Rodney Zuyderwyk 2023-24 Track and Field Staff

Rodney Zuyderwyk joined the Notre Dame Track and Field program in the fall of 2018 and works with the multi events, jumps and hurdle groups. Zuyderwyk is a 3-time USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the year with his most recent award coming in the 2024 indoor season. 

During his coaching career his athletes have won 7 national championships (including 4 NCAA titles and 3 USATF Senior titles and 44 conference championships. They have also set 2 American Records and an Olympic Trials record.

Since arriving at Notre Dame his athletes have won 2 NCAA championships, 6 ACC Championships and 11 All-American awards. Under Zuyderwyk coaching Jadin O’brien won both the 2023 and 2024 NCAA Indoor Pentathlon titles. In 2023 O’brien represented the USA winning the NACAC gold medal in Costa Rica. In 2024 O’brien teamed up with Alaina Brady for a 1-2 finish at the ACC Championships in the Pentathlon. In 2020, Zuyderwyk coached Naya Sharp and Summer Thorpe also to a 1-2 finish at the ACC Championships in the 60m hurdles. Also while at Notre Dame, Zuyderwyk assisted Sam Grewe in winning the Para Olympic and Para World Championship gold medal while setting the world record in the High jump.

A native of Australia, Zuyderwyk previously served as Associate Head Coach at New Mexico where he supervised the vertical jumps, combined events and javelin. In nine years with the team, he coached 19 individuals to Mountain-West Conference titles, six outright conference team titles, 30 NCAA Championship appearances, three All-American honors, one Mountain-West Athlete of the Year and 10 All-Conference honors. Two Mountain-West records and 11 school records broken by student-athletes he coached. While at UNM, Zuyderwyk coached Sandy Fortner to a 3rd place at  the Indoor NCAA  Championships in the Pentathlon.  During this time he also coached post collegiate international Brittany Howell to a national record score of 4291 points in the pentathlon.

Prior to his time in New Mexico, he spent eight years as the Assistant Coach at Purdue University where he was named Regional Assistant Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA in 2008 and 2009. While in West Lafayette, he coached two NCAA National Champions, seven NCAA Regional Champions, 19 Big Ten title winners and saw 17 school records shattered. Two student-athletes won three USA Championship titles under his tutelage during this time. He coached two student-athletes to Collegiate Records, one of whom also broke the American Record. Zuyderwyk also coached Purdue’s first female Olympian and World Championship qualifier, Kara Patterson (javelin), during her career with the Boilermakers. Also at Purdue, Zuyderwyk coached Serene Ross to an NCAA and US title in becoming the first US athlete to throw over 60m with the new rules javelin and also coached her to a 5th place finish at the World Cup. Zuyderwyk also coached Lindsey Blaine to an NCAA title and an Olympic Trials final in the javelin.

Before embarking on his coaching career, Zuyderwyk competed in the hurdles and combined events for Washington State University where he helped his team win a PAC-12 Championship. In international competition, he finished sixth in the 110 meter hurdles at the Athletics World Cup and placed sixth in the decathlon at the World Student Games for the Netherlands. He also represented Australia at the 1998 Commonwealth Games where he competed in the 110 meter hurdles and 4×100 meter relay.