Photo by Russell Keleman.
Four hundred winning games and 20 district championships in 32 years of coaching.
For 61-year-old Jim Harris, Woodrow Wilson’s volleyball coach, winning is what he does.
A Kansas native and University of Texas at Arlington alum, Harris knew wherever he was, he just wanted to be coaching.
“Since I was little, I thought about being a coach or a teacher,” he says. “I don’t know why, but that’s just it.”
While running for the college track team, Harris made friends with Lisa Love, a former UTA women’s volleyball coach who needed an extra hand at the time. From then on, he’d spend his free time assisting the team. Later, he started playing men’s volleyball.
When Harris started working at Woodrow Wilson High School in 1991, he saw a brochure with a list of past championships and winning coaches.
He looked at the six-in-a-row championships won by the previous coach and thought to himself that if these coaches could do it, so could he.
Since then, Harris has won over 20 district championships.
“ You’re either best or you’re on the bench,” he says. “ That’s how we grew up.”
During his time at Woodrow, Harris has coached everything from women’s basketball to men’s varsity soccer. But volleyball is where the fun happens, he says.
“I loved it,” he says. “I love the sport.”
Harris’s dedication to the girls is unlike most coaches, JV assistant coach Jennifer Garcia says. He supports his team in any way he can when he’s not coaching.
“He goes and supports his girls outside of school, to their club meets, he always makes sure they see him watching them so it’s more like a family unit here,” Garcia says. “And the girls, they love him.”
During his first year of coaching, not many girls knew about club volleyball. Now, it’s almost necessary to have prior training to have the skills required to make the team, he added.
Everyone knows Harris, whether its students, staff or Lakewood residents; he’s a beloved coach to the Woodrow community, Garcia says.
“He’s been here 30 something years, all the kids know him, he’s the door greeter in the mornings with his music and he’s just very well loved at Woodrow,” Garcia says.
In October, the Wildcat community gathered to mark Coach Harris’ 400th win. There were cheerleaders, six-foot face cutouts of the coach in the stands, custom-made shirts, performances by the school band and the presentation of a plaque.
Dozens of Woodrow Wilson High School alums took to Facebook to congratulate Harris on his achievement.
“What a legacy you have created. I’m so glad to have played for him. Some of my favorite times at Woodrow,” Cindy Post commented on the 400th celebration Facebook post.
It’s still not time to retire, Harris says. He’s not really sure when that day will come, but until then he’s just going to focus on winning.
“I don’t see him going anytime soon until he just can’t go any- more,” Garcia says. “ That’s just how he is, he can’t even sit still.”
For Harris, it’s like anything else in life — if you feel it’s not something you’re ready to walk away from, then perhaps it’s not the right time for you to leave.
