[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 109 (Thursday, July 22, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1402]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING JIM TATE, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD COACH OF THE 
                                  YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2010

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate my friend and, 
coincidentally, my next door neighbor, Coach Jim Tate, whose tremendous 
talents as a high school track and field coach in Mobile, Alabama have 
once again earned him national recognition.
  On June 28, Coach Tate was named 2010 National High School Coach of 
the Year for Girls Track and Field for the outstanding record he has 
amassed while coaching at Mobile's St. Paul's School.
  Perhaps more than any other man to coach the sport, Jim Tate has now 
garnered not one but two national coaching awards, the first being in 
1999 as the Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year by the National 
Federation of State High School Associations.
  Without a doubt, Jim Tate is a legend in Mobile and throughout the 
State of Alabama. He has been involved with the St. Paul's track and 
field program for the past 32 years, guiding his teams to a total of 56 
titles--17 in girls cross country, 17 in girls track and field, 13 in 
boys track and field, and nine in boys cross country.
  Coach Tate's girls' teams have won five straight Alabama High School 
Athletic Association Class 5A state titles, and his teams set a 
national high school record from 1982 through 1998 by winning 16 
straight state titles.
  Madam Speaker, as you might imagine, Coach Tate has been awarded 
countless honors for his exemplary coaching ability within the 
community including induction into the 2008 Mobile Sports Hall of Fame, 
as well as Coach of the Year honors by the Mobile Press Register more 
times than one can count. Recently, St. Paul's decided to honor Coach 
Tate by naming their new field house that is under construction in his 
honor.
  On behalf of the people of South Alabama and especially on behalf of 
the St. Paul's School family, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to 
a man who has touched thousands of young lives and who, at all times, 
has been an exemplary role model as both an athlete and a human being, 
Coach Jim Tate.
  I know Jim's family is exceedingly proud of their father and husband 
for his wonderful example and his tireless dedication to turning our 
young people into winners, not just on the athletic field, but in the 
game of life.

                          ____________________