Coach Justin Byron Has Built Nansemond River Into An Elite National Track Power

By Brian Towey and Doug Binder of DyeStat

College coaches intent on visiting Team War's home base, Nansemond River High, should be prepared for a drive.

"College coaches come and they're like, 'I'm passing cornfields' and I'm like, 'Keep going,'" said Nansemond River head coach Justin Byron of the Virginia school, which is located between cotton fields and cornfields apart from the area's housing subdivisions.

In Suffolk, Va., in the Hampton Roads area, Byron, a North Carolina A&T grad and professional sprinter, has built something special. During the seven years Byron has been there, Nansemond River has become one of the elite national programs, alongside Bullis MD, Oak Park (Motor City TC) and local rival Western Branch VA. 

Last month at New Balance Nationals Outdoor, Team War brought home wins in the girls 4x200 relay (1:36.30), the girls 800-meter sprint medley (1:42.53) and then took second in the girls 4x100 relay (45.08).

In March at New Balance Nationals Indoor, the Nansemond River boys won their first 4x200 relay national championship (1:27.11). 

"We had shirts made that say, 'Commit to the process'," Byron said. "Not trust the process. Not believe the process. Commit to the process. That's what we're trying to embody."

Byron took a circuitous path from Washington, D.C. and Maryland's Oxon Hill High, to Hampton Roads. A former NCAA Nationals qualifier in the 200 meters at North Carolina A&T, he'd settled into professional training with coach Brooks Johnson when an opportunity arose.

"In the camp I went to with Brooks Johnson (in Orlando, Fla.), there were a lot of hurdlers, not a lot of quarter-milers," Byron said. "I spoke with a friend who was in Norfolk. He asked if I wanted to go to Virginia to train with LaShawn Merritt. I packed up and went."

This was in 2010. 

Byron got his start in coaching around that time, first at Green Run as an assistant and then at Great Bridge before landing at Nansemond River. 

Team War, the club name used at New Balance Nationals and other non-school sanctioned meets, comes from the Nansemond River's mascot, the Warriors. 

"It was just trying to give the team a little edge. We were at a meet my first year and we had some T-shirts made that year before going to state that said WAR, in really big letters, and underneath them it finished the word (-riors)," Byron said. "I did that because I didn't want to upset the waters and have my AD come after me upset."

The shirts went over without any pushback. So the next year, Byron kept the W-A-R and took off the rest of the word and the athletes and parents still loved it. 

"It does get tricky with the school year and the different uniforms we can wear," Byron said. "For instance, at the state meet, we try not to have anything showing that says 'War,' just Nansemond River Warriors."

But the idea of opening up a warm-up to reveal a uniform that says 'War' speaks to the intensity of the competition in the area, even if there is no hostility intended.

Western Branch High is just nine miles away. Coach Claude Toukene built that school into a national sprints and hurdles powerhouse over 15 years at the school before stepping down to pursue college coaching this spring. 

Although they share the same district, the schools generally try to avoid going head to head too often during the regular season. 

The rivalry is intense. 

"It's (like) North Carolina versus Duke," Byron said. 

The pinnacle of the rivalry, Byron said, came last month in the girls 4x100 relay final at New Balance Nationals. 

Western Branch ran 44.92 seconds for first place and a new all-time Virginia record. War (or Nansemond River) was second in 45.08. 

"I felt like the 4x1 this year was a great way for (Toukene) to go out," Byron said. "We had gotten them the last few years in the 4x1 and 4x2, but this year for him to go out with the win (was great). We did everything we could do, we ran as fast as we could have, we executed, and to have a team nine miles away from us ... that was extremely exciting."

Over the summer, most Nansemond River athletes take a break from competition. Byron and his coaches will hold sessions for skill and technique development without the pressure of having to race. 

With Toukene moving on, Byron's influence in the talent-rich Hampton Roads area could continue to grow. Nansemond River won the VHSL Class 5A title this spring while Western Branch swept the 6A titles.

John James, a current Nansemond River assistant coach who has sent his four children through the track and field program, said: "I think what Coach B is most proud of is what the boys have done this year. They won the 4x200 (at NBNI). That was definitely a milestone for the program. You had four guys who weren't actually getting any notoriety go out and actually get it done.

"They bond with him. It's more of a big brother (situation). They idolize him as a coach because they can relate to him. He demands a lot of them. (What works is) the way he comes across to student-athletes and the way the kids respect him."

One of the program's turning points came in March of 2012. On the cusp of the team's first state title, indoors or outdoors, Nansemond River lost the indoor state championships by 2.5 points to E.C. Glass.

"We came together as coaches and said, 'We're never going to let that happen again, as far as (off-track conflicts),'" James said. "We will always be in a position to where they can't take it away from us."

Talented rising senior Kori Carter, following in the footsteps of Nansemond River graduate Brandee Johnson, ran 13.49 and 41.28 in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles this spring. 

"If it's not football or basketball (in Hampton Roads), it's track. The reason it's so competitive is because everyone runs so fast," Carter said.

Byron's personality, organization and competitive fire have also fueled the success.

"(It's about) trust," said recent graduate Asia Crocker, one of six Nansemond River seniors headed off to compete in college. "Whatever he asks us to do, we do it."