---
title: About Us (old)
description: Accelerate athletic dreams with the Universal Speed Rating - the gold standard in speed measurement and analysis. Train smarter, play faster.
---

# OUR VISION

###### Become the gold standard for measuring and analyzing speed.

 

## OUR MISSION

###### To accelerate athletic dreams by training smarter and playing faster.

## OUR VALUES

##### Our values drive everything we do.

#### TEAMWORK

We have a collaborative spirit.

#### PERFORMANCE

We get results and continuously improve.

#### INCLUSIVE

We are positive, engaging and supportive.

## OUR STORY

One of America's elite speed performance coaches, Les Spellman, believes speed is a skill and that all athletes and coaches should have access to the tools to train smarter and play faster.  He and his partners first launched the Universal Speed Rating in January of 2022 with the hope that it would democratize speed performance training around the world.  Since this initial launch, coaches from all over country have joined forces to create a community to help each other and to leverage the analytics and educational resources in the USR. 

#### We believe speed is a skill.

*   
The doctor entered the room and told me 'you'll probably never run again.' I was 17 and had just been in a terrible car accident. At that point, I made the decision to commit myself to discovering how to run.I eventually walked on to run track at Temple University and ended up receiving a scholarship. After realizing my love for speed training, I decided to be a coach and start teaching speed as a skill. *

–Les Spellman, USR Founder

![Les Spellman Cutout](https://universalspeedrating.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Les%20Spellman%20Cutout.png?width=300&height=826&name=Les%20Spellman%20Cutout.png "Les Spellman Cutout")

USR Founder, Les Spellman

## OUR TEAM

![Les](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/Les.jpg)

##### Les Spellman

 Co-Founder

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/spellmanperformance/>

![Todd](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/Todd.jpg)

##### Todd Buchner

 Managing Partner

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-buchner-96460b112/>

![Drew](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/Drew.jpg)

##### Drew Zwiers

 Co-Founder

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-zwiers-443a40134/>

![NateHeadshotB&W](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/NateHeadshotB%26W.jpg)

##### Nate Korkut

 Director of Content

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-korkut-b2a624220/>

![Luke 3](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/Luke%203.jpg)

##### Luke Warner

 Director of Marketing

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-warner-34b8a7158/>

![Dillan-1](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/Dillan-1.jpg)

##### Dillan McCullough

 Director of Sales

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillan-mccullough-483777179/>

![Wooters](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/Wooters.jpg)

##### Andrew Wooters

 Business Development

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-wooters-87424790/>

![Brock](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/Brock.jpg)

##### Brock Dale

 Director of Customer Success

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/brock-dale-a26256156/>

![Olivia](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/Olivia.jpg)

##### Olivia LeBaron

 Customer Success Manager

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivialebaron/>

![Justin bw](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/Justin%20bw.jpg)

##### Justin Podzimek

 Chief Technology Officer

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinpodzimek/>

![Peter Ruppe bw](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/Peter%20Ruppe%20bw.jpg)

##### Peter Ruppe

 Advisory Board

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/pruppe/>

![John Schweitzer bw](https://universalspeedrating.com/hubfs/John%20Schweitzer%20bw.jpg)

##### John Schweitzer

 Advisory Board

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/schweitzerjohn/>

## TRAIN SMARTER. PLAY FASTER.

Fast forward to today, the Universal Speed Rating is now diving deep into technology to provide data and programming solutions for athletes and coaches who are looking to individualize their speed performance. As an athlete, I searched for every metric possible to improve but was told to "lift & stretch" to improve my speed. Without properly "mapping" an athlete and understanding their capabilities, it is hard to look into creating programs. The USR solves this by giving athletes, coaches and sports scientists access to the premier speed performance platform in the universe.

This is just the beginning. Let’s learn the skill of speed and get faster, together.

- Les Spellman, USR Founder