Coach Larry Gardner is no stranger to the Wisconsin collegiate ranks as he brings nearly 35 years of coaching and strength training experience to the Raider staff.
Gardner has been coaching since 1965 and for the past 32 years, Gardner has coached within the state of Wisconsin, working with athletes from middle school, high school and college.
He spent two seasons as a coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and most recently, he coached Carroll Colleges track program for four years through 2002 and headed the womens soccer program for two seasons.
In addition to his cross country and track knowledge, Gardner has strong ties to collegiate soccer, refereeing between 35 and 40 games per year since 1982. He is a personal consultant to the Major Indoor Soccer League referees and the National Professional Soccer League referees.
Gardner is a 1965 graduate of Northwest Missouri State University with a degree in biology and technical education. He retired from teaching in the Milwaukee Public Schools system in 1998.
He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and is a certified USA Weightlifting Club Coach in Olympic style lifting.
Gardner travels throughout the United States, participating in and conducting various strength and conditioning workshops. He published a book, Soccer Referee Strength and Conditioning, in 2002.
