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    2004 STATE RUNNER-UP At Nathanael Greene Academy in Siloam Ga. See NGA pages for the scoop!

 

 

       Coach Larry Harrison Coach Harrison is returning to Siloam near Greensboro Georgia for his second stint at Nathanael Greene Academy where he had watched a program achieve tremendous success under his watch from 2004 through 2006. Coach Harrison came into the Nat-Greene fold in March 2004 and with 16 players, 9 of them seniors, as  he immediately began to talk about winning and winning big. Evidently, this appealed to the kids for they had never considered winning as something real. Well after a short meeting with players the first day of practice, the game was on. The kids at first, quite frankly, thought the coach had a screw loose, talking championship on the first day of meeting the 16 players. He told them they would not only win, but would "win on our terms", and with the players that wanted it. With the dedication of those 9 seniors and a great new enthusiasm, The Patriots made it through an unbelievable season with a record  11-2, and only lost in the State Championship game with less than 2 minutes to play. While many schools are big into recruiting and scholarships to athletes, Coach Harrison has taken the kids that were present in the halls of the small Siloam Georgia school, well out matched in size and speed nearly every week, to a perennial prominence of  no less than the Final Four each year. Nat Greene has became among the very best football teams in the GISA Class "A" over those three years, while in its 35 year previous history was rarely above the bottom of the region. For all this success, Coach Harrison gives all the credit to God for his grace and the privilege to participate in this great sport and this wonderful life, along with the great kids of Greene and surrounding Countys for all their hard work, belief, and courage. What we saw these fine courageous young men do on Friday nights was quite amazing.

 Coach Harrison concluded his third year at Nat-Greene as a 2004 Region Champion & State Runner-Up, 2005 State Semi-finalist, and 2006 State Semi-finalist.

After going to Columbia High School to help friend Kevin Latham in 2007, Harrison was called by a fledgling football program of only 2 years at Heritage in Newnan. then came the 2008 and 2009 season at the Heritage School in Newnan where Harrison posted back to back winning seasons with very young and inexperienced teams.

Now with a new and exciting turn in the road, Coach Harrison will be returning to the home of his first High School Head Coaching job at Nathanael Greene Academy. "I had 3 great seasons there at NGA and though we had a notable success, I'm still looking for the really really big one. We were less than 3 minutes from a possible State Title in 2004 so the top spot is still open for the the Patriots". "That's my goal always".

Coach Harrison was basically retired for the 2008 football season and pursuing other interests including more family time BUT....WELL, A great Job came along, and Coach Harrison is now the new Head Coach of the Heritage Hawks in Newnan Georgia. The Hawks have just recently picked up football in 2006 so most of the players have only 2 years of total football experience. Harrison ended his stint at the Heritage School with 2 winning seasons and 2 playoff bids.

 

2006 Coach Harrison speaks, and make presentation, at the annual Double Wing Symposium in Frisco (Dallas) Texas in February.  " Wow, such a large group of coaching nut cases like myself for 3 days sharing info. There were lots of great times laughing so hard it hurt and outdoor demos in sub-freezing weather with 40 MPH winds and that hurt too." I had a terrific time, getting to know a great group of fine coaches from Maine to Southern California and all points in between, and made 120 or so new friends.

 Click HERE for DETAILS AND PICTURES OF COACH'S 2005 ARIZONA TRIP

2005 Coach Harrison speaks at "Hugh Wyatt's", Atlanta Double Wing Clinic on 2-26-2005.

(From Hugh Wyatt's Web Site)****** What a great lineup of speakers at the Atlanta Clinic - Larry Harrison, who went from being an offensive coordinator at a large high school that didn't always appreciate his offense to head coach at a small private high school - Nathanael Greene Academy - which he took to this year's state final game. Oh yes - and he did it without a single assistant... Steve Jones, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, who has coached the Double-Wing successfully at three different schools, taking the Ocean Springs Greyhounds to this year's Class 5A (largest class) final game; Kevin Latham, who as a middle school coach won a DeKalb County (suburban Atlanta)   championship, suffered a near-fatal heart attack (at the age of 37) and just finished his first year as a high school head coach at Decatur's Columbia High School. Considering the stereotype that so many of us fight - that our offense is just three or four plays from only one formation - I can only say what an incredible feeling it is to know that we have
advanced to the point where at Atlanta and other clinics, there are now men of the caliber of coaches Gibson, Harrison, Jones and Latham able to step up and share the things they're doing.

                            Coach Harrison among friends as the Atlanta Clinic comes to a close. Coach Harrison was the final speaker of the day as he outlined the Nathanael Greene season (11-2) and the great young men he was blessed to coach. He answered questions in detail about the offense and what people do, to try to stop it. "The first thing I had to do was to try to bring the FUN of playing football back to the kids there. They bought into the plan and we indeed had a great time, week to week, getting ready for the next opponent."  

