Travon Godette

Specializing in the hurdles, throws, jumps, & multis, Travon boasts over half a decade of experience coaching multiple national qualifiers, school record holders, & conference podium finishers across DI-DIII collegiate & high school athletics. Although the pandemic had cut short Amherst College's championship season, his previous efforts as a McNeese State Cowboy helped lead the Men's Track & Field program to their highest conference finish since 1980.

Prior to coaching, Travon enjoyed an illustrious four-year career as a Westfield State Owl, highlighted by his performance at the 2015 NCAA DIII National Championships to become a National Champion in the javelin. As the first male individual National Champion in School History, he set five school records (javelin, high jump indoor/outdoor, heptathlon, decathlon), & ten top-25 all-time performances (triple jump indoor/outdoor, 60m hurdles, 110m hurdles, long jump indoor/outdoor, pole vault indoor/outdoor, shot put, & discus throw) en route to being named a three-time All-American in five National Championship appearances across the javelin & high jump. The senior captain capped off his time as an athlete by being named the USTFCCCA New England Region DIII Field Athlete of the Year, the John Kurty Athletics Award Recipient, & the DIII New England Sebasteanski Field MVP after leading his team to a third-place finish at the 2016 New England DIII Men’s Outdoor Championships - the team’s best finish since 1989. Throughout his career, he helped Westfield State capture five MASCAC Conference titles & one New England Alliance Championship title.

Outside of athletics, Travon has always been an active community member. As an Owl, he served as the Secondary Education Liaison for the Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society, the President of Public Relations for the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, & the forum facilitator for several symposiums regarding cross-cultural conversations & celebration of race in the English classroom. He also earned prestigious awards such as the NCAA DIII Scholar Athlete of the Year Award, MASCAC Scholar Athlete of the Year Award, Westfield State Presidential Award, & Massachusetts “29 Who Shine” Award while also being named NCAA DIII CoSIDA Academic All-American, Arthur Ashe Jr. Second Team Sports Scholar, & Sankofa Scholar Honors. Travon went on to teach English composition & poetry courses while managing several nonprofit youth creative writing programs & publishing works of his very own.

Today, Travon is a Portland-based youth program administrator, writing instructor, track coach, & personal trainer. He earned an M.F.A. in Poetry and an M.A. in Literature from McNeese State University and holds a B.A. in English with extensive studies done in Secondary Education and Ethnic and Gender Studies from Westfield State University. He also holds certifications as a NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist, NASM Performance Enhancement Specialist, NASM Nutrition Coach, NASM Personal Trainer, INP New England Community Fellow, NCMW Youth Mental Health First Aid Practitioner, HRiA BEST Initiative Youth Worker, USTFCCCA TFA Applied Strength Coach, American Red Cross CPR, First Aid, & AED Practitioner, & QMT4T Active Bystander Trainer.

As a collegiate student-athlete, Travon earned the following titles: Massachusetts “29 Who Shine” Award Recipient, NCAA DIII Field Athlete of the Year, NCAA DIII Scholar Athlete of the Year, NCAA DIII CSC Academic All-American, Arthur Ashe Jr. Second Team Sports Scholar, NCAA DIII National Champion, 3x NCAA DIII All-American, 5x NCAA DIII National Qualifier, 2x NEICAAA Champion, DIII New England Sebasteanski Field MVP, 4x DIII New England Champion, 8x Conference Champion, John Kurty Athletics Award Recipient, MASCAC Scholar Athlete of the Year, 2x WSU Field Athlete of the Year, WSU Presidential Award Recipient, WSU Sankofa Inclusion Scholar, WSU Decathlon Record Holder, WSU Heptathlon Record Holder, WSU Indoor High Jump Record Holder, WSU Outdoor High Jump Record Holder, WSU Javelin Record Holder, WSU Top 5 All-Time (TJo), WSU Top 10 All-Time (60mH, TJi), WSU Top 15 All-Time (110mH, LJo, PVi/o), WSU Top 20 All-Time (SPo, LJi), and WSU Top 25 All-Time (DT).

Athletes can expect any of the following in a given session: SMART goal setting & accountability, physical assessment, check-in/re-evaluation, dynamic warm up, event-specific drills, general sprint & jump mechanics, speed/conditioning work, strength programming (facility dependent), nutrition coaching, sports psychology guidance, & plenty of motivation & empathy.