Gayle Hatch
Weightlifting/Strength Training
Gayle Hatch, Senior U.S. International Coach
Gayle Hatch's
contributions to Olympic-style weightlifting and strength training are quite
considerable. He has been active as a weightlifting and strength &
conditioning coach for more than thirty-five years. Among Hatch's many
accomplishments are memberships in both the USA Weightlifting and USA Strength
and Conditioning Coaches Halls of Fame and he served as Head Coach
of the men's 2004 USA Olympic Weightlifting Team that
competed in Athens, Greece,
the home of the modern Olympics. Only one other Louisianains
has ever been an Olympic Head Coach - Skip Bertman,
1996 US Olympic Head Coach for baseball. Hatch's club, the Gayle Hatch
Weightlifting Team, has a tradition rich program that has won 54 USA Men's
Weightlifting National Championships. Coach Hatch has also had athletes make
three United States Olympic Teams, and 12 World Teams. He has had more than 50 athletes selected to other U.S.
international teams. Some of the outstanding lifters coming out of the Gayle
Hatch program include Olympians and World Team Members, Bret Brian and Tommy Calandro, and Olympic Squad and World Team Members, Blair Lobrano and Matt Bruce, as well as World Masters Champions,
Walt Imahara and Chuck Meole.
Hatch has also had 20 athletes selected to Junior World Teams including junior
American record holders, Buster Bourgois, Brandon
Baker and Blair Lobrano.
The
contributions that Coach Hatch has made extend beyond the reach of the athletes
he has coached. Many of the current top U.S. Weightlifting coaches say they
have patterned much of what they have done after the Gayle Hatch Program
including Coach Dennis Snethen of the Wesley
Weightlifting Club, Coach Michael Cohen of Team Savannah. Coach Hatch is
considered one of the pioneers of Olympic-style strength training in this
country. He is the inventor of the "Hatch System for strength and
conditioning" and through direct contact and the ripple effect, he has
helped countless strength coaches on the professional, collegiate and high-school
levels reach a better understanding of explosive strength training for all
athletes. His philosophies were utilized in recent years by strength coaches at
LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida State, Miami, USC. These football teams
won a total of 8 BCS National championships. Appalachian State won two Division
1AA Football National Championships using the Hatch System. LSU and Miami
baseball teams also won national championships using the Hatch System. LSU's
men’s and women’s final four basketball teams used the Hatch System
as well. Outstanding athletes coming out of Hatch's strength training
program include Heisman Trophy candidates Warrick Dunn, Bucky
Richardson, N. F. L. first round draft pick, Anthony McFarland as well as
NBA players, Brandon Bass, Glen Davis, Tyrus
Thomas and Marcus Thorton.
Coach Hatch has won
numerous national coaching honors and is a member of the USA Weightlifting Hall
of Fame, the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame and The Association of Old Time Strong Men and Barbell Hall
of Fame. He was the first coach to receive the USA Weightlifting's highest
certificate ranking, Senior U.S. International Coach and is the director of USA
Weightlifting's Southern Regional Training Center, located at the US Sports
Training Academy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Coach Hatch is regarded as one of
USA Weightlifting's strongest leaders. In 1990 the USAW Board of Directors
approved a proposal by Coach Hatch to start out-of-competition random drug
testing for both national and junior national squad members. Hatch graduated
from Baton Rouge's Catholic High School in 1957, where he was a
record-setting, MVP award winning, All State, All American athlete
excelling in basketball, football and track. In 2010 Hatch received the
Legends Award at the finals of the State Basketball Tournament. He averaged
35.5 points and 22.5 rebounds throughout the 1957 State Basketball Playoffs
setting a record double/double that still stands today. Hatch's
37points and 24 rebounds in the State Playoff Semi-finals game is still the
best double/double in the history of Louisiana high school basketball. He
is a member of the CHS Grizzly Greats Hall of Fame and the Louisiana High
School Sports Hall of Fame. On May 31, 2002, Catholic High School named
its new state of the art weight room the Gayle Hatch Strength Training
Center. Out of high school
Hatch signed a basketball scholarship with Mississippi State of the SEC. He
lead the freshman team to a 26 wins and 1 loss record before moving on to
Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. There he starred in
basketball and set numerous school records some of which still stand today. One
of those records came in a 44 point, 18 rebound game against powerhouse
KentuckyWesleyan. Hatch hit an amazing (.857) 18 out of 21 field goal attempts
setting a field goal percentage record for 20 attempts or more in a game. That
still stands as a school and Louisiana state college record and also
ranks as one of college basketball's all-time best. This state college
record puts Hatch on a list with such Louisiana great players as Pete Maravich, Bob Pettit, and Shaquille O'Neal. Hatch
also scored 67 points in an AAU game.
