Venezuela RPCV John Sullivan, who was named Coach of the Year by the Massachusetts Track & Field Coaches Association
Marian High track coach John Sullivan, who was named Coach of the Year by the Massachusetts Track & Field Coaches Association, has an interesting coaching history.
After graduating from Boston University in the 1960s, Sullivan joined the Peace Corps and was living in Venezuela. Children at the local school asked if he could coach them.
The problem was timing. The only free time Sullivan had was at 10 p.m.
"They had a lighted facility, so that's when we played basketball," Sullivan recalls.
The hoop caught on so fast that students wanted more sports. Next up, volleyball, this time at 6 a.m.
"It was my first exposure to coaching and probably the thing I remember most was how much they loved sports," Sullivan says.
When Sullivan returned to the United States, he taught in Philadelphia and later landed a job in Harvard, Mass., at the Bromfield School. He was the school's first athletic director and also started the track program.
The longtime Framingham resident (since 1969) landed at Marian 11 years ago. Now 61, he's the Mustangs' cross country, indoor track and outdoor track coach.
"I can't say enough about the wonderful kids at Marian," he says.
In many ways, his everyday experience brings him back to when he was 22 and coaching in Venezuela.
"That experience was refreshing," he says. "Really, there's no difference today, the kids are the same. We have a lot more here, but I'm a firm believer in our youth. They're the future."
