John Jameson dreamed of coaching high school basketball in Indiana. His first job was in Tell City with stops at North Daviess, Mt. Vernon, (where his 1978 team won the Princeton sectional), then on to Jennings County where he stopped coaching in 1981. He continued teaching and retired in 2000 from Jennings County Schools.
I had Coach Jameson for one year at North Daviess. I was a junior and basketball was my sport. I have always loved the game and considered coaching as a career, but could not see myself in education.
Coach Jameson was the coach and I wanted to play basketball more than anything. I tried hard to please him and do my best for Coach and our team. Sure, I would get mad at him, and he would get mad at me. There was no doubt we both wanted to win. I think we shared a higher desire to win than most. He was an emotional coach and I was kind of an emotional player and I think we kind of fed off each other in a strange way.
He had the pep band play a drum roll type thing to hype up the crowd before the team came on the floor. I had forgot about that until now. It was a cool thing and it really fired up the team, the students, and the fans.
About a year ago, I read a book he wrote called “Kate’s Mountain”. He grew up near the Greenbrier in West Virginia. His Dad was a forest ranger there and John developed a love for the outdoors. His childhood seemed pretty tough. His Dad expected a lot from him and he worked hard to make him happy. He was an amazing high school athlete and probably would have played D1 college football. An injury his senior year caused him to miss most of the football season and miss the entire basketball season. He was bedridden for several months and missed most of his senior year.
In reading that book, I learned a lot about Coach and actually gained a clearer understanding of him as a person. I told friends I wished Coach Jameson had shared more about his life with his players. I had often thought about driving over to Versailles and visiting him. There was a lot I wanted to ask him about growing up on Kate’s Mountain.
In writing these words it caused me to look into my old year book for this picture. I am not sure if I ever even read his comments under the picture. I am sure I must have sometime. I can tell you those words sure mean more to me today than they did the first time I read them. Rest in Peace Coach and thanks for all you did for me.
