Jessika Smith joined Parkside Athletics as a Volunteer Assistant Coach for Cross Country/Track & Field in January of 2021.
Originally a La Crosse, Wis. native- Jessika was formerly the vice president for a start-up non-profit organization for the last 3 years where she specialized in academic and athletic mentorship for a diverse base. She has worked with special youth populations from ADHD, ADD, and emotional/behavioral problems, to having led after school programs, school break camps, and was a coach for Parkinson’s’ group exercise programs.
Her coaching experience includes work with youth, high school, collegiate, and professional athletes ranging from NFL, NBA, MLB, UFC, Pro Boxing, and AVP. She was an assistant women’s basketball coach during her time at UW-LaCrosse. Jessika also served as an assistant men’s track and field coach at UW- La Crosse with a focus on jumps and multi-events. She was a part of their national indoor runner-up appearance and national outdoor championship in 2015. Smith also has experience coaching strength training with collegiate basketball, football, volleyball, swimming, wrestling, in addition to track and field.
As a student-athlete, Jessika was a two-sport athlete in basketball and track and field before focusing on track, specifically the long jump and multi-events. She is a 7-time All- American, was the national runner-up in the Pentathlon in 2013 and 2014 and was the Heptathlon national runner-up in 2014. She broke 11 school records during her career, which concluded in 2014 at UW-Stout, of which 6 records still stand.
Smith graduated from UW-Stout with a degree in Graphic Communications Management and minors in Spanish and coaching. She has her Master’s from UW-La Crosse in Human Performance with an emphasis in Sport Science. She has maintained an active NSCA-CSCS certification since 2014 and was a participant in the NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar 2015.
Currently, Jessika is working on her doctorate at the University of Western States in Sport and Performance Psychology. Her ultimate goal is to become a Sport & Performance Consultant to work with athletes of all skill sets and ages along with performance-minded professionals in non-sport fields.
