdoor) – a feat highlighted by a record 55-point performance in 2013.

Irving was on the sideline for countless Air Force records during his first stint at the Academy and retired with his athletes at the top of the program standings in every throwing event.

The success of his Air Force athletes also extended into the classroom, as 12 of his throwers were named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s All-Academic Team during his first coaching stint. Irving also saw William Kent receive multiple sportsmanship awards from the Mountain West and NCAA in 2013, while Neubauer and Pounds have both been inducted into the Air Force Athletics Hall of Fame. Individually, Irving was honored as the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2010, while receiving a Career Achievement Award from the Sportswomen of Colorado organization in 2013.

Irving has remained active in coaching since retiring from the Academy in 2013. Following a move to New Mexico in 2014, he spent one year as a volunteer coach with the University of New Mexico track and field team, before coaching that throwers at Albuquerque Academy (2016-20) and helping the Chargers to the girls’ state championship n in 2019. Irving, who moved back to Colorado Springs in 2022, spent the last four years coaching the javelin at CSU Pueblo. During his time with the Thunderwolves, he oversaw multiple school records and coached two NCAA Division II All-Americans (one male, one female) in 2025.