Hatch is a member of the Graduate "N" Club Hall of Fame,
Northwestern's highest athletic honor. In 2012, Hatch was named to Northwestern
State University's All-Century Basketball Team (1912-2012). Also Dale
Brown established a basketball scholarship in the name of Gayle Hatch. The
funding will come from the Dale Brown Foundation. In 2002, Dr. Randall
Webb, President of Northwestern State University, presented Hatch the school's
distinguished award, The Nth Degree. This award is presented to
those whose professional responsibilities and various other roles in making
this a better world are carries out to the Nth Degree. In 2004, Gayle Hatch was
selected to Northwestern State University's "Long Purple Line Hall of
Distinction". It is the university's most prestigious honor and recognizes
former Northwestern students whose career accomplishments have enhanced the
reputation of the university. Part Delaware Indian, Hatch, was inducted into
the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. He was selected in two
categories: basketball and US Olympic Weightlifting. The uniform that
Coach Hatch wore in the opening ceremonies at the 2004 Olympics Games is part
of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington
D.C. Coach Hatch is also a member of the
National Masters Weightlifting Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Weightlifting Hall
of Fame and the Louisiana Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame, the
Louisiana Senior Olympic Games Hall of Fame and the National Strength and
Conditioning Association Founders Club Wall of Fame. Hatch received the
2004 Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society's
Presidents Award. The presentation was made February 25, 2005 at the NFL
Combine. In 2006 LSU's Head Basketball Coach, John Brady, presented Coach
Hatch a Final Four Ring for the role he played in the Tiger's great season.
At the end of the 2007 season, LSU hired Hatch as the Head Strength and
Conditioning Coach for the men's basketball team.
In 2008 Coach Hatch
was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Also inducted were
Louisiana Tech and NBA great, Karl Malone, NFL greats, Leonard Marshall and
Aeneas Williams and Major League baseball great, Darryl Hamilton. The selection
committee is made up of an elite panel of state sports media.
In 2009 Coach Hatch
was selected as Head Coach for the Men's USA World Team. The team competeted in the World Weightlifting Championships
held in Seoul, South Korea.
In March 2010 Gayle
Hatch received The Legends Award from the Louisiana High School Athletic
Association for his outstanding accomplishments in the sport of
basketball. During the 1957 State Playoffs he averaged 35 points and 23
rebounds per game for Catholic High School. A record that still stands
today.
On January 2, 2011
the New Orleans Saints and Peoples Health recognized Coach Gayle Hatch for his
excellence through exceptional achievements after the age of 65. The
presentation took place during the New Orleans Saints Tampa game played at the
Superdome.
In 2012 Hatch was
named a Louisiana Legend by Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) for his
unparalleled success in the field of weightlifting and strength training. The
event was hosted by Governor and First Lady Bobby Jindal.
In 2012 Hatch was
recognized at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indians, in a
special exhibit, " Best in the
World Native American Athletes in the Olympics" which featured Jim Thorpe
along with other Indian Olympians.
In 2012 Hatch was
honored to be among 39 individuals featured in the book, Louisiana
Sports Legends and Heroes-Leaving a Legacy .
In 2013 Hatch was
named "A Legend in the Field of Strength and Conditioning" by the
Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa). In recent
years his philosophy and training system have been influential with strength
coaches at LSU, Alabama, Miami and Tennessee and Florida State resulting in 8
BCS National Championships.
In 2015 Hatch was
awarded the National Strength and Conditioning Association Alvin Roy Award for
Career Achievement.
In 2016 Hatch was
inducted into the Old Time Strongmen and Barbell Association Hall of Fame.
In 2017 Hatch was
inducted into the AAU Strength Sports Hall of Fame.
Hatch who finished his collegiate career in 1962 signed a professional contract
with the Chicago Majors of the American Basketball League forerunner of the ABA
which eventually merged with the NBA. After his basketball career, he came back
to Baton Rouge and started his weightlifting and strength training program.
Alvin Roy was a
major influence on Hatch's weightlifting and strength training career. Roy had
trained Hatch as an athlete along with other noted athletes such as 1959
Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon, Green Bay Packer's Hall of Fame fullback
Jimmy Taylor, and all-time professional basketball great Bob Pettit. These,
along with many other outstanding athletes, trained with Alvin Roy at his
training center in Baton Rouge. Roy served as team manager for the winning
United States Olympic Team at the XV Olympiad in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. He
was also professional football's first full-time
strength coach. He installed the first comprehensive, year-round strength
program for the San Diego Chargers. As a result, the Chargers went on to win
the World Championship. Over the years, Roy installed strength programs for the
Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. After Alvin Roy's
retirement, Hatch took over the strength coaching duties at Alvin Roy's
Training Center. What Hatch did -- and what many had said couldn't be done --
was to add a successful Olympic-style weightlifting program in a commercial
gym. But Alvin Roy's words to Hatch were to prove prophetic: "Gayle,"
Alvin said, "if anyone can do it, you can."
The rest is history.
In June of 2003
both Alvin Roy and Gayle Hatch were inducted into the inaugural USA Strength
and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame.