Coach Jones: I have been coaching for twenty-three years. All my years coaching have been at Spring Valley High School.

SCRunners: What and who influenced you to start coaching?

Coach Jones: A life-long love of sports and a love of young people was the reason I started to coach. I started coaching while in the army and realized I had a knack for it.

SCRunners: Did you run in high school or college? Are you training for any coming up races if you run?

Coach Jones: I competed in junior high, high school, and college. I was a sprinter and hurdler but in college I was mainly a hurdler.

SCRunners: What is your most memorable event as a coach?

Coach Jones: Winning the state championship in track in 1989.

SCRunners: What goals do you have for your team in the future?

Coach Jones: For cc and track we always want to be in the top 5. I feel that it is the mark of a great program - which is more important than a great team. We also want to win both in the year 2003. jwj

SCRunners: How have you learned over the years of experience as a coach to motivate athletes to succeed individually and as a team?

Coach Jones: You have to be able to read people. Each kid is different but each wants to be part of a winner. You motivate each kid according to his needs then show them the team possibilities. It helps of course if you have a history to help make them believe.

SCRunners: Who did athletes admire the most when you were in high school?

Coach Jones: Athletes admired Johnny U, the Mick, our dads, and our coaches while I was in high school.

SCRunners: What high school did you attend and what year did you graduate?

Coach Jones: R.J. Reynolds in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Class of 1969.

SCRunners: What concerns you about the sport?

Coach Jones: Our entire society is getting more and more soft. Kids have so many things to pull them away from sports. Track is hard at times and many kids don't want the bother.

SCRunners: How much would you like South Carolina high school running to grow and how do you think it can be done?

Coach Jones: I would just like to see every high school with a cc and a track team so that every kid has the opportunity to compete in the best sport around.