He was my coach but so much more

I remember the first time I walked into the locker room, it was 1978, I was a freshman but I had already known about Coach John Taylor, while I was in junior high. I heard about his fiery speeches, his in your face approach, and his requirement that you give everything you have to the team. It was enough to intimidate a 14 year old...and it did.

But while I may have been slightly concerned about what I was walking into, I also had the knowledge of what he and his teams had already accomplished. State champions in multiple events in track & field in previous years and a fearsome relay team which backed down to no one. I wanted to be part of that experience.

To explain the John Taylor that I knew, he was a coach, a husband and father, who had been an All American high jumper at Texas A&M during his college days. He truly was an all around athlete in his own right. I quickly learned the legend of John Taylor was real...he was fiery, he was demanding, he had a booming voice and he was loud. When he spoke, he had your attention immediately, or you would know about it.

When we began late winter track practice in 1979, before the spring track season kicked off I wasn't sure how well I could compete. But I knew I was pretty fast, but was I fast enough to make the team. Furthermore, did I have the stamina and talent to keep up with his coaching demands for excellence. Again, when you win state championships the bar goes up high so it made sense, but I still did not know if I had what it took. But off I went to give it my best.

Now imagine this, our school did not have a track, we practiced on the road which led from the highway up to the school house and ironically the length of the street was just over 400 meters, so it was almost perfect for its purpose we used it for. When we practiced relay hand offs we used the bus lane in front of the school which was curved, so it served as a track would for the effect of running turns and practicing hand offs. And trust me, coach Taylor gave us no relief in that our facilities were a not exactly ideal. In fact, in retrospect I believe it made us stronger.

For all of the hard work we put in as a team, there was something else happening secondary to my coach doing his job which was to make me a better athlete and student. Even back then in Texas, we had no pass no play so keeping our grades up to passing was required and coach required us to keep up with our studies.

Needing Positive Reinforcement

While all of this hard work and training was going on, my home life was spiraling as my parents marriage was ending although it would be a few years to come before they divorced the daily stress was burdensome. The negative impacts of home were creating disruption with me and it became harder each day to remain focused. It was at this time, that I really leaned into my training and literally took out my frustration through my training. It was the one thing I could look forward to each day when I knew I could end with a positive feeling I so desperately needed. And coach was there to inspire me through those days.

What I will always Remember

Coach Taylor was not only a great track coach, he was a good man. He made me better, made our team better. We had a ton of success on the track and in the field over the four years I was in high school winning state championships in various events each of the years I was on the team. It truly was the highlight of my high school years. I have often said that my involvement in sport and specifically track & field is what kept me in school to graduate. Otherwise the distractions would have been too much to handle on my own...because I felt I was on my own.

Coach Taylor never let me down. I will always be grateful for his leadership, mentoring and dogged approach, it made me realize I could do more than I knew I was capable of doing. And that is what a leader does.

Thank you Coach Taylor for all you did for me and so many others over your coaching career.

Tarkington Longhorns Class of 1982