“Track and Field is essentially my life! I have been involved with it nearly a third of my entire life!”

Charles Muhammad has been an athlete, coach, mentor, administrator, director, or organizer in the sport of track and field for 33 plus years. He has been involved with youth track and field for over 18 years. As a parent, he has mentored all of his four children through youth track and field with teams such as the Northside Red Runners, Gazelle Track Club, Titans Track Club, New Birth Track & Field Club, and even Premier Athletics Track Club. His oldest son later went on to Alabama State University as a full scholarship 400m/800m and Cross Country athlete.

In 2008, he began his youth coaching career as an Assistant Coach of New Birth Track & Field, directing the distance team. In that same year he started their first Cross Country program. He remained the Asst. Coach for two more years before inheriting the program as its Head Coach in 2011. During his tenure with New Birth, he helped lead the emergence of a very balanced team alongside Coach Sorento Griggs. In the distance area, his teams became consistent contenders on the track, and a staple on the cross country scene. He helped lead over two dozen athletes to association and regional championships in his four years coaching at New Birth.

Upon the downsizing of its Athletics Ministry at New Birth, Charles formed Premier Athletics in 2011 with the goal in mind of building a “premier” developmental club that also produced elite student/athletes in the same environment. From its first year where it fielded about 28 athletes, nearly 65% of those athletes qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics. And of those, the team fielded ten Junior Olympic medalists, including an AAU National Champion, a Runner-Up, a Bronze Medalist, and seven other Junior Olympics Medalists. Experiencing tremendous growth in their second season (110% to 66 athletes), the team continued to build on the culmination of its mission by producing 12 USATF All-Americans, including a Junior Olympics National Champion and Runner-Up, two AAU Junior Olympics National Championships along with two other medalists, and having 69% of our athletes earn the Premier Athletics All-Academic team designation (Honor Roll students).

Over the years, nearly 100 athletes have come through his program. One of his proudest accomplishments is that not one of his athletes have come to his program and has not improved in performance. He has helped produce 7 Youth Individual National Champions, over 25 Youth All-Americans, over 35 Regional Champions, and 50 plus Association or District Champions. In addition to that, the team manages to still produce athletes that attain the team’s All-Academic award. Premier Athletics has an academic award for each athlete that attains an honor roll academic year, or has above a 3.0 grade point average. Throughout the teams’ existence, it has maintained that at least 75% of its athletes have attained this academic achievement.

Also a renowned athlete, Charles is a collegiate Hall of Famer at his Alma Mater, Westminster College, PA. He still holds the 800m record among his accomplishments at his school. He also still runs Masters and Open competitions in the metro Atlanta area. As recently as June of 2016, he was the USATF Southeastern Runner-Up 400m Dash finisher for his age group. nearly achieving Masters All American status. He looks to achieve those All-American goals in the coming year.

"My goal now is to recognize and support those youth athletes that are in line with our mission and promote and support their achievements. Much of what I do going forward will be dedicated to this and supporting advocates of youth track and field."