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Track coach has youth running for the future

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Patrick Brown
  • 45th Space Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) --  One high school student throws a rock at another and 21  youth go to college.

Sounds a little farfetched, but that's what happened when a Melbourne, Fla., high school track coach saw 16-year-old Gary Evans chase down the student who had targeted him and asked him to try out for the team.

Years later, Coach Evans, now a Manatee Cove Golf Course tractor operator, is still involved with track and field. His love of the sport has helped put hundreds of children on the track for success.

Coach Evans founded the M-Town Track Club in 1992 and has coached local children, many from Patrick, without making a dime. He says his payment is knowing he's had a positive impact on the children's lives.

"My goal is to get the kids off the street," he said. "I want to get them in college and show them there's more to life than what some drug dealer might push on them."

His runners are from varying financial backgrounds, and sports scholarships are the only way many of them can get to college.

"He puts a lot of effort into what he does," said Dennis Wideman of the Air Force Technical Applications Center. "If some of the kids can't buy the uniforms, he buys them. If they can't get to a meet, he picks them up and drops them off."

Mr. Wideman's 9-year-old son, Nadiri, is a member of the M-Town Track Club.

"(Coach Evans has) had a great impact on his kids," Mr. Wideman said.

To date, 21 of Coach Evans' runners have received track and field scholarships to schools such as the University of Alabama, Vanderbilt and Louisiana State University.

"If it weren't for (Coach Evans), most of those kids would never have made it to college," Mr. Wideman said.

Sports fans may recognize one of his former pupils, Palm Bay native and LSU track star and wide receiver Xavier Carter. At only 20 years old, Mr. Carter made NCAA track history, recently only missing the world record for the 200-meter dash by three-tenths of a second. He was named 2006 NCAA Division 1 Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, and he is the only person, other than Olympic legend Jesse Owens, to win four separate events at one NCAA meet.

Coach Evans coached and mentored Mr. Carter from age 11 until he left for LSU with an athletic scholarship.

"To be honest, he couldn't even make it around the track when I started with him," he laughed.

Coach Evans said Mr. Carter still keeps close contact and calls him for advice before every competition.

While Mr. Carter enjoys his success, Coach Evans is still pushing to give his runners as many opportunities as possible. Nine of his 40 runners; five of them from Patrick, including Nadiri, are heading to the 2006 Amateur Athletic Union National Junior Olympics in Hampton Roads, Va. Competition will run Aug 1 to 5. The high expectations for his runners stems from their past performance.

Last year, his team placed first in the Sub-Bantam Boys' National Championships and his bantam boys team placed second this year with a disappointing disqualification.

"I'd rather take 15 kids that want to learn than 15 all-stars," said Coach Evans. He doesn't compete for the titles or medals.

Coach Evans will also be taking on one of his three children, 7-year-old Tariq, to the competition.

Tariq recently competed in the Primer National Championship, placing first in the long jump, second in the 200-meter dash and third in the 300-dash.

His 6-year-old daughter Nadiria, who qualified for the Junior Olympics but will not be competing, placed second in the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash and third in the 100-meter dash in the same competition.

His oldest son, 10-year-old Dontarian, is ranked third in the nation for his time in the four-by-100-meter relay.

The family's passion for track and field doesn't stop there. His wife, Stephanie, holds 10-year-old records at Palm Bay high school in the 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash, triple jump and long jump. Her record for the 100-meter dash was broken this year.

Coach Evans has several first-place finishes on his record and holds the 100 record at Melbourne High School. He said he recently retired from competition so he can focus more on his students and children.

The focus will also be on his new job as a junior assistant track coach at LSU, a position he will fill later this year.

"It was a real honor and a surprise to be offered that position," he said.

Though the founder of M-Town Track Club is leaving, the club will continue under the leadership of Pete King, the 45th Services Division food programs officer, who is the assistant coach now.

Along with its founder, M-Town Track Club will also be moving upward soon. Xavier Carter, along with Nike, will sponsor the club.

Coach Evans remains modest in taking credit for the club's success.

"The kids have made a name for the club," he said. "I started it, but they're the ones out there running."