As a new member of the Trinity staff, Jimmy Wadell has a lot on his plate. Because he is a Trinity alumnus, he knew what he was getting into, and he knew he was immersing himself into a school that helped him grow as a man and a school in which there’s “a great desire for me to come here every day.” As the new assistant athletic director, he had many influences in his life who helped him pursue his goal of being involved in athletics. Competition is what drives him to be better every day, and his role at Trinity is very impactful for the school.
Wadell, a graduate of the Trinity Class of 2005, has been involved in coaching for around 20 years. After he was asked what helped him get into athletics, he stated, “So I knew I wanted to coach. I wanted to be involved in coaching basketball, which I’ve coached basketball a lot in my past… not necessarily just coaching, but I just loved all sports, so that was originally my thought process.” He previously coached girls’ basketball at Male, boys’ basketball at the middle school level, and was a teacher and athletic director for Barrett Middle School. In addition, Wadell says he loves competition and the adversity and challenges that come with it. If given the opportunity, he wishes to coach basketball here at Trinity, which would be a dream come true for him.
Furthermore, Wadell has been heavily influenced by many Trinity teachers during his time as a student. He elaborated, “Coach Beatty really impacted my life in a positive way, and he pushed me in the right direction…and Coach Becker was another outstanding teacher who impacted my life.” Coach Owens was another huge inspiration for Wadell. He mentioned that Owens is big on developing students as men, and guys like him are what helps Trinity be a “well-oiled machine.”
What exactly is the difference between Wadell’s role and the role of the new athletic director, Sean Duggins? “He does a lot of similar things, but at a higher scale, a more intense scale because he’s directly in charge of athletics. Now, there are some sports where I’m the pinpoint. I’ve got a couple of sports in each season where I have a little bit more eyes on, if you will, whereas he has some of the bigger ones. But he’s the full-time athletic director, so he has a lot on his plate. My job is to help kind of ease some of that, take some of it off, whether that be paperwork, emails, or being present at the games. This place thrives because of the way people care and because of the collaboration and the support, so my job is to be supportive of him as best as possible.” Wadell’s role is extremely important, and it is what helps make Trinity athletics such a vibrant and successful part of the school. Without people like him, and the many influences in his life, Trinity wouldn’t be the place it is today.
