NC State long jumper is ACC Men’s Outdoor Field athlete of the year

The long jumper’s first try wasn’t good enough. Then he scratched on the second.

With his parents looking on in Eugene, Ore., Jonathan Addison had one final attempt in June’s 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Addison took off down the runway in a dead sprint and flung himself toward the pit of sand in front of him. His mind was nearly blank.

“You’ve got to let all your training take over at that point,” he said.

For a split-second he hung in the air, his track career in the balance.

Confidence is key

Addison had qualified for the NCAA championships twice before.

As a sophomore at N.C. State, he finished 20th at the 2014 Outdoor Championships. Then, in March, he finished 14th out of 16 competitors at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships. Addison earned second-team All America honors at both meets, but he failed to live up to his own expectations.

“It’s amazing how much confidence is key to track and field,” Addison said. “I was really nervous and scared.”

Chris Coleman, assistant coach for sprints and jumps at N.C. State, wasn’t used to this type of performance. He first saw his future pupil when Addison competed in the high jump at a middle school track meet. From there, Coleman was hooked.

Addison added football to track and field while at Enloe High School, but the big offers never rolled in for the receiver and cornerback. He garnered a bit of interest from Ivy League schools, but he said he didn’t know if he was prepared to handle athletics in that situation.

Addison’s track and field presence proved impossible to ignore. He won the national championship as a high jumper in 2012 and won several state titles in both the high jump and long jump. Though he never intended to stay in-state for school, Addison eventually ended up with N.C. State.

The recruiting process was far from typical.

“Jonathan was more concerned with his academics. It was really hard to sell him on athletics,” Coleman said. “He was one of my last signings of the year. Until he signed the paper, I was nervous.”

The Raleigh native didn’t disappoint. Addison won the long jump at the 2014 ACC Outdoor Championships and was named to both the indoor and outdoor All-ACC teams in the same event.

At nationals, however, he faltered.

Making the jump

As June and the 2015 Outdoor Championships approached, Coleman saw Addison dial in.

“He gives 100 percent effort on top of his natural talent. He’s not taking anything for granted,” Coleman said. “He’s the one who’s going to do everything right, every day.”

After the disappointing finish in March, Coleman completely changed his training regimen. Addison jumped very little at practice and instead focused on footwork. Speed training became common, and the results were evident. His 100 meter time, which hovered around 11 seconds when he arrived at N.C. State, improved to 10.4.

Addison’s added speed made all the difference at the national championship in Eugene.

When crashed back to Earth after his third try, his 26-2 ¾ jump was good for a new personal best, a fourth-place finish at nationals and first-team All-America honors.

“It’s so fulfilling to actually do my best at the right time,” Addison said.

The performance, coupled with second-place finishes in the high jump and the long jump at the ACC Outdoor Championships, led voters to dub Addison as the 2015 ACC Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year.

Off the field, Addison has excelled academically. The three-time All-ACC Academic Team member will spend his summer with UTC Aerospace Systems to complement his industrial engineering major.

A full-time job in the area might have to wait, though. Addison has plans to make a run at the 2016 Olympics.

“He’s making the program stand out,” Coleman said. “I really think Jonathan is probably the best athlete I’ve ever coached.”

This story was originally published June 27, 2015 at 10:54 PM with the headline "NC State long jumper is ACC Men’s Outdoor Field athlete of the year."