The 2014 season was Derek Belch's second as a special teams graduate assistant on Stanford’s staff.
Belch, a 2008 Stanford graduate with a bachelor's degree in communication and a master’s degree in journalism, rejoined the Stanford community after playing for the Cardinal football team from 2003 to 2007.
While earning a postgraduate degree in communication during his latest stint on The Farm, Belch created STRIVR Labs, a product of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford. STRIVR created a truly immersive, fully customizable virtual reality experience specifically for football teams.
After graduating from Stanford, Belch spent three years as a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton where he provided program management in support of the Department of Defense’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Program Office. He then enrolled in the MBA program at USC’s Marshall School of Business, graduating in 2012 before returning to Stanford.
Belch was a Pac-12 All-Academic selection during the 2007 season as a place kicker. He converted all 26 of his extra point attempts in 2007 -- none more important than the game-winning extra point in Stanford’s historic upset of No. 1 ranked USC -- and made 15 field goals, including a 50- and a 52-yarder against San Jose State.
Belch’s work experience also includes two years at the JB Sports Agency, where he assisted with new business development activities, broadcasting high school football games, writing and pitching two television shows in Hollywood.
While a member of Stanford’s coaching staff, Belch is enrolled in the department of communication’s media studies graduate program.
He is joined at Stanford by his wife, Amelia.