MOUNT VERNON — A lifetime of experience is what Jim Lindsey has. He will use his experience as both a track athlete and coach this season in his first year as head coach of the Mount Vernon High School boys track team.
Lindsey has worn the orange and black of the Yellow Jackets for a long time. Actually, ever since he started competing in athletics at age nine.
“Our church asked us if we wanted to run AAU track, and our whole neighborhood went to church, so we all thought that would be OK,” said Lindsey. “My whole family got into it, and we all got to go to Ohio State and run.”
After success as a young runner, Lindsey continued to build upon his success in high school. During his high school years, Lindsey was a very successful sprinter who competed in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dashes, as well as the triple jump. He also competed in many relays, and still has a school record in the varsity 4x400-meter relay. He also still holds the freshman 100-meter dash record.
“I was also one of the first 1,000-yard running backs in football in Mount Vernon since the 1960s,” said Lindsey. “I was recruited pretty heavily by major colleges, and decided upon Toledo.”
Lindsey even received letters from Woody Hayes, but after Hayes threw his famous punch against Clemson and was fired, Lindsey never received another letter from OSU.
In college, Lindsey only played football. He kept up his sprint training in the summer, however, as he trained with runners from the University of Michigan.
“They frowned at two-sport athletes,” said Lindsey. “They wanted me to concentrate just on football, since that’s what I was recruited to do.”
He learned a lot from the sprinters from Michigan, many things he had no way of learning while in high school. One of the runners he trained with was a distance runner. Lindsey learned a lot about distance from the runner, which has given him a solid base of running knowledge.
Lindsey took a few years off from running, then started helping assist with the Mount Vernon High School track team seven years ago when his oldest daughter was running in middle school. After serving as a volunteer for a couple of seasons, he became an assistant on the school’s roster.
Now, Lindsey is the head coach of the boys track team.
“I want Mount Vernon High School to be a name in the conference and the state for athletics,” said Lindsey. “At one point, back in the day, you could go anywhere and mention Mount Vernon and people would know about the school. Through track, I want that to happen again.”
Lindsey feels the school has the athletes to reach that goal, and hopes to take the team to new heights very soon.
“I think there are a lot of athletes in Mount Vernon who do not realize their potential,” he said. “I hope to bring out their potential, and that’s my goal. There are kids who can go to college and play sports, and I don’t think a lot of them realize that.”
Things are already getting started in Lindsey’s first season, as he has been working with athletes during the indoor track season. Many of the athletes now have a strong base, and are ready for outdoor season to start. The outdoor practice will start on Monday, and the first track meet will be the first week of April.