SOLE INSPIRATION FELIX: L.A. BAPTIST SPRINT COACH `TAUGHT ME EVERYTHING I KNOW'.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

Jonathan Patton was fed up. Tired of putting out the effort and not seeing the results from his sprinters, he called over L.A. Baptist High coach Wes Smith and said he was quitting.

This announcement followed an hour spent kicking lockers, garbage cans and anything else he could find at Citrus College after his team's poor performance at the Southern Section prelims in 1999.

Smith sat Patton down and convinced him to give it one more year. That year, as if sent from the heavens, Allyson Felix came into Patton's life.

Now Felix is a world-class sprinter, the best ever to come out of the area. She holds the top 200-meter time in the world this year by a woman of any age. She has surpassed Marion Jones' national junior 200 mark, as well as the world junior record.

And Patton, a 31-year-old walk-on sprint coach at L.A. Baptist of North Hills whose previous credentials were running at L.A. Baptist and College of the Canyons, is the only coach she ever has known.

``I came here not really having run before,'' Felix said. ``So he's taught me everything I know, from technique to how to prepare for a race. He's gotten me where I'm at.''

Since Patton came in as sprint coach in 1994, he had read about track vigorously. He wanted to try out new techniques but found the L.A. Baptist athletes unresponsive.

``I felt I was giving too much of an effort for the type of effort the kids were giving,'' Patton said. ``If I want this more than they do, I'm not going to change how much they want it. I'm going to change the group of kids that I coach.''

It turned out Patton didn't need to go anywhere. Felix was talented, dedicated and ready to be molded. She was a coach's dream. And, along with her, came two freshmen who, while not as talented as Felix, were willing to work in the same program - Erica Fleming and Tami Hall.

Patton adopted a program he had read about the previous year consisting of high-intensity workouts, long rest periods and weight training. Felix ran for only six hours a week, but they were forceful workouts complete with using heart monitors and ropes as pulling devices.

Patton controlled the track side and assistant Barry Ross taught weight lifting. Together, they called themselves Team Felix.

``We have a lot of respect for each other,'' Ross said. ``I have no idea what he does on the track, and he doesn't really know what I do in the weight room. But, together, it works.''

Felix bought into it. Patton admits that, in years past, he wouldn't have put girls through such a program.

``Up until that time, I had demanded a lot from the boys and little from the girls,'' Patton said. ``If they wanted a day off, that was fine. If they didn't want to practice hard, that was OK. By the time Allyson came along, I had already started to treat girls like athletes.''

When Patton began to see how good Felix could be, he never worried about the responsibility of coaching her. He was excited just to have someone he could take to the big meets, such as Arcadia and Mt. SAC.

Patton tried to enjoy that season because he wasn't sure Felix would return to L.A. Baptist. She had a brother, Wes, who was at Valencia High and is now at USC. And the two good athletes who came into the school before had transferred. He never thought Felix would be around for the full four years.

But Felix never saw any reason to leave.

``You go to a little school like this and you're not supposed to find a coach who knows so much,'' Felix said. ``He is so dedicated. If he doesn't know something, he will research and find out.''

Patton is thankful he was ready for Felix when she arrived. At age 28, he had gained experience. He had no wife or kids, so he could devote himself to developing Felix. His day job as vice president for an import-export company gave him flexible hours.

``When I first started at L.A. Baptist, I was sitting at a coaching clinic,'' Patton said. ``The guy said each of you will get a great athlete. There's no way that, at 22, I could have handled an athlete like this. I haven't made any catastrophic errors. When she showed up in my seventh year, I was ready.''

Patton not only has trained Felix but also planned her high school schedule. Though Felix and her family planned most of her races in professional meets, it was Patton who was the catalyst for scheduling the race that catapulted Felix into the national spotlight.

After watching Felix blow away the field at Arcadia on April 12, Patton thought it was going to be a scorching time. However, it was only a 22.97.

``I thought, dang, she is so far ahead of that crowd,'' Patton said. ``She needs to race against faster people than that. So, as we were walking out, I said to her father that I was going to call Mt. SAC and see what we could do about getting her in a faster race.''

Mt. SAC made an exception it had made on a few rare occasions in the past, placing Felix in the professional meet the next week rather than the high-school competition. Felix responded by beating the professionals and Jones' national 200-meter junior record with a 22.51. Two weeks later, she broke the world junior record with a 22.11 against professionals in Mexico City.

Among the many difficult decisions facing Felix this summer is whether to keep Patton as coach. He will at least coach her through the U.S. Nationals in late June.

Patton said he will not return to L.A. Baptist next year, citing differences with the administration. If he is not involved with Felix, he said he will coach either on the high school level or privately. He said he already has offers from high schools.

``I would love to be associated with her,'' Patton said. ``I think I will in one way or another, whether as her No. 1 fan or as a coach. It has been a tremendous blessing and affirmation to be involved with her success.''

Patton admits it will be difficult if he is to go back to coaching normal athletes after having the pleasure of dealing with Felix. But no matter what happens, Felix has helped him enjoy coaching again.

``I won't have to prove to anybody anymore that what I'm doing works,'' Patton said. ``I can just point at the television and say, `Ask her.' ''

Matthew Kredell, [phone]

matthew.kredell(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

L.A. Baptist's Allyson Felix holds the top 200-meter time in the world this year by a woman of any age.

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News