Kristy Call knows a thing or two about track. She not only has competed in it, she also has coached it. Starting this spring, she will impart her wisdom and experience as London High School’s new girls’ track coach. The London Board of Education approved her contract on Dec. 17.
Call, a 1992 Madison-Plains graduate, placed second in the state in long jump in high school. She also ran the 200 and 400 and competed in high jump. She went on to compete in volleyball and track at the University of Rio Grande, where she earned an associate’s degree in early childhood education.
When Call transferred to The Ohio State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree, Terry Nance contacted her to fill the London Middle School track coaching job. At the time, Nance was coaching both middle and high school track.
Call has been coaching at the middle school ever since, the last 10 years in tandem with her mother, Karen Lindsey, who retired from the job last spring. Call also has served as a physical education and health teacher at London High School for the past three years.
"Ever since I’ve been teaching at the high school, I’ve developed an interest in coaching at that level," she said.
When the head girls’ track coach position came open, she jumped at it, and Nance is glad she did.
"Kristy has worked with me for a long time. She’s the kind that asks a lot of questions. I like that because I can share some of my experiences," said Nance, who serves the district as athletic director. "I’m looking forward to spring for more reasons than warm weather."
Call’s goals for the girls’ track program are to instill a sense of fun and encourage "the spirit of track and field." She also wants to develop more leadership in her athletes and push for individual and team improvement.
"I hope every student-athlete achieves what they want to," she said.
Call replaces Tammy Ortman, who led the girls’ track program for the last seven years. Ortman is pregnant and due in February. Additionally, she and her husband are building a home in Pataskala, east of Columbus. Ortman is still teaching English at London High School.
"Tammy did a good job for us," said Nance, for whom Ortman served as an assistant track coach for one year before she took the head coaching job. "She conscionably worked to gain more knowledge of all parts of track and field. It’s a three-ring circus, and you need to know about all of it."
Nance said Ortman’s biggest asset is the fact that she genuinely cared for the students she coached, "as young women, not just as young athletes."
Marie-Claire Logue, Ortman’s assistant coach for many years, also is pregnant. Call is working to find her replacement. Nance said he is confident Call will put together a good coaching team.
