Jim Poston
Montgomery Bell Academy
Impact Statement
Biography
Head Tennis Coach is just one of many titles that would describe Jim Poston’s lengthy and successful tenure at one of Nashville’s best-known private schools, Montgomery Bell Academy.
MBA is also one of the most exclusive. Its alumni include the Frist family, one of Nashville’s best-known families. Tommy Frist was one of Poston’s state tennis champions, while brother Billy was a state wrestling champion for MBA in 1989. Poston is retiring this year after 41 years as a high school tennis coach, 36 of those years at MBA. Like many coaches, Poston didn’t grow up with a tennis background. He was a member of Belmont University’s first graduating class in 1955 (Belmont is just around the corner from Vanderbilt University) with a degree in speech and drama, and became an English teacher and assistant tennis coach at MBA in 1957 under a mentor Poston considers a legend, Jim Rule. He left MBA in 1968 to assume the head coaching position at Pine Crest High in Fort Lauderdale, but returned to Nashville to succeed Rule as head coach in 1975. He’s been there ever since.
On the eve of his retirement, Poston, who has devoted over 40 years of his life to tennis and education, not necessarily in that order, is the National High School Coaches Association’s inaugural National High School Tennis Coach of the Year for 1998.
“Jim Rule was the one who laid the groundwork, well before Jim Poston came along,” Poston told the Nashville Tennessean. “I just carried it on.”
Poston does receive the credit, however, for many other “firsts”? in the MBA community. The school didn’t have a drama department when he arrived, but he filled the need by starting one in 1960. Sensing the students’ need to act and to perform, he produced and directed plays. It was Poston who kept the arts alive at MBA until they became part of the curriculum several years later.
“We did our first production in the Vine Street Christian Church,”? Poston said. “We’ve done shows like Oliver, Grease, The Fantastiks, Godspell, Our Town, a lot of variety. We try to do shows that you can adapt to high school casts. Many times, we’ve recycled shows, too.”
And Poston also receives the credit for going beyond the call of duty every day to be one of the beacons of the MBA community. He’s not just a teacher and coach. He’s a mentor and friend.
Getting back to tennis for a moment, Poston’s teams at MBA have a dual-meet record of 330-59, and have won district and region titles every year Poston has been the head coach. He also has served as district chairman each of those years. The Big Red have advanced to the Final Four state tournament every year since the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) adopted the current state tournament format in 1988, winning state titles in 1987 and 1995 and also finishing second twice. His final team is heavily favored to help him finish his career with a third state title and the first in the state’s newly created Division II, which includes schools that award need-based financial aid.
In 1979, 1984, and 1987, Poston was nominated by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for the National Coach of the Year award.In 1987 that organization voted him its Regional Coach of the Year, which made him one of eight finalists for National Coach of the Year honors.
At the state level, Poston was elected Tennessee Coach of the Year three times, in 1986, 1987, and 1995. He also has been active in youth tennis. He has hosted the Tennessee Tennis Association’s Adult and Junior State Championships; the Southern Tennis Association’s Boys and Girls age 18 championships; and the United States Tennis Association’s Boys and Girls age 12 championships.
In March, Poston earned a singular honor, becoming the first tennis coach to be inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame. In addition to his coaching duties, he has served the TSSAA as director of the state tennis tournaments for the past two decades.
But Poston is the first to admit that he has had outstanding talent to work with at MBA. “It was really special, working with all the great players. I had a chance to coach,”? Poston said. “I served in an administrative capacity, coordinating things and carrying out discipline when I had to, to keep things going. You only work with a kid as a tennis player about six weeks a year as a high school coach. The really good ones have a good work ethic and put in the time year round. The kids that are willing to work hard are the kids that are most successful.”
And many MBA students are. It’s not uncommon for athletes to arrive at school at 6 AM. “Physical Education classes are not a part of the regular school day,”? Poston said. “You have to be involved in two out of the regular three seasons. For instance, in the fall season, there’s intramural tennis, cross-country, football, and so on. There is basketball and wrestling in the winter. We have about 75 % of the student body participating. There were 86 kids on the basketball team; nobody gets cut. I’ve got 17 on the tennis team this year.”
But tennis is just a small part of Jim Poston’s years of contributions to the MBA community. In addition to starting the school’s drama program, Poston also started the school’s speech and debate programs and was an avid supporter of its art and music programs. “Many changes have happened at MBA over the years,” Poston said. “Mr. Francis Carter, the headmaster when I came here, was a great leader and very supportive. But he was an old-school man who really concentrated on academics. Over the years, we’ve developed a well-rounded program of activities and we have a lot of participation. You’ve got to have change or you don’t survive.”?
Poston’s music interest is based on real-life experience. A Shriner for many years, Poston is a member of the Oriental Band of Al Menah Temple, and is a past president of the Southeastern Shrine Oriental Bands Association. And there were other causes. When student safety began presenting itself as an issue, Poston organized a program for all seventh and eighth graders at MBA and also teaches a Drug and Sex Education course to junior high students. For students in their high school years, Poston works with police in the school’s Belle Meade neighborhood on a DUI prevention program, and organized the acclaimed Project Graduation, a drug-free party for the seniors that has attained a 100 per cent participation rate. It is acclaimed as one of the most successful events of the senior season.
Always sought after for his advice and counsel, Poston also was the school’s first guidance counselor, assuming that role on a part-time basis. When the school’s growth dictated a need for professional counseling expertise, Poston returned to graduate school to obtain certification as a counselor. Previously the principal of the Junior School, he relinquished that post to concentrate full-time on his counseling duties.
Still, Poston teaches a ninth-grade English class and enjoys every minute of it. “It’s a family here,”? Poston said. “It’s fun now to have the sons of former students with me in my classes.” The decision to retire was a difficult one, but at age 65, Poston says the time has come. “My wife taught in the Nashville public schools for 26 years, and she retired last year,”? Poston said. “I originally was going to retire at 62, but then I decided that it just wasn’t the time. I’m sure a lot of memories will pass May 28, when we have graduation at MBA.” But not before he tries to guide one last team over the top.
