Coach Derio Long was a multiple-time high school state champion, a High School All-American, and a Division I athlete at Wichita State University — where he earned All-Conference honors — and that was just the warm-up. The real work started when he turned around and gave it back.
He began his coaching career at El Modena High School in California, then moved into club coaching with Lane 4 Track Club. From there he stepped up to the collegiate ranks at the University of Tulsa, working on athlete development at the Division I level.
For the past four years — and ten years coaching all-told — Coach Long has been with Oklahoma Cheetah as Tulsa Head Coach, leading the sprints and hurdles program. His athletes are national champions, state champions, high school All-Americans, state and school record holders, and a growing list of collegiate scholarship recipients.
One day you'll miss the pain.
Coach Long's approach is built on individualized training and a single conviction: speed isn't a gift you're born with — it's a skill, and a skill that elevates performance in every explosive sport.
Every athlete who walks into Coach Long's program gets a plan built around them — not a generic template. Sprint mechanics, hurdle technique, and explosive power are coached with technical precision and sport-specific programming.
The work isn't just about running faster. It's about maximizing potential — the kind of preparation that lets an athlete step onto the line with confidence, in any sport, at any stage of their career.
That's why Coach Long's athletes don't just win races. They earn the kind of speed that translates — to football fields, basketball courts, soccer pitches, and any explosive sport that rewards being faster than everyone else on the line.
Block start angles, drive phase, top-end speed mechanics. The technical foundation that separates fast from elite.
Lead-leg technique, trail-leg recovery, three-step rhythm — the patterns that turn talented sprinters into hurdlers.
Strength, plyometrics, force production. The output that translates speed into every event and every sport.
Programming that meets the demands of each athlete's sport — football to basketball, soccer to track. Speed where it counts.
What Coach Long has produced in his four years coaching with Oklahoma Cheetah — alongside his work as a private and collegiate-level coach.
Division I athlete. Multiple-time state champion + high school All-American before college.
Built his coaching foundation as a private speed and performance coach, working one-on-one with athletes across sports.
Led a high school program to league championships. Athletes broke multiple school records under his direction.
Expanded his expertise into collegiate athlete development, working with NCAA-level sprinters and hurdlers.
Four years and counting — leading the Tulsa chapter's sprints and hurdles programs and producing national champions, state champions, All-Americans, and scholarship signings.
“I coach because all the people that coached me saved my life. They gave me a direction, a path to follow, and helped me gain confidence in myself.”
“I want to do the same for kids that come from similar backgrounds.”
