THE GRANITE STATE FLASH 2007 COACHING STAFF

Janice Platt Program Director (Bantam Boys) is a USATF Level 1 Certified Coach and serves as the assistant coach for the Amherst Middle School cross country program and is head coach for and school’s Spring track program. She serves as head coach for the Flash boys bantam team. In her first year as boys bantam coach her team advanced to the Region 1 championships. In 2004 her team finished 9th in the country and in 2005 finished 3rd. She also coaches at Wilkins Elementary School in Amherst, New Hampshire. Janice and her husband Justin (unoffical Flash team/website photgrapher) compete in many local road races each year with their sons Ben and Ethan.   Coach Platt

Mary Ann Dempsey (Bantam Girls)

Tina Pienta (Bantam Girls)

Jim Gallagher ( Midget Girls)

Cathy Merra (Midget Girls) is a USATF Level 1 Certified Coach and a founder of both the Granite State Flash and the Amherst Middle School cross country and outdoor track & field programs.  In 2005 she became boys & girls assistant indoor and outdoor track & field coach at Souhegan High School. Over the past six years five of her runners have won individual state cross country titles and eleven of her runners have finished in the top 10 of their respective age divisions.  Her 2005 midget girls team won the National Championship.  Cathy has been a resident of New Hampshire since 1985 and along with her family is a member of the Gate City Striders as well as an active supporter of the Strider's Fitness University program. Cathy is one of the top masters division runners in New Hampshire.   Coach Merra

Jennifer Rood (Youth Girls)  Jennifer started running competitively while in high school and then competed while an undergraduate at the University of Maryland.  She has run competitively for nearly 30 years excelling at distances ranging from 10k through the marathon. She has achieved personal bests of 1:22 for the half marathon (N. Conway 1994) and 2:56 for the marathon (Boston 1995).  Jennifer has also participated in a 24 hour relay and 100 women, 100 mile relay.  Jennifer now runs primarily recreationally but jumps in an occasional race. Jennifer is also an avid hiker, climber and skier. Jennifer is an attorney and shareholder in the Manchester office of the Portland, Maine based law firm of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer and Nelson and proud mother of Flash Youth Hannah Marshall and Flash Bantam Sam Marshall. 

Mike Merra (Youth Boys) is a USATF Level 1 Certified Coach and a founder of the Granite State Flash.  He has coached youth cross country for nine years and served as head cross country as well as track & field coach for St. Joseph's Regional Junior High School in Manchester from 2004-2006.  He has coached both youth and midget levels for the Flash and in 2005 in Smithfield, Rhode Island his midget boys team won the National USATF Junior Olympic Championship with three runners earning All-American honors.  In 2006 his midget boys team successfully defended its National title in Spokane Washington with three runners earning All-American honors.  He is also an avid runner having competed in marathons as well as many local road races.  His wife Cathy is a top area master runner and a co-founder of the Flash and his sons participated in the Flash program and now compete for Souhegan High School (Christopher) and Columbia University (Anthony).  He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a practicing attorney at Merra & Kanakis in Nashua, N.H. Coach Merra

Rick Collopy (Youth Boys)

Jim Robinson (Assistant ) is a USATF Level 1 Certified Coach and assisting in his third year with the Granite State Flash. Jim found the world of endurance sports in his mid twenties. Once discovered, he quickly developed a passion for competing. In the past twenty years he has competed in over 200 races including 12 marathons, 35 triathlons and 10 trail ultra-marathons. His “glory days” personal bests include a 16:03 5K, a 33:00 10K and a 1:12 half marathon. His desire to become a faster and stronger athlete has made him a student of many great endurance sports writers/ coaches. Currently, Jim runs a few times a week to maintain fitness and to “keep up” with his two sons, Michael and Matthew. Along with his wife Susanne, they compete in a couple of races a year, and are also avid swimmers and cyclists. He is employed as a Technology Consultant for Vitale, Caturano & Co. in Charlestown, MA.