Educator of the Year: Coach Jim Walsh

“It doesn’t matter if you come in first or last, as long as you finish the race”. These are the words of my former cross country coach, Jim Walsh. For those of you that don’t know, cross country is a sport in which runners compete in a race consisting of one mile or more. All the runners are in teams competing for the best place they can get. I ran for his team all throughout elementary school and middle school at St.Elizabeth’s Elementary School. I started running for him in third grade all the way up through eighth. He was such an inspiration to me, and this I why I chose him for the EOY. He taught me to push through all my races, and to finish with a smile on my face, no matter what I placed. He was my biggest motivator and was proud of not just me, but my whole team, no matter what.


When I first met him, I knew that he would be a great coach. When I first started out, I barely ran any races because I was still too young to run the mile. That didn’t stop him from including me in all the practices and being with me to cheer on the team. He truly inspired me, because before every practice he would go biking at least an hour before it started. Then even after that, he would still run our warm-up with us and participate in the practice. He was a great role model for anyone, and I’m sure he continues to be for all the runners on the team.


Coach Walsh knew everything a coach needed to know about running. He knew how to stay hydrated, get rid of cramps, and stretch out any tight muscles or injuries. He always came to every practice and race prepared knowing exactly what we were going to do. One of my favorite things about him was we would run, and run during practice, just wondering when it was going to be over. At the end of practice, he would tell us how many miles we just ran. Sometimes we would run five or six miles, and we didn’t even know we did. He just wanted us to keep pushing, and to prove to us, we can accomplish anything we put our minds to.


One of the key things that really used to inspire me about Coach Walsh was his attitude. He was never in a bad mood and was always positive about everything. He was always proud of us, and even if we didn’t do that well, he always made sure he told us we did a good job. He had a sensitive side to him that I really admired; he was understanding about everything. He wanted everyone to be healthy, and he understood if someone was unable to run. As an eighth grader you get to make a speech to the coaches at the end of that last season. It seemed like every time someone made a speech about him, it really touched his heart. He would sometimes cry, and that meant a lot to me that he really cared about us. I remember my last race at Bellevue State Park when I shed a whole minute off my last time I had in that same race. In cross country that’s a great achievement, and he was so proud of me, especially because that was the last race of season.


In conclusion, Coach Walsh made me who I am today. I never quit and always try my best in everything I do. I had great memories with him and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Anyone would be lucky to have him as a coach or even as just a friend. He is an overall amazing person, and he is the best coach I’ve ever had. This is why I chose him as my Educator of the Year.