Matt Girardin returned to the Bellarmine University track and field teams as an assistant coach specializing in sprints prior to the 2020-21 season.
Girardin’s first tenure at Bellarmine came as a men’s assistant and comprised three seasons from 2011-14. In his first season with the men’s program, the Knights placed third at both the Great Lakes Valley Conference Indoor and Outdoor Championships, tying the best finish in program history for the indoor meet and ranking second in the outdoor event.
Bellarmine earned four All-America awards (three individual events, one relay), 12 All-Midwest Region accolades (11 individual, one relay) and 20 All-GLVC laurels (12 individual, eight relays) during Girardin’s first go-around with the team. Between individual events and relays, the Knights racked up 13 conference titles in Girardin’s three seasons along with a GLVC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year acknowledgement (Ben Kolb) and a GLVC Outdoor Freshman of the Year citation (Torian Vaughn).
Girardin was the assistant head coach at the University of Vermont for two seasons from 2004-06. Overall, athletes for whom he was directly responsible coaching broke 11 school records and recorded 33 top-5 all-time program performances during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. He helped guide 2006 indoor and outdoor America East Conference Freshman of the Year and three-time conference champion Jan Carlson and two-time conference champion Carmen Lagala while Channel Hamilton and Erin O’Grady earned four All-New England accolades apiece. No Vermont women’s sprinter had scored a single point in individual events at either the indoor or outdoor America East Conference meet or the New England Championships for the three seasons preceding Girardin’s arrival.
Girardin was the associate head coach at the University of Louisville in 2004. He helped Jon Combs and Ronnie Stringer become the first sprinters in program history to qualify for the 400 and 200 Conference USA finals while the 4x400 relay team set a new school record and placed fourth at the Conference USA Championships.
Girardin also has an accomplished high school coaching pedigree. He was the head boys and girls coach at Oldham County (Ky.) High School from 2009-11, with both squads earning a top-10 finish at the 2011 KHSAA State Championship. During Girardin’s two seasons, nine athletes garnered All-State recognition after no members of the girls’ team had achieved the distinction in the previous nine seasons. Prior to that, Girardin was the director of boys and girls track and field at Fern Creek (Ky.) High School from 2006-09. Over those three years, 19 athletes earned All-State plaudits after a single one had achieved the honor the previous 25 seasons.
Girardin coached at Santa Margarita Catholic (Calif.) High School from 1995-03. He helped 22 different athletes and relays to a spot on the prestigious DyeStat Elite National Top 100 List (athletes ranking among the top 100 nationally in their event) and had over 30 athletes earn roster spots at NCAA Division I schools while the program earned multiple national top-25 rankings.
Girardin was the director of student culture, communication and college access at the Academy @ Shawnee (Ky.) from 2013-16 and was the director of athletics and student activities at Eastern (Ky.) High School from 2016-18.
Girardin made the Dean’s List at the University of Michigan and Claremont McKenna College and was a Noyes Scholar at the former and a Haynes Foundation Scholar at the latter. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Claremont McKenna College and a master’s degree in education from National University.
