The road to Rio, Curtis Beach hopes, goes through Phoenix. That goes for Beijing, too. Beach, the former Albuquerque Academy track-and-field phenom and junior decathlon national record holder, has left Durham, N.C. – where he competed for Duke University the past several years – and will train at the World Athletics Center in Phoenix. The move, he said in a phone interview, will afford him more individual attention from more coaches in his attempt to reach the loftiest goals any athlete could harbor. “Ultimately,” he said, “I just want to have the best coaches I could possibly have while I pursue my dream of competing in the Olympics and making the World Championships, and hopefully getting a medal at those events.” The 2016 Olympic games are scheduled for Rio de Janeiro. The next World Championships are next summer in Beijing. The move is not, Beach said, meant as a swipe at coaches who have helped him along the way during an outstanding career as a decathlete – Jim Ciccarello (Albuquerque Track Club), Adam Kedge (Academy), Shawn Wilbourn (Duke) and others.“I’ve had some amazing coaches … who have helped me be extremely successful so far and helped me be at the place where I am now,” he said.The coaching staff at WAC, he said, is simply world-class.Beach’s primary coach in Phoenix is Dan Pfaff, who according to his WAC bio has coached 49 Olympians, nine Olympic medalists, nine World Championships medalists and nine world record-holders.“(Pfaff) is really cutting edge with his methods of training, as the other coaches there are, too,” Beach said. “They value rehab a lot, and their team environment’s pretty amazing.”Pfaff, in a phone interview, said Beach – who has family in Phoenix – approached him about the move. more
