April 2, 2008
Editor's Note: Jon Moss is a student in the University of Miami sports writing class taught by Michelle Kaufman, a sports writer for the Miami Herald.
Coral Gables, FL (www.hurricanesports.com) -- -
Standing on the top step of the dugout, amid his rally-capped and towel-waving players, Jim Morris watches. Every now and then he utters words of encouragement, usually no more than the common baseball jargon of "atta boys" or "take good cuts," but for the most part he resembles a pillar of stoicism and focus. In his fifteenth season as coach of the University of Miami baseball team and 28th season coaching overall, it comes as no surprise that Morris, who has seen and done almost everything there is to see and do in college baseball, does not get too carried away with one early-season game.
Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1950, Jim Morris, as was common among young American men, grew up playing baseball. His stellar high school career led him to Elon College, where his hitting prowess and shortstop skills led the Boston Red Sox to draft him. Unfortunately, his hitting did not carry over to the professional level, and after two years of minor league ball--including one under the hitting tutelage of Red Sox legend Ted Williams--Morris decided his future was not as a baseball player.
"Initially when I went to school I wanted to be an architect," said Morris, who worked in an architecture firm in college and still maintains a passion for it. "I changed my major for the
third time and decided I wanted to be a coach. When I signed my pro contract, I knew eventually I'd be a coach. I wasn't that good a hitter, though, so I figured I'd be a coach in the near future."
Morris began his coaching career 33 years ago as an assistant at Appalachian State, and got his start as a head coach at DeKalb (Ga.) South Community College. Morris given the task of literally creating the DeKalb baseball program at age 25, and despite the absence of a team or a field, he was able to take them to the Junior College World Series in 1977.
After a brief stint as an assistant coach at Florida State, Morris was offered the head coaching position at Georgia Tech. As was his nature, Morris enjoyed tremendous success in his twelve years with the Yellow Jackets, leading them to the NCAA Regionals in his final nine seasons.
While building the program at Georgia Tech, Morris remained in contact with University of Miami coach Ron Fraser, and as Fraser was getting ready to step down after 30 years with the Hurricanes in 1992, he pegged Morris as a suitable replacement.
"Coach Fraser and [UM Athletic Director] Paul Dee both recruited me to come here, so I knew both of them were in total support of me," said Morris, who speaks of Fraser in a reverential manner, likening his career to those of John Wooden and Paul "Bear" Bryant. "I told Coach Fraser `If I take this job, you're going to be standing right beside me on the podium saying `Take care of my boy.'' He was there for me and always has been."
After inheriting the Hurricane program from Fraser in 1994, Morris quickly put his own stamp on it, leading them to six straight College World Series appearances before winning the National Championship in 1999. The 1999 championship game, in which the Hurricanes won a 6-5 thriller over arch-rival Florida State, is easily Morris's favorite memory from his days in Coral Gables.
"The first win is your favorite. The fact that we had that championship was a monkey off our back, because at Miami you're supposed to win National Championships," said Morris. Under Fraser, the Hurricanes won national titles in 1982 and 1985.
Although he has enough accolades and awards to last a lifetime and enough trophies and plaques to inundate his office at Mark Light Field--including a silver medal from his days coaching Team USA at the 1989 Presidential Cup and another College World Series title in 2001--Morris insists that numbers and personal achievements are not what keeps him coming back.
"The thrill of unknowns and the competition keep me coming back," said Morris. "Being able to deal with the young players is a lot of fun. To try to be the best you can, and have the players be the best they can."
Much the same way Fraser did to him, Morris has tried his best to maintain a close relationship with his former players. Admittedly, maintaining contact with players from Miami is difficult because they tend to come from all over the country, but Morris has his methods.
"One thing I have a habit of doing is always writing down my players' birthdays. If you're in my calendar one day, you're always in there," he says. "It's a great excuse for me to call a guy at least once a year if I haven't talked to him."
In addition to the birthday system--which, with 30 years of coaching under his belt, has provided Morris with quite the Rolodex--Morris is also fortunate to see a good amount of his players come back to Miami to get their degree. Since most collegiate baseball players get drafted following their junior year at the latest, Morris has worked with the university to help facilitate players' graduations. Molding his players into good men and respected college graduates--not winning 1152 games on the field at a 70 percent clip--is Morris' definition of success.
"It doesn't bother me that they get drafted after their junior year because it's such a great bargaining year for them, but the bottom line is that if they make it big time, they still come back to graduate," he says.
And if you know Jim Morris the man as well as Jim Morris the coach, you just know that he'll be watching when they do.
