Shioma "Sho" Obemeata enters his first season as an assistant coach at Indiana State in 2026-27. Obemeata joins the staff with over 10 years of national and global success as a coach and sports administrator and will work with the Sycamore sprints and relays groups.
The London, England, native began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Springfield College, where he coached jump events from 2016-2018. The men's and women's high jump groups earned USTFCCCA rankings as high as No. 16 and No. 1, respectively. In 2018, Obemeata was hired as the International Teams Coordinator with USA Track and Field's (USATF) High Performance department.
Obemeata obtained a Master of Science in Athletic Administration from Springfield College and Bachelor of Arts in Cinematic Arts from the University Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). At UMBC, he competed in the jump events, winning two conference titles in the triple jump. He also served as team captain for the Retrievers while earning Commissioner's Honor Roll distinctions.
At USATF, he supported elite athletes, coaches and agents to and through international competitions from 2018-22. Competitions included the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, 2019 World Championships, 2019 Pan Am U20 Junior Championships and 2018 World Junior Championships. Amongst his responsibilities were processing personnel through World Athletics procedures and facilitating training sessions.
Obemeata coached high school track and field athletes in Indiana from 2018-2026 at Park Tudor, Lawrence Central and Ben Davis. Jasiah Rogers set the state record in the 60m dash, ranking him 6th in the world for U18 athletes at 6.68. Elijah Jackson was the 2023 100m state champion for the Lawrence Central Bears, while sophomore Graham Adams (Ben Davis) finished fifth in the 100m dash at the 2026 state championship.
In 2021, Coach "Sho" founded Advancement Through Athletics (ATA), a not-for-profit organization designed to prepare scholars for their first year of college. Through ATA, Indiana scholar-athletes found success on and off the track. Sycamore freshman Collin Bumgardner won the 100m/200m double at the 2026 Indiana State Track and Field Championships. Ronald "Rocky" Duplessis and Uriah White won back-to-back national titles in the 400m at the 2025 and 2026 USATF Junior Olympic Championships, respectively. In 2024, Dominic Calhoun set then-indoor state records in the 200m and 400m, while Omema Anyanwu won the 2025 girls 400m state title. ATA proudly served more than 350 youth in Indianapolis under Obemeata's leadership.
Coach Sho holds certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, USATF's Level II school and Track & Field Academy. He is joined in Terre Haute by his wife Lauren and three children, Adanoma, Adanegbe and Adazee.
