He was accepted at the school of his choice, Taipei Physical Education College, and his first coach was Huang Wen-cheng, the holder of the national record in the steeplechase. Huang had Lin tested and found that the aerobic activity he was best suited for was long-distance running.
如願考上台北體育學院後，新教練是全國 3,000 公尺障礙賽紀錄保持人黃文成，透過生化數值分析，為他確立了適合發展的有氧運動 — — 長跑。