Jason “Coach J” Mollison has been coaching track and field for more than 20 years. His coaching career started at Paul Robeson High School in Brooklyn, New York. “Academic based athletic success” and the “expectation of excellence” are the core  philosophies that Coach J  instills in all of his athletes. Coach J reinforces the fact that excellence is not a concentrated attribute, instead it must be displayed across all aspects of one’s life. To reach the standard of excellence expected by Coach J, a person must be reflective, resilient, compassionate, and intrinsically motivated to maximize their potential athletically, socially, and academically. 

Under his tutelage, several student athletes have gone on to win athletic college scholarships and have gone on to become stellar members of their respective communities. 

 

While at Paul Robeson, Coach J coached several city champions in field events and pentathlon. Most notably was Oneil Sandiford who won the Penn Relays high jump in 2010. Under Coach J’s leadership, PSAL (Public School Athletic League) top 10 all time marks were achieved in the high jump and the pentathlon by athletes that he coached. 

 

In 2011 Coach J moved on to take over as head coach at Franklin K Lane High School also in Brooklyn. At the time, Lane was a new team that was in need of establishing an identity and a winning culture. After 4 years, Lane became one of the premier sprint and hurdle programs in New York State. SInce 2015, two athletes won the PSAL City Championship Most outstanding athlete award, 4 athletes went on to win athletes scholarships (University of Florida, University of Southern Illinois, University of Nebraska, Georgian Court University), the Lane Shuttle Hurdle relay team ran the 3rd fastest time in PSAL history and won All American Honors, and the 400 meter hurdles at the State Championship included a Lane athlete 6 out of the last 7 times the event was held. (covid took away 2020 and 2021 meets) The PSAL record books were also re-written with 3 Lane athletes running top 15 times in the PSAL history! 

 

Also while at Lane, Coach J coached football for a few seasons. During his first year as the head football coach for the Franklin K Lane Nights, he led the team to an undefeated season which culminated in winning the PSAL City Championship and him being named the Gatorade Coach of the Year and New York Jets coach of the year. Despite the amazing athletic year the football team had, Coach J’s proudest moment for that team was when it was revealed that 4 athletes from the team won all city Academic Honors and the overall teams academic average was an amazing 88% Franklin K Lane services the bottom third of New York City students academically and financially so being able to produce academic success and athletic success despite the social challenges was right in line with Coach J’s “Expectation of Excellence!”