NATCHITOCHES – With music blaring and Northwestern State track and field athletes stretching, jumping and laughing all around the Walter O. Ledet Track Complex, junior sprinter Amir James calmly goes about his warm up in silence, usually with headphones on, gazing at the scene before him.
 
Such is the organized chaos surrounding a track practice in which four coaches are responsible for training a total of 75 male and female athletes.
 
But the 5-foot-7 James is akin to the eye of the storm, unfazed by the madness circling him.
 
Unless someone is on the lookout, James could easily go unnoticed when he slides into practice -- unusual for someone with his résumé in the sport.
 
He has racked up 12 solo wins thus far in his career, highlighted by being crowned the Southland Conference Indoor 200 meters champion the last two years.
 
The latest gold medal came in record-breaking fashion as he bested the time of former Demon All-American Justin Walker with a mark of 21.15 in Birmingham, Alabama.
 
James is also an instrumental part of the 4x100 team that bolted its way to All-American status (39.69) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, a year ago.
 
And this sort of success is exactly what the Missouri City, Texas, native signed up for when he committed to the Demons after his senior campaign at Dulles High School, despite running track for only three years.
 
"It was actually in 10^th grade P.E., one of the coaches noticed I was pretty fast and suggested I go out for the track team," James said.  "So I started in the 400 meters as a sophomore, then I was injured most of my junior year, but it was not until I began running the 100 and 200 my senior year and started winning consistently that I thought I could do this in college."
 
While he was relatively new to the sport, the talent was undeniable to former NSU sprints coach Chad Leath, which is why he recruited James to become a Demon.  
 
"Coming out of high school, I was interested in NSU because of how successful the program had been in the past," James said. "I saw how well they were doing, especially Justin Walker, and it was something I wanted to be a part of."
 
Not only is James now a part of the success, he is one of the main reasons for it. And while the expectations continue to grow, they will never come close to the pressure he puts on himself. 
 
"I always put my mind toward what I want to accomplish," James said. "I tell myself 'I am going to do this and this,' so I have yet to exceed my own expectations because I know how hard I work every day to reach that goal I set for myself. And once I hit that goal, I set another, and then another. It is the way I refocus and get better."
 
With the triumphs of the sport come new responsibilities, such as shouldering the leadership role on the team, which can be daunting for someone with James' unassuming personality.
 
"I do like to keep to myself, because that helps me stay focused on the mental aspect of the sport," James said. "But I know when I have to step up, especially for the 4x100 team. There are some days none of us feel like practicing, so that's when I pick the time to motivate my teammates, because I know those are the days when we get better."
 
James has visions of continuing track well past his time at NSU, in the form of a professional sprinter, but if that does not work out, it will not be the end of the world.

"I would like to turn pro, but if not, I am majoring in computer information systems and hope to get a job doing cloud computing for a big company," James said. "My dad worked for technology companies, so I grew up around it."
 
But for now, James is still motivated by the pedigree that lured him to Natchitoches in the first place.

"Every day, I go outside the coaches' office to look at the school record board, and I tell myself I want to be on it," James said. "I want to be listed in the 100, the 200, the 4x100 and the 4x4. I want to be one of the greats that made a mark in the NSU history books."