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By Robert K. Kirkland
William Jewell College Class of 1980
Member, William Jewell College Board of Trustees
Jim Nelson, who had the longest tenured coaching career (1950-1990) in the history of William Jewell College, passed away July 20 in Liberty, Mo., at the age of 83.
  If we’re lucky, people come into our lives to serve as mentors and friends and to help us find the best in ourselves. “Coach” Jim Nelson was such a person in my life.
Having grown up in Liberty, I always knew who Coach Nelson was. As a young boy, I spent many hours in the stands watching his football and basketball teams compete at William Jewell College. When I came to Jewell in 1976, I didn't really intend to play tennis. But during the fall of my freshman year, Coach Nelson spotted me hitting the ball around the courts on campus, and encouraged me to try out for the team in the spring. I ended up playing four years for Coach Nelson at William Jewell. It was not only a highlight of my college years, but also one of the best experiences of my life.
Like all good coaches, Jim had his own special way of communicating with his players. Often he would break out a term or phrase that he had not used before, and then look at the youngest player on the team and say, “Put that in your glossary, rookie!”
I played under Coach during the twilight of his career, and it is fair to say at that point that he was not a strong disciplinarian or a daily technician tennis-wise. However, on separate occasions, he privately suggested major adjustments which improved my game dramatically.
I remember a spring break trip to San Diego my senior year, when Coach gave us a day off in the middle of the week. We celebrated by spending half the day on Huntington Beach and half the day snow-skiing near San Bernardino. We arrived back in San Diego about 3:00 in the morning. Three hours later, the phone rang, and it was Coach. He was calling us out for a 6:00 a.m. practice before our 1:00 p.m. tennis match. Message sent, and message received.
Coach Nelson truly valued the friendships he made with his student-athletes. He had a way of making the day seem brighter to a shy, vulnerable 19-year-old college kid. Later in life, when I became a husband and father, he loved hearing about my family, and especially about my kids and their involvement in sports. He set a great example for countless people with his devotion to lifelong fitness, running and walking—he liked to call it “road work”—remaining physically active until the very last years of his life.
As I think about it, my relationship with Coach Nelson epitomizes the William Jewell College experience. He challenged me to do something that I didn't think I was able to do. Along the way, he gave me a few life lessons (outside of the classroom) that I still use on a daily basis. I will miss the twinkle in his eye, the quick quip from his lips, and most of all, the fact that underneath his intimidating physique and sometimes gruff manner, he truly cared.
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