When BYU finished No. 3 in the NCAA Cross Country Championships this past fall, that result came on the shoulders of Sherald James, who died Friday, Dec. 15. His funeral will be Thursday in Salem.
James, 90, was a player’s coach. He devoted his life to his athletes. He was beloved and respected by those he coached through almost four decades at BYU.
While BYU’s cross country program has been elevated to consistent top 10 status under current coach Ed Eyestone, the former Olympian and Cougar All-American was coached by James, a pacesetter, mentor and friend. Here is the obituary for James.
“Coach James was a wonderful man who coached with his heart,” said Eyestone on Monday. “He loved working with his athletes and would do his best to make sure that they reached their individual potential. To me, he showed that coaching was as much of an art as it was a science. By that I mean that he knew the Xs and Os of the physiology of workouts to build an athlete’s stamina and endurance, that was the science part. But the art of his coaching was how he knew when to rest the athlete and what to say to put them in the optimum performance zone.
“This art is what he excelled at and is what made us want to take all the fitness that he had given us and run through a wall of pain to deliver for him. The great thing about Coach James was that he was an equal-opportunity coach. He would give the same attention to coaching detail to his top All-American as well as his slowest walk-on…and we loved him for it.”
James has been labeled one of the three pillars of BYU track and field, a sport at BYU that has produced hundreds of All-Americans, a myriad of Olympic medalists and national collegiate champions. The other two icons are men who have also departed this earth, Clarence Robison and Willard Hirschi, who died in August.
In 2016, BYU inducted James into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame for his performance as an athlete and coach.
Three weeks before his death, his two-time Olympian Doug Padilla joined Eyestone and two other former athletes, Ian Hunter and Carl Hansen, at James’ bedside for a visit after his son Carl called and announced if they wanted to see his father on this side, they ought to come soon.
Padilla said he appeared tired but shared some of his cherished stories. During a subsequent visit, Padilla said James appeared more energetic and he was impressed with his improvement.
Padilla said James cared about his athletes.
“He wanted us to be successful. He believed in us before we believed in ourselves. He believed in the principle that even if you have all the preparation in place, whether you think you can or if you think you can’t, you are right. Very seldom do you go to an event thinking you can’t make it and have a successful race competition.”
James’ biographical information on the BYU Athletics website illustrates his myriad contributions, including an army of track athletes who superseded the norm and impacted the collegiate and world stage.
“Originally from Spanish Fork, Utah, James opted to stay close to home for college, studying agronomy at BYU and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1956. He remained in Provo and earned a master’s degree in physical education in 1962 and a doctorate in 1964. After his time as a student and prior to teaching and coaching at BYU, James taught and coached for two years at a high school in Dayton, Idaho, where he was also a principal and district superintendent,” according to the biography.
“While completing his undergraduate degree at BYU, James enjoyed a successful career as a track and field student-athlete. He set the BYU and Skyline Conference records in the two mile and placed second in the same event at the NCAA Championships his senior year.
“James began coaching cross country and track at BYU in 1961 and continued for the next 37 years. His BYU teams won 59 conference championships in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. Six times his BYU cross country teams achieved the highest grade point average in the NCAA, and 10 of his athletes received Academic All-America honors. Distance runners that James coached received 73 All-America honors. That elite group includes Henry Marsh, who was inducted into the USA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.”
In 2000, Marsh, an Olympian, told the Deseret News, “The thing I remember the most is that he never over-trained his athletes. He brought you along gradually. Look how many of his runners continued to improve for years after they left BYU.”
Back in 1984 three of James’ runners swept their events at the Olympic Trials in Los Angeles. Those included Padilla (5,000 meters), Henry Marsh (steeplechase) and the late Paul Cummings (10,000 meters). Just weeks before, Eyestone won the NCAA title in the 10,000 meters.
James coached four world record holders and his runners broke nine American records.
Not only a teacher and coach, James showed his talent for organization and administration by helping host the NCAA Track and Field Championships four times. He also was an accomplished author with his book “Modern Techniques of Track and Field.”
James was named the NCAA National Coach of the Year in 1993 before retiring in 1998. In 2000, Track and Field Magazine honored James for his years of dedicated service.
During his career as a teacher in 12 different health science courses and five different classes in the Department of Physical Education on BYU’s campus, he taught more than 11,000 students in 41 years and coached more than 3,800 athletes.
He and his wife, Janice, made their home in Spanish Fork, Utah. They have four children, seven grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. at 470 E. Salem Canal Road, Salem, Utah. Friends may call Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at that same location.