WHEN BRYAN Morris hung up his hat as a professional baseball player, he knew he wasn’t hanging up his love of the sport. Morris enjoyed a successful career as a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, and San Francisco Giants. With a world of possibilities seemingly at his fingertips, he thought about his mentor and high school baseball coach, Scott Hargrove. Morris remembered the lasting impact that Hargrove had left on him. That impact followed him into adulthood and throughout his athletic career. He knew that he would like to have that same impact on young players. And when he learned of an opening for a high school baseball coach position in his hometown of Tullahoma, he knew that this was his opportunity to do just that. While he could have gone anywhere in the country to coach, Morris knew this was his chance to give back to Tullahoma High School baseball what was given to him.
“Much of my coming to Tullahoma had to do with my high school coach, Scott Hargrove,” said Morris. “I feel that I learned a lot from him and still do when it comes to the game and, really, just life. The impact he had on me was something that I wanted to give to other kids that came out of my hometown.”
A 2005 Tullahoma High School graduate, during Morris’ high school career, the dream of coaching was something he wanted to make a reality one day.
“I knew I wanted to coach because my father was a coach,” he said. “He had a great connection with his players, who kept in contact with him after they had finished playing. I wanted to have a similar relationship with my players. I want them to know everything I do for them is in their best interest.”
Now, almost four years into the job, Morris added that he is enjoying his relationship with his players and getting to live out his vision of being a coach.
“While there have been some things that go into coaching that I never really thought about, the actual coaching side of it
and the relationship that I have with the kids has been what I envisioned and more,” he said. “I hope they remember everything I put into the program was for them. I do everything to benefit the program and the players as best I can. I always tell them at the beginning of every year that the only thing that I can guarantee them is that I’ll tell them the truth, which isn’t always something they want to hear. But that is what I owe them more than anything is the truth in every situation.”
Along with coaching, Morris stays busy as a father to three young children with his wife, Whitney. Being a father to Colton (7), Lincoln (4), and Duke (8 months) has inevitably had an effect on Morris’ coaching.
“It’s definitely given me a little bit more patience,” he explained. “I was actually a dad before I started coaching. But what’s funny is during my first years of coaching, my father was one of my assistants. It was good because I leaned on him, and he taught me how to be the leader of the team. A couple of years ago, I made a tough decision to move on without him being on my staff. I wanted to be able to fully take the reins as a coach. Last year was my first year without him. While it was difficult at times, I think it also played a big role in the success that we’ve had.”
Bringing his family back to his hometown was of the utmost importance to Morris.
“I’m excited about having the opportunity to raise my kids in Tullahoma because I love this place,” he said. “It’s the reason I came back home versus taking other opportunities that were available when I finished my professional career. Tullahoma is just a small town, and the community is very supportive of me and baseball, along with other sports as well.”
Morris added that he hopes to add to the legacy of the community and sports legacy of Tullahoma.
“It’s huge,” he said. “Obviously, the young people that stick around will be the core of the community, and we have so many people to look up to with the generation before us. We certainly have big shoes to fill, especially with people like coach Olive and coach Hargrove. He, [and] others, have set a very high standard, and I am trying to live up to that standard.” GN
