07/24/2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Raines Boys Track & Field Coach Earns National Recognition, Named 2026 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Florida Boys’ Track & Field Coach of the Year
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Raines Head Boys Track & Field Coach Steven Bellamy has been named the 2026 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Boys’ High School Track & Field Coach of the Year for the State of Florida, one of the highest honors a high school track & field coach can receive.
The USTFCCCA is the nation’s largest and most respected professional organization for track & field and cross country coaches. Its membership includes coaches from the high school, NCAA Division I, II, and III, NAIA, NJCAA, and professional ranks, making it the premier coaching organization in the United States.
As Florida’s recipient, Bellamy was selected by the national coaches association as the top boys’ high school track & field coach in the state for the 2026 season. Each year, the USTFCCCA recognizes one boys’ coach and one girls’ coach from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, honoring the very best high school track & field coaches across the nation.
Unlike many coaching honors presented by media outlets or local organizations, the USTFCCCA Coach of the Year award is bestowed by the nation’s premier coaching association and represents recognition from fellow coaches who understand the dedication, leadership, and excellence required to build championship programs.
Bellamy earned the prestigious honor after leading the Raines High School to the 2026 FHSAA Class 2A Boys Track & Field State Championship, the program’s first state championship since 1998 and its fourth overall. Raines captured the title with 83 team points, defeating the runner-up by 49 points, the second-largest margin of victory in FHSAA Boys Track & Field State Championship history.
The championship season was the culmination of years of program development centered on character, discipline, accountability, academic excellence, and a commitment of the coaching staff to the development of student-athletes both on and off the track.
Perhaps most remarkable was the development of the championship team.
Six of the 10 athletes who represented Raines at the 2026 FHSAA Class 2A State Championship had never competed in track & field before entering high school. Through a culture built on character, discipline, accountability, technical instruction, and unwavering standards, those young men developed into state champions, state medalists, and collegiate scholarship recipients—demonstrating that the Raines Boys Track & Field program is built on developing young people, not simply identifying talent.
The USTFCCCA honor is the latest recognition in an extraordinary year for Coach Bellamy, who has also been honored as:
2026 Florida Dairy Farmers (Florida Milk) Boys Track & Field Coach of the Year
2026 Jacksonville Track Club High School Coach of the Year
2026 Gateway Conference Mike Houser Outstanding Coach of the Year
With this recognition, he now advances to the National level of consideration.
As Florida’s USTFCCCA Boys’ High School Track & Field Coach of the Year, he is one of just 102 state honorees nationwide—one boys’ coach and one girls’ coach from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia—under consideration for the Association’s National High School Track & Field Coach of the Year award.
A panel of experts will select one boys’ coach and one girls’ coach from among the state winners, with the national recipients scheduled to be announced next week.
Bellamy’s selection by the USTFCCCA further establishes the Raines Boys Track & Field program among the nation’s elite. The recognition reflects not only a championship season, but also a proven model of athlete development, as the majority of Raines’ state championship competitors began their track & field careers only after enrolling at Raines High School. As the Vikings continue building on their championship tradition, this honor serves as another milestone in one of the most successful seasons in school history.
