By: Jaycey Bowling
Tommy Barksdale is the head coach of the University of Montevallo’s Cross County and Track and Field teams. He has been very successful in his coaching efforts in his time here. This year, he begins his tenth season with the Falcons.
Career
Barksdale competed at Bevill State Community College as an athlete for two years, then transferred to Mississippi State University for the rest of his college career.
After college, Barksdale coached at Wallace State Community College, Troy University and Morehead State University.
Barksdale then came to Montevallo where he has steadily grown the cross country and track and field programs
“Coach Barksdale has been a great asset to the Falcons that I have seen over my time here,” says former student-athlete Matthew Moore.
Barksdale’s Athletes
Barksdale has produced many successful athletes in his programs over the years, including national qualifiers, all-Americans, scholar athletes and conference champions.
This year, Barksdale had a 4th place men’s team and a 5th place women’s team in the GSC cross country Conference Championship.
The cross-country team has a possibility of two more races this year for those who qualify. Those are the regional meet and national meet.
For more information about the meets, click here
For now, Barksdale will move on to coach his sprinters on the track and field team.
This year, he hopes that the track and field team will advance even further up the leaderboard at the conference championship both indoor and outdoor.
“I think Barksdale is a great coach and I think that he could help us get to the top,” says freshman Hallie Grace Williamson.
Barksdale has made a large impact on the athletes he has coached and is continuing to do so every day. He encourages his athletes and always stands up for them no matter the problem.
“Barksdale is always so encouraging and will always stand up for his athlete,” says freshman Taylor Walker.
To learn more about Coach Barksdale and his teams, click here
Vallo Vision News 