THIS EAGLE HELPED OTHERS SOAR.

Byline: VINCENT BONSIGNORE

They stopped keeping score at Valley Youth Conference track meets 10 years ago. Something about emphasizing participation over winning and losing.

Not that anyone needed a scorebook to figure out why the West Valley Eagles kept piling up victories and records, or a stopwatch or tape measure to determine who was responsible for the Eagles' unbeaten streak, which stretched over 25 years and coincided with the development of six future Olympians, including Marion Jones and Quincy Watts.

``In my humble opinion, that would be Jack Dawson,'' said longtime Eagles coach Pete Amdisen. ``Without a doubt, he is the face of the Eagles' program.''

Even now, a few months after Dawson retired after serving 30 years with the Eagles, his presence still resonates. The thick Eagles yearbook proudly displaying the 26 league and conference championships, the 10 USATF National Championship teams and the 50 USATF national team and individual records is a tribute to Dawson as much as it is an ode to the thousands of athletes actually responsible for those accomplishments.

The Eagles, a West Valley-based track club for kids ages 5 to 15, have been around since 1956, but it wasn't until Dawson came aboard in 1974 that they really hit their stride.

Dawson's insistence on tapping into every resource the multicultural San Fernando Valley had to offer, and his goal of broadening the horizons of the athletes he worked with, were instrumental in taking a successful local program and turning it into a national power.

With Dawson leading the way, the Valley Youth Conference - of which the Eagles are a member - grew from 700 athletes into a powerhouse that annually has more than 2,500 kids participating each year.

``He did two major things, as far as I'm concerned,'' said former Eagles standout Watts, who went on the win gold medals in the 400-meter dash and 1,600-meter relay at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. ``First, he exposed myself and others to competition beyond the neighborhoods we lived in. Before Jack came into my life, my whole track life was limited to L.A. and the surrounding area. Then Jack started taking us around the country and all of a sudden I discover there's kids in New York and North Carolina running as fast or faster than I was. That makes an incredible difference for a kid.

``Trust me, when I got home I started training harder than ever. Only now I wasn't training to beat the kid in my league or conference, I was training to beat that kid from another state who ran faster than I did.

``Secondly, and just as importantly, he made sure we had fun. When you're having fun and being successful, that's what it's all about, and Jack made sure we were doing both.''

Jack Dawson has to think for a moment when asked his lasting memory of spending the last 30 years working with some of the top athletes in the area.

``That's a long time to scour over,'' said Dawson, letting out a hearty laugh.

In reality, it's an easy question, and Dawson knows it.

For Dawson, a former 400-meter anchor at Long Beach Millikan High in the late 1950s, three moments stand out above the rest.

The first was watching Watts winning gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

``To realize you were a part of something like that, that you had a small hand in that success, well, it was very, very gratifying,'' Dawson said.

The second was when Jones won three gold medals and two bronze in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and the third was during the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece when four former Eagles - Jones, Allyson Felix, Joanna Hayes and Deena Drossin-Kastor - performed on the biggest stage in the world.

``You can't help but feel a sense of pride,'' Dawson said.

Of course, Dawson knew Watts and Jones long before they became Olympians. Ironically, he pitched the virtues of the Eagles to both of them on basketball courts.

``I'll never forget the day I met Marion,'' Dawson said. ``Here's this 13-year-old girl dribbling a basketball down the court faster than most people can run, and then she lifts up to go to the basket and her hand is at the rim as she lays the ball in.

``I sat there in awe over what I was seeing. Her poor mom probably never saw a second of that game because the entire time I kept telling her, 'You've got to let Marion run track.' ''

When Watts joined the Eagles in the mid 1980s, there was no budget for airfare to travel to out-of-state competitions like there is now, so Dawson and his budding stars packed into a car and drove across the country.

``Utah, Oregon, all over,'' Watts said. ``Here I was 6-foot-1, 15 years old and my long ol' legs hanging out the car window as we drove down windy roads all over the United States.''

Watts wouldn't trade a moment of it for anything.

``No matter what, Jack made it fun, and whatever we needed, he provided,'' Watts said. ``It might not have been in the budget at the time for some pizza or whatever, but Jack made it happen, always. That's why everybody ran their hearts out when they were on the track. They did it for Jack. He meant that much to us.''

Dawson, 62, isn't stepping down entirely. He will still do some recruiting for the Eagles, identifying top young talent and bringing them into the fold. And he will take in some meets from time to time.

``I could never walk away 100 percent,'' Dawson said, chuckling.

The last official order of business is an upcoming dinner in his honor, but after that, he will spend time with his new bride of five months, who is starting a hardwood flooring business.

Dawson's retirement from the Eagles coincides his retirement from the City of Los Angeles, where he worked as a civil engineer for 25 years, so he will have ample time to devote to his new bride's business ventures. And dwell on a life dedicated to cultivating athletes and people.

``It's been wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for anything,'' Dawson said. ``I never set out to do it this long, but I am glad I did. It's been a blast.''

For information on Dawson's dinner, call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Even now, a few months after Jack Dawson retired after serving 30 years with the Eagles, his presence still resonates.