New perspective as Bob Hayes track meet returns on Saturday

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Greg Coleman never thought he’d be in this position.

The Bob Hayes Invitational track and field meet had James Day anchored to the meet director role. It had been that way for decades and seemed like it would remain that way forever.

Day died unexpectedly last month, creating a massive void in the track meet’s operating structure. Coleman, a Raines High graduate and no stranger to the event, was named the meet director to replace Day and enters this week ready to see the day from a different perspective.

“Not this particular position because nobody ever thinks that Coach James Day is going to go away anytime soon,” Coleman said. “But he prepared us. There’s a template in place and he taught us well. And all we’ve got to do is do what he taught us.”

One of the area’s most prestigious amateur events heads back to Raines High School on Saturday for the 57th edition. It begins at 8 a.m.

Once billed as the largest one-day track meet in the country, the event is still coming out of the shadow of the pandemic and likely to bring between 1,500 to 1,700 athletes to Raines, Coleman said.

The Bob Hayes is also coming out of the shadows of a very challenging stretch of losses.

Since 2019, numerous staples of the event’s organizing infrastructure have died.

Nathaniel Washington, the founder of the Bob Hayes meet, died in 2019. Jimmie Johnson, the former Raines High School principal and coach, died in late January.

And Day, who took over meet director responsibilities from Washington decades earlier, died unexpectedly late last month.

The losses of both Johnson and Day, along with another Raines alum, Kenny Burrough, who competed in the event in high school and went on to star in the NFL, all within the span of a month, have given this installment of the Bob Hayes a much different perspective.

Among the track meet’s original nine founding members, only Charles “Bobby” Grover is still living.

“It is sombering, but it’s also a reminder that whatever time that you have left, make sure that you do good. And pave the way for somebody else and that’s what these men do, that’s what they did, with the journey of life that they had,” Coleman said.

“And there’s a heck of a lot journey behind me, but I’m thankful being back in Jacksonville and there’s a journey in front of me. And with that time, we’re going to do whatever we can for this community, for the Bob Hayes and to make sure that Coach James Day’s legacy continues.”

Coleman, who played 12 years in the NFL as a punter for four different teams and later worked for KFAN and the Minnesota Vikings radio network, officially retired from that position earlier this year. That allowed him to return to the area full time. He competed in the Bob Hayes when he was in high school and said that he’s only missed one Bob Hayes event in person and that was to attend his daughter’s wedding.

“People always say there’s nothing like game day in the NFL, which is true,” he said. “But there’s nothing like shooting the [starting] gun at the Bob Hayes Invitational.”