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Jarrett Foster is entering his seventh year as an assistant coach with the Clemson track and field program, where he works with the Tiger field event athletes. During his time at Clemson, he has coached eight All-Americans and 32 NCAA qualifiers. In addition, Foster has coached 18 ACC Champions and 46 all-conference selections.
Foster was named the East Region Assistant Coach of the Year for Jumps/Combined Events, an honor by the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTCA). He earned the inaugural award after coaching a long jumper and triple jumper to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, as well as a high jumper, pole vaulter, and two throwers to competition at the East Region Championships. He also guided Adam Linkenauger and George Kitchens to a sweep of the ACC's indoor and outdoor high jump and long jump titles, respectively. Foster coached field event athletes to nine All-ACC honors during the 2005 season. Pole vaulter Mitch Greeley also earned honors in 2005, as he won a silver medal at the Pan American Junior Championships under the guidance of Foster.
In 2004, Foster's field event athletes enjoyed unprecendented success, earning two All-America honors with seven Tigers advancing to the NCAA Championships. Clemson swept the top three finishes in the decathlon at the ACC Outdoor Championships, and finished first and third in the inaugural ACC heptathlon. Rick Hill captured the heptathlon and decathlon crowns at the ACC Championships and advanced to the NCAA Championships in both events. At the ACC Indoor Championships, Derek Gilson won the shot put, the first Tiger to do so since 1992. George Kitchens was an All-American in the long jump both indoor and outdoor, becoming the first Tiger long jumper to earn the honor in both seasons. Adam Linkenauger, the ACC Indoor Freshman of the Year, won the ACC high jump titles and competed at the national meet both indoor and outdoor in his rookie season, while fellow high jumper Terrance McDaniel also competed in the high jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Overall, Tiger field event athletes won six ACC titles in 2004 along with 14 all-conference accolades, and 11 Tigers were NCAA qualifiers.
The 2003 season was a memorable one, as Foster coached two athletes to All-America status and an additional two athletes to NCAA Championship appearances. Indoor, Terrance McDaniel became Clemson's fourth indoor high jump All-American, and the second consecutive Tiger high jumper to earn the distinction indoor. He was also the third qualifier in three years. McDaniel also earned All-ACC honors in the high jump indoor, clearing 7'1.75" at the conference meet, and garnered Clemson Most Improved accolades in 2003. At the outdoor ACC Championships, four Tigers earned All-ACC accolades, and Rick Hill captured the conference decathlon title to lead four Clemson athletes scoring in that event. Ryan Lewis, Terrance McDaniel and Kai Maull each earned all-conference honors, finishing in the top three in the pole vault, long jump and triple jump. Seven field event Tigers qualified for the inaugural East Region Championships, where George Kitchens claimed the long jump title to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Ryan Lewis placed fourth in the pole vault with a season-best vault of 16'7.25" to advance to the NCAA Championships, making Tiger history as the first pole vaulter to compete at the NCAA meet. At the national meet, Kitchens earned All-America honors to become the fourth athlete to earn the accolade under Foster at Clemson. Kitchens also became the second Tiger field event athlete to set a school record under Foster's tutelage, when he broke the 18-year old long jump record. Rick Hill also competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the decathlon, finishing 14th. Hill also continued to excel in the classroom, earning his second Academic All-America honor. He holds the distinction of being the only ACC track and field athlete to earn the honor in 2003. Former Clemson All-American high jumper Doug Ameigh also earned the accolade in 2002.
In 2002, Foster coached his second NCAA All-American (indoor high jump), as well as a NCAA qualifier in the decathlon. Outdoors, four of his student-athletes moved into Clemson's top five all-time list in the hammer, pole vault and decathlon. Last year, two high jumpers qualified for the NCAA Championships, and the Tigers recorded their highest national finish indoors (fourth) in the event. Four performances ranking in Clemson's top-five all-time were also recorded during the indoor season, and Foster was responsible for a second-place finish in the high jump, with a provisional qualifying mark, at the Indoor ACC Championships. At the outdoor conference meet, Foster coached three Tigers to all-conference honors in the high jump, decathlon and pole vault.
In 2001, Foster coached the first decathlon All-American in Clemson track and field history. The Tigers also won the ACC Championship in the decathlon after claiming the high jump title indoor. Three Clemson athletes received four all-conference accolades in the high jump, pole vault and decathlon in 2001.
In his first season with the Tigers, Foster was responsible for coaching the ACC Champions in the pole vault, high jump and decathlon and sending three student-athletes to the NCAA Championships. Five other field event athletes received all-conference accolades in the high jump, pole vault, shot put and decathlon. Eight field event Tigers posted performances during the 1999-2000 season that rank in Clemson's top-five all-time list. During the 2000-2001 season, field event Tigers turned in nine top-five performances.
Foster has coached seven Junior National All-Americans, including one each in the pole vault in 1998, the high jump in 2000 and 2001, the hammer throw in 2000, as well as in the shot put in 2002.
Foster served as an assistant coach at Western Carolina for three seasons before coming to Clemson. At WCU, he was responsible for the throws, pole vault, high jump and multi-events. Over the three years, the Catamounts claimed five Southern Conference team championships, three for the women's team and two for the men.
At Western Carolina, Foster developed three Southern Conference Freshmen of the Year and 28 Southern Conference individual champions, including two Southern Conference MVPs.
A three-year letterwinner on the Western Carolina track and field team, Foster was chosen team captain and MVP his senior season. Foster earned his bachelor's degree in parks and recreation management from Western Carolina in 1995 and completed his master's degree in education at the school in 1997.
