Cedric Walker- Irreplaceable
On March 12th we lost a great personal friend and a friend to the sport. Board member, father, husband, son, brother, friend Cedric Walker left this world the day after returning home to Rochester from the New Balance Nationals Indoors.. He will be sorely missed. Noone was more active nor gave so much to the sport and to the people fortunate enough to be associated with him.
Cedric was an integral part of the NSAF for over 20 years. He was a visionary who made things happen almost magically. When you thought of something that needed to be done or created, he had already done it. He knew everyone in the sport, he never forgot a face, a name or a phone number. He cared about every athlete he met, coached or simply had a conversation with. He inspired and changed lives like no one we have ever known.
Cedric was our connection to the outside track world. If a contact had to be made, either domestically or internationally, Cedric would make it. He knew everyone!
He was a great coach and, especially, a great relay coach. Rochester, NY doesn't see warm weather until sometime in June. Yet Cedric coached Franklin HS of Rochester to a 40.73 Penn Relays win, almost unthinkable for a cold weather team. He's also responsible for some great performances and world records at many World Junior and other international meets. Most memorable for us is World Juniors in Grosetto, Italy in 2004.
Cedric was passionate about what the NSAF does and was our main advocate. He was the unofficial godfather to the kids on the CSI teams we took to Puerto Rico each year. And it wasn't a one time thing; he stayed in contact with them through college and beyond.
He is irreplaceable and we can't imagine what life will be without him. Cedric Walker was bigger than life.
Cedric's Obituary capsulizes his many contributions to the sport.
