Shy Yamasaki, Staff Writer
Coaches are some of the most amazing, hardworking, and dedicated people you can ever meet. You may never meet someone so passionate about what they do. Coaches are your mentors and may remember long into the future. While you may be frustrated at the moment by the intense training methods, it will teach you important life lessons.
John Schultz is the coach of the shot-put and discus throwers and helps with coaching technique for hammer throwers alongside Coach Dwight Midles. Schultz has been coaching for many years. A fun fact about Coach Schultz is that he has nine grandchildren in total! Isn’t that amazing? Besides coaching track, he is also a big family man and spends as much time as possible with his children and grandchildren. Coach Schultz has been coaching for 39 years in total, having been at many different schools. It is crazy to think that he has been coaching for this long!
Coach Schultz has coached at seven other schools besides SMU and one track and field club. In the past, he has coached at Keithley Middle School, St Helen’s High School, Renton High School, Centralia High School, Mary M Knight School (K-12), Fort Vancouver High School, and River Ridge High School. The track and field club he coached for is Lewis County Track Club. Coach Schultz is inspired to do what he does because he has been blessed to have been coached by some who have been inducted into the State and National Hall of Fame!
He wanted to influence the student-athletes the same way his coaches influenced him. Over time, Coach Schultz has learned a lot through coaching athletes. He shared, “be patient, trust the process, believe in yourself! Don’t be too hard on yourself!”. Not only could this be applied to athletics, but also is applicable to daily life as well. Even though we as humans are hard on ourselves due to school and outside of school, we have to realize that we have to be patient and wait for the time to come. Coach Schultz learned while coaching that being a head coach makes you think about the whole team and the coaches you have under you. In particular, “being patient and positive while seeking to understand helps the team move forward,” shared Coach Schultz.
With his many years of coaching, he has experienced and accomplished so many things. One thing to remember is to never take anything for granted.
The Belltower 