Great Article On Super Coach/Guy Jim Bemiller
Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 5:42 pm
One of my very favorite people!! Bubba
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http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2011/jul ... artner=RSS
On the wall of his office at the University of Tennessee, Jim Bemiller looks up at a framed 2004 photo of Tim Mack sailing over a pole-vault bar to win an Olympic gold medal.
On the night it happened, Bemiller had the best seat in the house. That was no accident.
"I was the first person in the stadium,'' Bemiller said. "Tim wanted me to have the best seat.
"I was there when they were cleaning the stadium, four hours before the competition.''
Watching Mack soar into Olympic history that August night in Athens, Greece, was the pinnacle of a career coaching the vault that earned Bemiller induction into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame on July 28.
"It gave me confidence that he was sitting in front of all the other coaches,'' said Mack, who came to Tennessee in 1994 to vault for Bemiller, left an NCAA champion and continued the relationship in his pro career.
"He kind of made things work. He was always there and he wouldn't stress me out and we'd have a plan.
"It worked great.''
Mack wasn't the only Olympic medalist Bemiller helped develop. Lawrence Johnson, another UT product, won silver in 2000.
Those medals track back to the mid-1990s when Tom Black Track was a vaulting mecca. In 1995, Mack won the NCAA indoor vault and Johnson the outdoor vault.
"That doesn't happen in any event,'' Bemiller said.
A lot happened in the pole vault after Bemiller signed on as a graduate assistant coach at UT in 1986. He maintained his affiliation with the men's program through 2005.
During that span his pupils won five NCAA titles, 15 SEC crowns and 21 All-America certificates.
Throw in Randy Jenkins' three NCAA high-jump titles and three NCAA decathlon champs who successfully navigated the hazardous vault.
Mack is still in town coaching young vaulters. Another of Bemiller's star pupils was Russ Johnson, who succeeded him as volunteer vault coach at UT.
"I coach the coaches now,'' said Bemiller, who is married to GKSHOF member Missy Kane.
He also "coaches" some future coaches. Five years ago, Bemiller left his law practice to become an assistant professor in UT's sports management department.
The journey began in Mansfield, Ohio, a community that took track and field seriously enough to place the quarterback at Malobar High School in a dicey event like the vault.
"It was spring, so you had all summer to heal up,'' Bemiller said with a laugh.
Self-taught, Bemiller won a scholarship to Miami University and then a conference title.
A year later he landed at UT for grad school and a coaching mission. The Vols hadn't entered a vaulter in the 1985 SEC meet. By 1989, Bemiller had his first SEC champion.
Then he had another and by 1993, UT boasted three 18-foot vaulters on the same squad, virtually unheard of in the collegiate ranks.
The top eight vault marks in UT history all came on Bemiller's watch. The records came, too.
In 1997, Lawrence Johnson broke the American record at Tom Black Track. Seven years later, Mack broke the Olympic record.
"Those groups would hold their own with any group in the country,'' Bemiller said. "As a matter of fact, I would rank them in the top five of any country in the world.''
The coach modestly credits the athletes, saying he just followed advice passed on by former UT track coach Stan Huntsman.
"Best advice he gave me,'' Bemiller said. "Great athletes make great coaches. It's your job not to screw 'em up. Just make 'em think they can be a little better than they think they can.''
That might not be the whole story. There's more involved, especially on the long journey toward a gold medal.
"After school was over, he took care of me for a while,'' Mack recalled with a grin, "although I had to clean his pool.''
There was a sweet deal on a used car. Bemiller also followed Mack to the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton (Canada), camping to cut expenses.
"I wasn't making a bunch of money then and could only give him so much,'' Mack said.
"He's been a great coach, but he's also been a great friend over the years.''
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http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2011/jul ... artner=RSS
On the wall of his office at the University of Tennessee, Jim Bemiller looks up at a framed 2004 photo of Tim Mack sailing over a pole-vault bar to win an Olympic gold medal.
On the night it happened, Bemiller had the best seat in the house. That was no accident.
"I was the first person in the stadium,'' Bemiller said. "Tim wanted me to have the best seat.
"I was there when they were cleaning the stadium, four hours before the competition.''
Watching Mack soar into Olympic history that August night in Athens, Greece, was the pinnacle of a career coaching the vault that earned Bemiller induction into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame on July 28.
"It gave me confidence that he was sitting in front of all the other coaches,'' said Mack, who came to Tennessee in 1994 to vault for Bemiller, left an NCAA champion and continued the relationship in his pro career.
"He kind of made things work. He was always there and he wouldn't stress me out and we'd have a plan.
"It worked great.''
Mack wasn't the only Olympic medalist Bemiller helped develop. Lawrence Johnson, another UT product, won silver in 2000.
Those medals track back to the mid-1990s when Tom Black Track was a vaulting mecca. In 1995, Mack won the NCAA indoor vault and Johnson the outdoor vault.
"That doesn't happen in any event,'' Bemiller said.
A lot happened in the pole vault after Bemiller signed on as a graduate assistant coach at UT in 1986. He maintained his affiliation with the men's program through 2005.
During that span his pupils won five NCAA titles, 15 SEC crowns and 21 All-America certificates.
Throw in Randy Jenkins' three NCAA high-jump titles and three NCAA decathlon champs who successfully navigated the hazardous vault.
Mack is still in town coaching young vaulters. Another of Bemiller's star pupils was Russ Johnson, who succeeded him as volunteer vault coach at UT.
"I coach the coaches now,'' said Bemiller, who is married to GKSHOF member Missy Kane.
He also "coaches" some future coaches. Five years ago, Bemiller left his law practice to become an assistant professor in UT's sports management department.
The journey began in Mansfield, Ohio, a community that took track and field seriously enough to place the quarterback at Malobar High School in a dicey event like the vault.
"It was spring, so you had all summer to heal up,'' Bemiller said with a laugh.
Self-taught, Bemiller won a scholarship to Miami University and then a conference title.
A year later he landed at UT for grad school and a coaching mission. The Vols hadn't entered a vaulter in the 1985 SEC meet. By 1989, Bemiller had his first SEC champion.
Then he had another and by 1993, UT boasted three 18-foot vaulters on the same squad, virtually unheard of in the collegiate ranks.
The top eight vault marks in UT history all came on Bemiller's watch. The records came, too.
In 1997, Lawrence Johnson broke the American record at Tom Black Track. Seven years later, Mack broke the Olympic record.
"Those groups would hold their own with any group in the country,'' Bemiller said. "As a matter of fact, I would rank them in the top five of any country in the world.''
The coach modestly credits the athletes, saying he just followed advice passed on by former UT track coach Stan Huntsman.
"Best advice he gave me,'' Bemiller said. "Great athletes make great coaches. It's your job not to screw 'em up. Just make 'em think they can be a little better than they think they can.''
That might not be the whole story. There's more involved, especially on the long journey toward a gold medal.
"After school was over, he took care of me for a while,'' Mack recalled with a grin, "although I had to clean his pool.''
There was a sweet deal on a used car. Bemiller also followed Mack to the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton (Canada), camping to cut expenses.
"I wasn't making a bunch of money then and could only give him so much,'' Mack said.
"He's been a great coach, but he's also been a great friend over the years.''