For over a decade, Coach Francisco Padilla has been developing elite hurdlers across Aurora and Denver. With 11 years of coaching experience specializing in the sprint hurdles and 300m hurdles, he’s helped athletes from Hinkley, Eaglecrest, and now Denver East transform raw ability into championship results.

Padilla’s track record speaks for itself: 22 state qualifiers, 11 state finalists, and 2 state champions in hurdling events. At Hinkley High School, he coached hurdlers who broke both the Boys’ 110m and 300m hurdle school records and developed a two-time 5A 300m hurdles state champion. At Eaglecrest, his athletes continued that momentum with multiple state qualifiers and five state finalists, maintaining a standard of technical precision and race-day poise. Now at Denver East, Padilla brings that same championship mindset and technical mastery to the Angels program.

Padilla is more than a technician on the track, he's a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD), and Certified Personal Trainer, blending sports science with coaching insight. He owns his own private practice, working with everyone from frontline factory workers to professional athletes, designing performance-driven nutrition and training strategies that deliver results. He also works for Exos, a global leader in human performance that supports elite athletes, military operators, and corporate teams worldwide through integrated coaching in mindset, movement, nutrition, and recovery.  He is a featured presenter at the Track & Field Leadership Lab Coaches Clinic, where he shares his expertise and philosophy in these disciplines. 

As an athlete, Padilla competed in the hurdles at Hinkley High School for Coach Carhart before running cross country and track at Johnson & Wales University in Denver, where he competed in the 800m, mile, and steeplechase. That diverse background fuels his holistic coaching philosophy. One that builds athletes who are powerful, technically sound, and mentally tough.

His hurdlers don’t just learn how to three-step, they learn how to think, prepare, and compete like champions.