THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408310636
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: R3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Football Special '94
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
OVERCOMING FEARS, developing self-confidence and having faith in beliefs are just some of the valuable lessons young athletes can learn from a sport like football.
At Green Run, coach Elisha ``Cadillac'' Harris is a teacher of such philosophies.
And nowhere will young students find a more qualified instructor.
Probably because Harris practices what he preaches.
A case in point:
When Harris was a youngster growing up in the Lake Christopher section of Kempsville, his mother warned him of the dangers of playing around in the lake's deep waters. And, like most children, he chose to ignore her with a ``find-out-for-myself'' attitude.
But Harris almost drowned one day. Were it not for the heroic efforts of a friend, he wouldn't be here today.
Harris never really got over that day. Although he eventually learned to swim in college, he was often terrified. That experience with death had scared him with a fear he couldn't get over.
That is, until a few Saturdays ago, when he and neighbor Greg Burd swam across the approximate half-mile wide lake.
``Every summer, I try to work on one of my fears in life,'' Harris said. ``I used to have a thing about reading. Now I read a couple of books each summer.
``I'd been practicing with Greg in his pool all summer for that swim. We swam in the lake several times to make sure I could do it.''
Harris' brother Tyran Harris and former Green Run assistant Reggie Garrett - now at Ocean Lakes - followed Harris and Burd in a small boat, cheering him on, and to be there in case something went wrong.
Burd was the in-water coach, telling Harris when to switch strokes and offering other guidance.
Harris completed the swim in just under 30 minutes and came out of the water to the applause of about 20 people who had come to offer their support.
``Oh my goodness, what a tremendous feeling that was,'' Harris said. ``That has got to be one of my greatest accomplishments in life - a very significant moment for me.''
Harris tries his best to relay that sort of message to his student athletes.
``One of my players asked me, `why are you doing that? You don't have to do that' '' Harris said. ``I explained to him that there needs to always be challenges in your life and you need to work at those challenges to keep yourself in a state of constant improvement.
``There are always mountains in your life.''
Harris attributes much of his way of thinking to his Christian upbringing. Faith, he says, has helped him to climb his mountains.
He has had many.
``Working for my masters degree and getting ready to try to get a doctoral degree - reading the books, swimming, coaching - that's what it's all about,'' he said. ``God didn't give you the spirit of fear. He gave you the ability to overcome it. And that's what I've strived to do with my life and mirror for my players.''
Some of his highs in life include coaching and becoming close friends with NFL players like Matt Darby and Keith Goganious of the Buffalo Bills and Steve Sanders of the Chicago Bears.
He also worked closely with world-class sprinter Andre Cason and the late Alton Grizzard, a star quarterback at Navy.
``I've seen some great athletes go through this program,'' he said. ``Maybe more than most coaches ever see.''
And he has had to deal with the lows also.
Like seeing a great athlete slip through the cracks because of grades.
``And things like Alton getting killed last year,'' he said. ``Those are the things that test you.
``In my job, I am a coach, an administrator, a tutor, a counselor and sometimes a father. It takes up the majority of my time,'' he said.
Harris was a standout linebacker for Kempsville High in the early 1970s and played for four years at Norfolk State.
After a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys failed to land him a job, he took an assistant coaching job at Kempsville in 1978.
A year later, with the opening of Green Run, he jumped ship and coached the defensive squads for Johnny Cooke and Tommy Rhodes. In 1988, he took the head coaching job when Rhodes went to Cox.
``It's been exciting, stressful, depressing at times - the whole gamut of emotions,'' he said. ``But every year, there is a high point - seeing young men develop and believe. It's a great reward to lay out a road map for their lives and see them follow it.''
Harris is just starting to recover from what is arguably his most stressful summer of preparation.
With the opening of Ocean Lakes and the re-zoning of the Beach District, Harris lost his entire coaching staff. And because of teaching position problems, he had trouble finding replacements.
``A month away from the opening of practice and I didn't know who my assistants were going to be,'' he said. ``I might just have what could turn out to be the best team in this school's history and I didn't know who my coaches were going to be. Is that crazy, or what?
``Other coaches are out there fine-tuning their program and I'm having to deal with getting some help. I haven't been getting much sleep lately.''
His diversion was the attacking of his swimming fear and he seems to have gotten over both. With his new staff now in place, it's time for football.
``Since I was in the eighth grade, I haven't had one football season off,'' Harris said. ``This is August and it's in the air. There's a certain smell that only football people can smell.
``But I know this is it. Some people think we're a little crazy, but I can't wait until Friday nights.''
Because that is when the teacher puts his students to the test - an exam about football and about life. MEMO: Cover Story by CNB