 Voted, 2004 (GISA) North Georgia Region "Class A" Coach of the Year !

   In my many years of pursuing various interests, I have consistently stayed with coaching football all of my adult life. I have coached football on every level from the upper youth levels through High School, and have just as much enthusiasm now as I ever have, about getting kids to play and learn a high level of football.  It seems, that every where I've coached, I have ended up taking on the struggling team in the struggling programs and have been very fortunate, in making winners and over achievers with them, and in highly unlikely situations. After 32 years of coaching, I have managed to post a near 80% winning record, taking some situations where kids had never won, and working them into being very competitive. I have had a number championships, several undefeated teams, and many finalists. I have certainly been blessed to have had terrific coaches in my youth and high school, which really set the course for my successes in coaching. I was very fortunate to have played for a couple of really good youth coaches, and my mentor and senior high school coach, Phil Knight, one of Georgia's greatest coaches, in my opinion, and many others.

In the 2003 football season, I was fortunate enough to be hired, and served as Offensive Coordinator at Lakeside High School in DeKalb County (Atlanta) Georgia where my double wing offense led the county in rushing, averaging over 300 yards per game, and instrumental in getting Lakeside back on the winning track after a long loosing spell. Then in 2004, I was hired as the Head Football Coach at Nathanael Greene Academy High School where my hope was to get the Patriots to a state championship, with my double wing offense and new 4-4 defensive package. Nat-Greene had not had a lot of success in football in the past but with the great people that I'd met, the renewed commitment to football, and the great vision and leadership of our new headmaster, Jim Prance, I was very optimistic that the sky was the limit, in Siloam Georgia, better known as Patriot Country!    Since then...

**The 2004 football season is over and we did a most unexpected thing. Coming in very optimistic and ready to take on the challenges of the Nat-Greene situation, I had no idea that the progress we were making was so dramatic. We went to work, and with the efforts, great attitudes, and high spirits, of the great kids we have here, an amazing season happened, finding us in the state championship game playing for all the marbles. In the beginning we were just tickled to death to win a scrimmage and then our opener which was a big rival in Piedmont Academy, a strong "AA" program, but then to follow with a win over a very athletic and strong Monroe Academy team, we started feeling some confidence that we just may be competitive. We then cruised a bit until the defending champs came in. They looked like a team two leagues up from our "A" status but I think they claim to be legitimate. They beat us good but a second half comeback, just loosing 26-18, shot us into a higher level of play, for the balance of the season. We had shocking wins over a good "AA" Gatewood team 48-6 and ended up finishing the season scoring in the 40's 50's and 60's with our offense, and shutting down very strong opponents. We ended our regular season with a huge win over, then #1, Thomas Jefferson, and a win over a huge team and cross town rival, John Hancock 52-13. Going into the playoffs, we were as confident as could be and marched on like a team that you would think was a very huge, strong, 270 pound monster type team, but we were still playing with the original 17 players we started with, averaging maybe 170 pounds. These kids had hearts that were larger than life, and I've learned to never put the huge size of individuals over the size of the hearts of kids, ever. After taking care of Randolf Southern and a great Westwood team, we ended up loosing the title game to the same Toombs team that beat us during the season. The time to win it ALL was just not ours, even though we beat them in every facet of the game except the score. Our mistakes killed us but that is part of the growing process. The heartbreak is still fresh but we will get over it and crank it back up next year. We are loosing 9 seniors which is usually un-survivable at this level, but we will be checking the heart size, of the kids coming up, and try to ignore the even younger aged and slighter size we will display. A couple of move-ins wouldn't hurt for sure, but no matter what, our goal will always remain the same. Visit our season on the GAMES 2004 PAGE... CLICK ON A HELMET anywhere on this site.

The 2005 football season came to a fevered pitch before the sad ending. We made the final 4 once again and lost a thriller in 2-Overtimes to a very good Toombs team. In a year that most folks call a rebuilding year, we were among the very best in our league at the end and that is what you strive for as a player and a coach. Not predicted to utter a sound after loosing so many seniors, this group of fighters worked their way through a tremendous amount of injuries like I've never witnessed, and fought week in week out getting better and having new kids step up to the challenge every week. 4 of the 5 games we lost this year were so close that it was determined by and extra point or one miscue on one particular play. Man, how close can you get? And then the finale (see game page). It was the game of games and we all know how that went. You can't get closer to winning and not win, it's that simple. Well, it's on to next year and the good news is that we only loose 4 seniors. The bad news is that they are huge players for us. This is the sad part of coaching, saying good-by to great kids! I hope they come around to visit like the 2004 guys do. It's always great to see the great kids that played here coming back to support the guys following their lead.  GAMES 2005 PAGE... CLICK ON A HELMET anywhere on this site.

