Left to right - Alan, Jr. Alan Morris and Andy.
photo by Contributed
The year was 1973 and Bradley Central High School formed its first wrestling team. On that team was a young athlete named Alan Morris who stepped onto the mat at Bradley Central as a wrestler for the Bears' program.
Little did he know where that moment would lead him as he developed as a wrestler, military veteran, head coach, Hall of Famer, husband, father, grandfather and patriarch of a wrestling family who's name has become synonymous with the sport.
Now, after some serious health complications from neck surgery gone wrong, Morris decided to hang up his headgear.
“I spent 20 years there (at WalkerValley) and now, after the (neck) surgery didn't go as planned and the aftermath I've had to deal with, I felt like I had done my time,” he said.
Morris' first distinction was garnering the very first wrestling win for the Bears in 1973, a program that arguably developed as the most storied athletic teams in Tennessee wrestling history.
“We had football coaches as wrestling coaches. They were good guys, good men, but it didn't equate to tremendous success,” he recalled. “I won the majority of my matches, but I was never a state champion or anything. But, it (wrestling) motivated me a little bit more to be involved with the kids at Bradley and whatnot.”
From BCHS, Morris wrestled a year at Chattanooga State and one year at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga before joining the military.
“I was getting beat up there (at UTC) so I went into the Air Force and wrestled a little bit there,” he said with a smile. “Wrestling is just something I love being a part of.”
After his competition days and service to the country came to an end Morris decided to step into coaching and moved back to Cleveland in 1986 where he started coaching his oldest son, Al junior, through the Cleveland Boys Club (now the Boys and girls Club).
Later Morris started the Bradley Wrestling Club where he was involved for more than 20 years.
When Walker Valley began its wrestling program in the early 20s, Morris accepted an offer from Danny Coggin and Paul Cretton to start heading the Mustangs' program. After a year's hesitation and meditation because of his loyalty to the Kids Club, Morris finally accepted the offer to come to the north end of the county.
“I thought, 'I'm not getting any younger and this is not a bad gig at my age so I'll give it shot,” he reminisced. “The only hard part about that was Andy (his youngest son) was a senior (wrestler) at Bradley. That was my only drawback.”
The rest is Walker Valley wrestling history.
While head wrangler of the Mustangs for 20 years, Morris' teams racked up 298 wins and produced multiple state tournament qualifiers and a few state champions.
But, Morris is quick to say even with all his accomplishments and accolades he has acquired over his many years as an athlete and coach, his most cherished is family.
His oldest son, Al junior, is currently athletic director at Cleveland High School and his daughter-in law, Jenna, is former girls assistant wrestling coach. Grandsons Destin, an eighth grade wrestler at Cleveland Middle and grandson Kai wrestles for Cleveland Wrestling Club.
His youngest son, Andy, is assistant coach at Walker Valley, daughter-in-law Lauren is former score keeper for the Mustangs. Grandson Maddox is a junior on the WV wrestling team and granddaughters Kimbrel and Murphy are future wrestling cheerleaders at Walker Valley while daughter Annie is a former wrestling scorekeeper.
As a coach Morris has been honored numerous times for his accomplishments as a leader of young athletes and a promoter of the sports he loves.
There are plaques in the Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame, Tennessee Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Cleveland/Bradley County Old Timers Hall of Fame honoring his legacy, a fact he is modestly proud of.
“I didn't do it for those reasons, but it does make you feel good that other people recognize something you've done and put a lot of time and effort in,” he said.
Morris has nothing but good memories of his time on the corner of the mat at Walker Valley.
“I got over the 'being at Walker Valley vs. Bradley or Cleveland' thing. Obviously, they are rivals and we want to beat them, but I found it was just another opportunity for more kids to participate in a great sport and that's the way I looked at it,” he said. “I got to do something I love to do and get paid for it.”
The Hall of Fame coach said there are no particular favorite memories he looks back on, but said the athletes, students and people he came to know during his tenure is his favorite memory.
“I know this is going to sound cliché-ish, but it's the people. Sometimes it's not even anything significant,” he stated. “I can remember calming one of my wrestlers who was down who was upset about something not related to wrestling. I was sitting there thinking, 'He's listening to me so I'd better say the right stuff.' There are really too many (memories) to pick. It's mainly the relationships I've built with opponent coaches, my coaches and my wrestlers.”
Morris said he feels his job was more than mere coaching, it was guiding young athletes to be good young men, and more recently, young ladies toward becoming solid young adults.
“It sounds like another cliché, but wrestling is a sport where you get out of it what you put into it. Sometimes it ain't fair. Sometimes you just have to move on and take the next step,” he explained. “I feel like it's a good life lesson when you have a lot of young men and now young women who rely on you to say the right things and show them the right things.”
The legendary coach went on to express how the sport of wrestling is a one-on-one situation where pent up emotions come flooding through once an important match is either won or lost.
“One of my kids finished second in the state tournament twice and one finished second three times in the state. When I think about them it chokes me up still to this day,” he said. “But, somehow or another I'm sure they are better persons because of it. There are a lot of people left at home who would trade places with them any day.
“One of the things I hate is I had a few kids quit the sport for whatever reason. Sometimes they have a good reason, I guess. Sometimes it wasn't a good reason. But, I've never had anyone come back later and say, 'You know what? I'm so glad I quit wrestling.' It's almost always, 'I wish I'd never quit. I sure do miss it. I wish I hadn't of done that.' I saved a bunch from quitting, but there are some I didn't. That really sticks with me.”
Although Morris is giving up his chair as a head coach, he has no plans to follow General Douglas MacArthur's philosophy of an “old general” and just fade away. He will be seen on occasion watching the Mustangs take on the Bears or Blue Raiders especially since he has a grandson who will be on the mat for CHS. However, he is not shy about where his true loyalty lies.
“I'm going to try and deal with my health issues first and try to ensure I have a good quality life. But, I'll attend ballgames and wrestling matches, eat a bag of popcorn, kick back and yell at the referees,” he chuckled.
“I've got a grandson who is going to be wrestling at Cleveland for, I guess, the next four years. As hard as it is for me to say, I guess I'll be pulling for that guy in the blue singlet,” the coach said said through a laugh. “And Bradley, that's my alma mater. I've got good friends who are coaching there now. I'm not going to hate other programs, but definitely I'm going to be a Mustang.”
(Contact Richard Roberts at richardvol55@yahoo.com)