06/16/2026
16 years as a head coach…
28 years since Raines Boys Track & Field last stood on top of the state…
and I’m still trying to let it sink in.
What an absolutely incredible year it has been.
This journey was never just about winning a championship. It was about restoring a standard, honoring a legacy, and believing in a vision when others couldn’t see it yet.
From the early mornings, the long practices, the setbacks, the sacrifices, and every obstacle along the way — this was built one brick at a time.
But long before I coached champions, life taught me what it meant to fight.
I am a 2-time paralysis survivor.
A football injury changed my life when it left my right arm paralyzed. The hand I grew up using was taken away from me, and I had to adjust to a completely different way of living. I had to relearn things most people never think about — including teaching myself how to write left-handed.
Then in 2017, during my journey as Head Coach of Raines Boys Track & Field, life tested me again.
A C3–C4 spinal cord injury and surgery left me partially paralyzed from the waist down. Once again, I was faced with rebuilding my life.
And that journey is not over.
I am still fighting through the process of learning how to walk again. Every step is a reminder of the battles people never see — the determination, patience, frustration, and faith it takes to keep moving forward.
One step at a time.
One day at a time.
Brick by brick.
Those experiences didn’t stop me — they shaped me.
They helped create the foundation I wanted our program built on:
Perseverance.
Discipline.
Accountability.
Toughness.
Belief.
Character.
The same things I ask from my athletes are the same things life requires from me every single day.
And in 2026, that foundation produced a season we will remember forever.
This team didn’t just win…
They made history.
The Raines Vikings completed the journey:
•2026 Gateway Conference Champions
•2026 FHSAA 2A District Champions
•2026 FHSAA 2A Region 1 Champions
•2026 FHSAA 2A Boys Track & Field State Champions
After 28 years, Raines Boys Track & Field returned to the top.
The Elite X walked into the 2026 FHSAA state track and field championship with one mission and delivered one of the most dominant performances in Florida Boys Track and Field history.
83 Team Points
49-Point Margin of Victory
2nd-Largest Winning Margin in FHSAA Boys Track & Field State Championship History
They rewrote the record books this season:
-4x400 Relay State Champions
-School Record & and the fastest 4x400 Relay run by a high school Jacksonville— 3:11.55. It’s , also, the 6th Fastest 4x400 Relay in Florida High School History
-Owen Kaye
200m State Champion — 20.87
(Set a new School Record)
-Iason Williams
110 Hurdles State Champion — 14.21
4x100 Relay State Runner-Up
Broke a 28 year old School Record — 40.85
State champions.
State medalists.
Personal records.
School records.
History made.
But more importantly, they proved what belief, commitment, and brotherhood can accomplish.
They restored the legacy.
They protected The Standard.
Being recognized as the:
-2026 Florida Dairy Farmers Boys Track & Field Coach of the Year
-Jacksonville Track Club High School Coach of the Year
-Gateway Conference Mike Houser Outstanding Coach of the Year — Boys Track & Field
is truly an honor and doesn’t seem real.
These awards represent something much bigger than me.
Before I ever became “Coach Bellamy,” I was blessed to have coaches who poured into me, challenged me, and helped mold me into the coach and man I am today.
To the late Coach James Day — my high school coach — thank you for setting the standard.
You showed me coaching was bigger than workouts, races, and championships. It was about relationships, loyalty, discipline, and developing young men.
When I became head coach at Raines you called me before and after EVERY track meet — checking on me, advising me, encouraging me, and reminding me what Raines Track & Field represented.
You even called me the morning of your sudden passing — still coaching, still encouraging, and still believing.
Those phone calls and lessons are something I will carry with me forever. Let’s go babes!! I miss that.
To Coach Lewis James — working side by side with you helped develop me into the head coach I am today. Your calmness, wisdom, guidance, championship mindset, and example helped prepare me for this journey.
To the late Coach Larry Monts, Coach Jody Hale, and Coach John Long — thank you for seeing beyond my physical challenges.
You gave me the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level and never allowed me to use my circumstances as an excuse.
You pushed me physically, mentally, and helped me understand what was still possible.
This championship journey belongs to everyone who helped build the foundation.
To my coaching staff — the best high school boys track & field coaching staff in the state of Florida:
Coach Jarius Matthews
Coach Donovan Masline
Coach Joshua Hammond
Coach Brian Lewis
Coach Anquinette Calhoun
This championship and these coaching awards do not happen without you.
Your commitment, loyalty, knowledge, sacrifices, and love for these young men helped turn a vision into history.
Every workout.
Every conversation.
Every correction.
Every early morning.
Every moment you poured into these athletes mattered.
We did this together.
Thank you.
To our athletes — you believed. You worked. You sacrificed. You trusted the process.
You proved what happens when a group of young men comes together with one goal, one mission, and one belief.
You helped prove that the foundation we built still works — character, discipline, accountability, development, and doing things the right way.
There were people who questioned the journey. People who questioned if my coaching philosophy still worked. People who looked at my physical challenges and wondered if I could still lead.
Together, we answered those questions.
Not with words.
With commitment.
With results.
With a State championship.
Thank you for believing in me.
You didn’t just win a state championship…
You restored a legacy.
You are Legendary.
You are THE ELITE X.
Jordan Middleton • Owen Kaye • Bryson Lewis • Raheim Roberts • Alexander Higgins • Iason Williams
Hamire Walker • Kelvin Brown Jr. • Jonathan Downer-Barret
Johdeem Jones
10 Men. 1 Mission.
2026 FHSAA 2A Boys Track & Field State Champions
28 years later… the wait is over.
Delayed, but not denied.
Earned, not given.
THE STANDARD
Thank you God for another chance. God bless.
Coach Steven Bellamy
Head Boys
Cross Country / Track & Field Coach Raines High School
Jacksonville, Florida
06/09/2026
06/02/2026
05/28/2026
05/24/2026