After four decades of athletic training in northern Illinois, Jim Spratt is adding another honor to his resume this weekend: Hall of Famer.
The longtime Oregon Boys head coach will be inducted into the Illinois Track & Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the organization’s annual clinic and banquet on Saturday in Lombard.
“It was kind of fun watching friends of mine, like Pete Brown and Doug Engel and Art Carlson, who already walked in, but you never really expected that to happen to you,” Spratt said. “You see it happening, but you never expect it yourself. It’s such a subjective thing that you never know.
“But when I heard, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ I guess 39 years of hard work has kind of paid off.
That’s not the only way Spratt’s hard work has paid off, and he’s not shy regarding pointing out all athletes — both state champions and equally hardworking non-champions — as the because of the success of the programs he has coached over the past 39 years.
“When you think regarding it, in the last 39 years I’ve never thrown a jab or a disc, I’ve never run hurdles, I’ve never handed a stick, I’ve never done anything of all this,” he said. “It’s been all the great kids and the assistant coaches leading up to an award for you, and it’s kind of humbling.”
After spending the first nine years of his coaching career coaching the Galena women’s team, Spratt came to Oregon and spent nine years as a high school track coach before taking over the high school program. in 2003, the year following Carlson retired.
During his time in charge of the Hawks, four individuals and a relay team won six state titles, 40 won the first nine state medals, and Oregon won the 2009 state championship as a team to go with eight section headings. As an assistant or head coach, Spratt’s teams won 15 section titles, seven individual or relay state titles, 57 state medals, a team title and a pair of team fourth places. .
Add to that three-time medalist Deb Richardson from the Galena days, and Spratt has plenty of memories to reminisce regarding as he reflects on his induction speech.
“All the state champions, I can still replay them in my mind, and even some of the great efforts that aren’t at the state,” Spratt said. “I remember when I was in Galena, sprinter Deb Richardson passed Roxy DeVries in the last 20 meters to win the 4×400 section, or I watched Martin McCormick crush people in the 400, or Jordan Thomas and what he did as a sprinter. All of these things are great and they stay with me.
Thomas won the state title in the 100m and 200m in 2009, and also finished second in the 400m to lead the Hawks to the team title. McCormick won the 400 m state title in 2005, and Andy Tremble (2003 3200) and Adam Tate (2005 pole vault) also won championships in individual events. The 2013 4×400 team of Pierce Dhaese, Tommy McCormick, Garrett Newman and Trevor Otten also raced to a title.
But it’s not just the champions Spratt fondly remembers.
“Talented kids are obviously memorable, but I also think there were so many less athletically inclined kids who made the job of coaching great,” Spratt said. “There have been so many kids over the years who haven’t been state champions, but have made major progress from the start to the end of the year, or from the start of their career to the end. , these are some of the biggest and best memories for me.
Spratt is preparing his 4 1/2 minute video speech for the banquet, and as all the names, faces and memories come flooding back, he says it’s “impossible to thank everyone who led the last 39 years. But he says he’s most proud of the athletes he’s coached and other coaches he’s worked with over the past four decades, and it’s those people who have not only made this possible, but also made it possible. special experience.
He’s also proud to be the last coach in Oregon’s strong track tradition that began long before he arrived.
“It’s really just a continuation of a great program,” Spratt said. “Joe Mortimer was the first guy from Oregon to pass the referendum for first all-weather trail here, and he’s in the hall of fame. Going from Joe to Art to Doug to myself means a lot. Oregon is a track town, and I’ve been fortunate to be here and be part of this line of great men who run this program.
