Despite being new to the Souderton athletics program, new head track coach Jimmy Stevenson has a wealth of coaching experience on various levels.
Stevenson currently balances coaching online for Run Free, being the head cross country coach at the University of Valley Forge and coaching the boys track team at Souderton.
So far the boys have been very successful and Stevenson is enjoying every minute.
Stevenson says he sees coaching as a an “honor” and something he’s grateful he gets to do rather than viewing it as a job.
Stevenson directs his gratitude toward Soudertons athletic department and administration for this “privilege.”
“I’m very grateful every day for the opportunity to serve in this community,” Stevenson said. “I’m thankful for [athltic director] Dennis Stanton, [athletics secretary] Sharon Nace and Principal [Sam] Varano for giving me the nod and for trusting me amidst a challenging time as someone new to the Souderton family.”
Assistant coach Matthew Firuta, a first year track and field coach, expressed his thanks to athletes who have made being a new coach an easier adjustment.
“There’s a lot of older guys on the team and with the unexpected departure of Coach [John] Donahue, they really were able to take over and make sure everything went smoothly for Coach Jimmy and myself to come along,” Firuta said. “It’s been really great to just have a respectful, responsible group of guys that’s focused on getting better.”
Sophomore James Kuduk, who trained under Donahue during the cross country season, has come to respect Stevenson’s coaching.
Kuduk feels as though a coach’s job is to direct their athletes and maintain a balance between work and rest time.
“Jimmy does a great job with that,” Kuduk said. “[He has] a lot of good ideas about increasing our daily workload and making the team better.”
Freshman Tannor Wiszneski agrees with Kuduk.
“[Stevenson’s] a good coach, honestly,” Wiszneski said. “He really does push us a lot and he makes us do workouts every other day mainly.”
Firuta recognizes Stevenson’s knowledge and experience in the track world and connects it to his good coaching.
“He coached at the collegiate level, he coached at private high schools and he’s very experienced in the national scene of high school track and field,” Firuta said.
Although Stevenson has been handling his position well, when walking into something new there’s often a challenge that comes with being successful.
Stevenson has tried his best to implement values and rules to make the team function together with respect and morals.
“Building unity and helping the team get behind our core values that we established like communication, accountability, resilience and discipline with a bedrock foundation of respect,” Stevenson said, “it doesn’t happen overnight.”
Kuduk and Wiszneski both agree that Souderton can expect many wins from the varsity team this year and possibly even states.
“Distance is definitely going to be up there. A lot of wins in the duel meets but [overall] this year should be fun,” Kuduk said.
Stevenson’s goal for this year is to never stop improving, he wants his runners to break personal records and come together as a team.
“I hope this is the worst season I’m ever apart of at Souderton from an achievement mark standpoint,” Stevenson said, “because I just want to -go up, grow, grow and grow.”
The team took a win at the Pirate Ivitational on April 9, highlighted by event victories in the 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, 800m run, discus throw and an event sweep in the pole vault.
Stevenson graduated from Elon University with a degree in journalism and worked for FloTrack as a journalist for years before becoming a full-time coach.
Stevenson is an active runner and hopes to qualify for the 2024 Olympic trials in the Men’s Marathon.