JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It is easy to settle for people’s opinion about us but that was not the case with Aaron Bell, a recent graduate of Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville, Fla. Bell’s first stint with sprinting was at Raines High School where he was good in 400-meter but wanted to compete in shorter sprints like the 60-meter. However, his coaches told him that he was too slow for shorter sprints.

Determined to become exceptional in shorter sprints, Bell transferred to Terry Parker. At Terry Parker, Bell reunited with Darryl White, a track coach who treats and gives him valuable life lessons like a father.

“He taught me how to handle things as a grownup man,” Bell said referring to one of the lessons White taught him. “Making sure that you have your priorities set straight. It is not just about being an athlete but about being a man first before being an athlete. At the end of the day, I might not be an athlete my whole life but I will be a man my whole life.”

While Bell was ranked as one of the nation’s fastest high school sprinters in 60-meter, Coach White believes he is yet to reach his full potential.

“It’s crazy when you meet somebody who has been there,” Bell said in reaction to people comparing him to Olympic sprinter, Carl Lewis. “He has the record of being one of the fastest humans to ever walk the earth. [People] comparing me to him is just an amazing feeling.”

On May 7, Bell ended Parker boys’ over 30 years trophy drought by winning the 100 and 200-meter dashes at the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A track and field championships. Stepping into the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium, Bell was one of the favorites to win. He did not disappoint his fans. The last track glory recorded by the Parker boys was in 1988 when Paul Diefenbruch brought back the shot put gold.

“It means everything, man,” Bell said. “It meant the world to me, knowing I was able to go out and achieve the goals that I’d set for myself. It’s big for the whole community at Terry Parker, to bring a state championship back to my school.”

Bell held off Jacari Kennedy of Orlando Jones, his closest rival in the 100-meter, by eight-hundredths of a second. He crossed the finish line at 10.34. His victory at the 200-meter dash was even more dominant. Bell broke clear from his competitors from the start and finished at 20.71.

Bell did not start as a sprinter. Before his third grade, sprinting was his second love behind football. He only decided to put all his effort into sprinting in middle school.

“I knew I had the physical gifts, but it’s up to me to make the most of them,” Bell said.

Bell has hit numerous milestones in the past including winning the 400-meter dash at Florida middle school championship and finishing fourth in the New Balance Nationals in his sophomore. But it is hard to imagine him as lightning-quick in short sprints up to the point of being ranked among the fastest in the nation. He put in a lot of work and had to fight off self-doubt to reach his current status.

“In middle school, he was one of the slow kids,” Parker sprint coach Mike Holloway said. “He really, really, really, has to work, a great work ethic. He worked his butt off nonstop, weekends, holidays, in the pool, out of the pool, you name it. If you said there was one thing he needed to do, he was going to do it.”

Bell made it clear that he was a force to contend with in January 2020 after running 6.72 to win the Carl Lewis International 60-meter dash. In January 2021, he lowered that time to 6.60 at the VA Showcase in Virginia Beach, Va. His 100 and 200 meters sprint times at Hodges Stadium ranked nationally among the top five performances for high school students at that time in the MileSplit rankings.

Bell had a successful high school career and graduated in June. After graduation he headed to Houston where he will be coached by one of the greatest sprinters in history, Carl Lewis. Lewis won the World’s Fastest Man title at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Also on the coaching staff at Houston is Leroy Burrell who is a former world record holder in the 100 meters dash and an Olympic relay gold medalist.

“It’s more of a check-in type of relationship right now,” Bell said in reaction to his relationship with Lewis. “We converse and do little things like seeing a bit of me running. He congratulated me and my PR and give me little tips here and there. He allowed me to be my high school kid first instead of rushing me into that process. He is being really patient and waiting for me to get there to really be that coach.”

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