The 2006 football season has now ended with a great group of seniors winding up their football careers with great stories and accomplishments for a lifetime. We finished 9-4 and a Semi-finalist once again which in 3 years, these seniors finished as a Region Champion and  State Runner up and 2 time Semi-Finalist. These four accomplishments are a first in the schools 38 year old history. We set offensive records here that may never be broken with 14,904 yards of offense over 3 years. To you seniors, you can take with you the fact that you were a huge piece of the 3 greatest teams in NGA history to date. What a great career, what a great season, and what a great group of young men that graced the halls of Nathanael Greene Academy.

CLICK FOR PAST NGA HIGHLIGHTS

 

QUESTIONS FOR COACH...

1. Why do you coach and why have you coached for so long?  " It was a great place for me to disperse my attention deficit disorder into something positive, and rock and roll wasn't working. hahahaha

2. Why are you not a teacher?  My situation at the time didn't allow me to spend a lot of time at college, but I did leave with a high average, for those who think I was just too intellectually challenged. I had to make a living at the time and coaching was the farthest thing from my mind!  Hey, Thinking maturely and sensibly was the farthest thing from my mind! But I never aspired to be a teacher anyway. I just wanted to survive back then!

3. How did you end up at Nathanael Greene Academy?  After watching my youngest brothers play in the GISA back in the early 80's, I always wanted to coach in this league or anywhere really on the high school level. It seemed like a great place to be and coach. After sending out resumes and having had an interview with the NGA board, They still wanted me and offered me some big money. hahaha

4. Why do you drive those silly looking cars?  I'd rather have money to eat than pay for gas!  Plus, it fits my silly personality! Not to mention, anyone can look good in a sophisticated car like a Beamer!

5. How have you managed to win, and turn teams and programs around ?  Boy!, Have I done that??? That's a tough question. I started winning as a coach the year after high school, 1971, coaching while playing in a highly competitive flag football league, also at Georgia State (flag-intramural) on my short lived college stint. This was before I started coaching my youngest brother, Ken, in youth ball. Ken eventually helped me coach in the late 80's when I coached my son Chad. It was1977 I think when I started with Ken in youth ball and went 9-1. I really don't know how to explain how I've kept winning so much, but I hate losing, and try to avoid it by out thinking and out working the foe. But that explanation is flawed because some coaches just can't seem to win or win a lot, no matter how long and hard they work! I think the expression, "Work Smart not Long" may apply in some instances but I think the conciseness and the conviction of your teaching is crucial. The fact that I've won with some very under manned situations is a result of getting kids somehow to think, and play better than they really are. I really think, after all these years, that getting kids to become winners, and play above their heads, is something intangible. For some reason, most kids respond to what I do and how I coach them, and that, I simply can't explain. I've coached the same way from the start, so it is not a conscious effort to do anything in particular. I think coaching is one of those things that comes natural, and maybe some folks just have what works, while others struggle to find it. I can say that I have always been infatuated with the coaching aspect of football since I was a kid, and I know what worked on me. I also know that I view football much differently than most coaches. I think that I view it as an art form rather than a sport. I guess my art and musical background has something to do with that, but you know how strange the artsy people are! I guess I maybe one of them somewhat!  Anyway, that was a long winded answer for much of nothing, huh?

6. Who is your favorite football player of all times? There are a lot of them over the years but I'll tell you one, and you can probably guess some of the rest. Doug Flutie. I'll take that guy anytime, anywhere, to any battle. To me, he exemplifies being the very best you can be in all aspects of sports and life. If I have a hero or a role model for my kids to live by, its Doug Flutie. Hands down!

7. Where do you think society is, or is going?  That is the easiest question of all, THE WRONG WAY!  Football is one of the only games that still allows us to teach some of the solid core values and lessons of life with good moral lessons etc., but if you watch football on Sundays, you'll see that our great game is being crucified !!!!!! And all the while, the smoldering carcass is being mimicked by college and high schools much too accurately! There is still a lot of "good, and great" in the world and I think people need to quit filling their eyes and ears with the filth that is modern Television (MTV types), and gravitate to the more moral and truthful things happening! Make one thing clear, I'm by far no saint and hope no one ever got that idea, but I was just answering the question. Watch the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life", I would like society to get back to that!

8. What are your strengths in coaching football?  If I have to answer that one myself, it probably is "preparation" and game planning. I guess play calling is next,  but  that is partially a result of the preparation. I have been very fortunate to have pulled out a bunch of  games over the years, either on the last play or the last series, to win some awfully big games. Came close to a couple of whoppers this year (2005), but I'd really rather make it easier on the old ticker than that. wheeew, I get jacked up just thinking about it!

9. What are your weaknesses?  I refuse to aid the enemy!  Of course there are no weaknesses!  That was an attempt at comic relief of course!

