HOMETOWN HERO: Eddie Nolan, South Side High School track & field coach

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - A hometown hero on the track and in The Fort who not only is a coach to many athletes, but a mentor to those in life.

Coach Nolan, 62, was born and raised right her in The Fort and has thrived through athletics.

Along with track, Nolan played basketball and football at South Side High School. He was a part of the 1977 school record breaking 4x100 relay team at the school.

He took his talents on to the collegiate level where he attended South Carolina State to play football and then later transferred to Butler to play football and run track.

He returned to The Fort to be the head coach for the Archers track & field team where he has been at for more than 15 years.

Nolan’s past athletes say he is the type of coach that truly cares not only about their form, but who they become as a person.

“Coach Nolan is very passionate when it comes to track. He’s one of those coaches that if you want to come out here and work and dedicate yourself to being successful, he’s going to be ten toes behind you.”

Derrian Stanley, Track Runner

Coach Nolan has a little piece of advice that he likes to pass on to his runners and it’s called ‘the mustard seed of faith’.

“With that mustard seed of faith, I tell kids that you know with a little bit of faith you can move mountains...I’m crying and I said man good job. I was so proud… he said coach I had that mustard seed of faith in my shoes. That man, that just lit me up, it was excellent.”

Coach Eddie Nolan, South Side High School Track Coach

What Coach Nolan loves seeing the most is when his pass athletes are passing on what they learned from him to their own kids. He says it is like a positive domino affect.

Not just from the track runners who spoke with us, but from people across The Fort, Coach Eddie Nolan is a man who has helped so many athletes, students and people cultivate their talents and true potential for decades.

A legend in The Fort and a guide to his athletes long after they cross the finish line on the track.