The Walter R. McCloud track at G.W. Carver Park

Long time Yuma track and field coach Walter McCloud is honored by former athletes and the community

YUMA, Ariz. ( KYMA, KECY-TV ) - For 63 years, Walter McCloud found himself in some sort of role coaching track and field.

"It was great working with all the athletes," McCloud said. "I enjoyed working with them over the years. it was a two way thing. You learn from them and they learn from you. My main goal was the education part of it."

McCloud enjoyed a 30 year coaching career in Yuma with Yuma High School and club teams. He's widely known by his athletes as a father, a counselor and a mentor.

"I met coach McCloud in the first grade," Teacher Ashley Aitken said. "He was my substitute teacher. He came in with his pen and his list and he was ready to go."

It's because of McCloud that Ashley and her brother Phillip got into track and field.

"Track is the foundation for everything," Aitken said quoting McCloud. "You want to
jump, track. You want to run, track. You want to throw a baseball? Let me give you a javelin."

McCloud wasn't just a coach, he was there for his students, his athletes and he taught them how to be accountable, how to become good human beings.

"There is no amount of thank you's, gifts, ceremonies, that can amount to how much you truly deserve," Yuma grad and 2008 Olympic athlete Jacquelyn Johnson-Powell said.

McCloud was always there, always checking and even renting charter busses for his teams.

"Coach McCloud has not only had a huge impact on my life, but has made an impact on this whole community," Johnson-Powell said.

So much so that a former athlete of McCloud's, Phillip Aitken, came up with the idea to name the track after the head coach.

"My brother Phillip put all this together while in Kansas," Aitken said.

But it was Ashley who did the ground work in Yuma, gathering 1,501 signatures on an online petition by supporters. On September 11, 2019, the Yuma Union High School District governing board unanimously approved the naming of the track at Carver Park after McCloud. Due to the pandemic, the ceremony was put on hold until this past Tuesday.

"A good coach impacts your game but a great coach impacts your life," Johnson-Powell said. "I love you coach McCloud."