Southern Virginia University

MJ Nelson graduated from Southern Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and a concentration in Coaching.

Nelson began coaching for SVU Track & Field in November of 2018 and oversees the sprints/hurdles and horizontal jumps event areas. He is also a Sports Performance coach for XC, Track & Field, Football, and Softball and recently completed his USATF Level I
training in Track & Field.

Student-athletes under his direction have flourished winning individual conference championships in the 100, 200, long jump, and triple jump while simultaneously setting school records in each of those events.

Before coming to Southern Virginia, Nelson was an assistant track coach at Simi Valley High School for four years and an assistant football coach at Westlake High school for one year. Nelson became a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine while working for 24 hour fitness. 

Nelson now lives in Lexington with his wife and their baby daughter Kennedy.