11. How does your wife feel about the time coaching requires?  She actually enjoys her time. She says that she can get some things done when I'm not around. She also enjoys the quiet couple of hours after a day of enthusiastic second graders!  She says that she loves that I coach and admires the passion I have for the game and the kids. She really says that!  Really!  No, I didn't make that up!

12. Who have you admired as football Coaches? Oh my!!!  Anyone that beats me! haha ,  just kidding! Coach Phil Knight, my high school coach, a number one choice. He taught me so much! Truth is, I don't know a lot of HS coaches so to speak, but some I admire for their person of character! One would be Chester Skates (earlier high school coach, a tough hombre and disciplinarian),  as far as what I consider great HS coaches?, Calvin Ramsey (Avondale '60's), Dave Hunter (previously Brookwood-Gwinnett Co., GA),  I guess I'll have to throw in Cecil Flow (Parkview) with that doggone tear they were on with 3 state titles. Oh, and lets not forget T. McFerrin who's organization skills and prep skills set the standards for others like Dave Hunter and Mark Crews, both from Brookwood. Of course with the above mentioned, they all had great players and weren't exactly underdogs all the time, but built programs on hard work and great kids! I just haven't been in the high school loop to know of that many coaches. As far as College Coaches, Bear Bryant captured me as a kid, along with Lou Holtz,  Bobby Ross, and the guy at Arkansas before Holtz, Oh yeah, Frank Broyles?.  Oh yea! Got to put Paul Johnson, now at Georgia Tech in there. I'm sure there are and were a bunch of great ones! I have witnessed some really great youth coaches in my day as well such as my youth coach C.K.Brazwell and DeKalb Yellow Jacket Coach, Dee Stanley. There are many many not so good coaches in  youth but there were some darn good ones back then. I've butted heads with some pretty darn good youth coaches myself!!

13. Who do you think is overrated as a coach? Steve Spurrier, I think he's pretty good, just way overrated and hyped, but I still watch his teams.

14. How long do you intend on coaching? Until I'd rather do something else, or until no one will hire me! Right now I'm 57 years old but as a high school coach, I'm very fresh. I don't run scout team QB anymore, or get quite as physical in the trenches illustrating with the kids as I used to, Oh, maybe sometimes, but my passion for the game is still at the highest level ever!

15.  Why are you going back to NGA after building a winner at heritage?   Divine intervention!

Coach Harrison holds the right to change his mind on any or all the above answers at his will! " Hey, I can be swayed with some good sound logic. but come with some real game!"

 

For Coach Harrison Clinic Info: CLICK here for CONTACT PAGE

MORE 2004 COACHES CANDID SHOTS CLICK HERE

***HIGHLIGHT DVD or CD

SEE NAT-GREENE OR GAMES PAGES TO ORDER

 

         FRIENDLY LINKS:  

http://www.georgiacomputersolutions.com  Great computer guys. Keeps me up and running and very reasonable in the rates. Call Jim

http://www.gasports.com/?MenuID=2&file=StartupPage.htm For Georgia High School Football...Just register free and get to see all the standings and scores weekly or by region. A really good reference.

www.gavsv.com   HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL. stay on top of the Football in your area of Georgia in this great football site. Keep up with all of the GISA Football Schools and their standings and scores.

 www.harrisonsigns.com/  Coach Harrison owns a sign company specializing in signs of all kinds. Many can be seen on this site. He also designed the new NG logo for the schools identity which had been using the New England Patriot swoosh.

www.thereturnonline.com The RETURN is the best authentic Beatle Band anywhere. These guys have it all going on in recreating seeing and hearing the Beatles in the early 60's. The look, the sound, and the original equipment, you name it, they got it. Plus they are a great bunch of young guys.

www.coachwyatt.com  Friend and Double wing Guru so to speak, and his site has lots of interesting stuff. Hugh has a nation wide view of our double wing offense and posts emails from coaches all over that are running it. He is also a football historian with amazing recollections of football and greats of the past. A Great, Smart and Funny Guy.

www.coachmarkham.com  The Father or actual inventor of the double wing we run. He features our Nathanael Greene Team in his scores on this site. Don has a hard nosed, dumb as a fox style from what I've seen in his presentations but is a very sharp football coach. He is approaching the magic 300 win mark in Bloomington, CA.

 www.doublewingonline.com/  DOUBLE WING ONLINE is A new site that will be featuring teams and coaches around the country who run our double wing offense. Coach Weidner runs the site and is a very talented coach, and his site will be a great source for information and fun with DW coaches around the country.

  WHO ARE THESE INTELLIGENT LOOKING GUYS???  Well, it is Coach Hugh Wyatt on the LEFT and Coach Harrison on the RIGHT.  Hugh Wyatt is one of the foremost Gurus of the double wing offense and was a tremendous help to me when I first started running the double wing. He tours the country every year with his clinics and is a great guy with a crafty sense of humor.

 

 

 

   

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