Guy Morriss was able to influence others even when he did not know he was

Morris was the head coach of the Wildcats in 2001-02 and assistant coach from 1997-2000. (UK Athletics Photo)

Former Kentucky football coach Guy Morriss passed away Monday at age 71 from Alzheimer’s following about a four-year battle. Vaughtsviws.com contributor Keith Peel wrote a story four years ago on the impact Morriss had on him without even knowing it.

“Just watching how he treated people probably had more impact on how I coach players than any other coach I know,” said Peel. “It’s hard to find genuine people in the world today but I think Guy Morriss truly was one. He lived what he believed even when others disagreed.”

That perfectly describes Morriss, who posed on his motorcycle for the cover photo for our UK football preview section at The Advocate Messenger in 2002.

I thought today might be the perfect time to share Peel’s tribute to Morriss four years ago after it was first announced that the former UK coach had Alzheimer’s. Enjoy this look back at what Peel wrote:

You just never know who might be watching you. What you do matters. How you do it matters. You never know how the smallest action on your part might create tremendous changes in someone else’s life.

It has happened to me. Reading the story and watching the interview of former UK Football Coach Guy Morriss brought it all back. Years ago (more than I care to remember) I received some great advice from Coach Morriss. He doesn’t know it — because we have never met — but something he said in an interview changed the way I approached coaching.

You see I was just starting to coach high school boy’s basketball. Trying to figure out the best way to mold young men into a winning team. I had coached before — at the middle school level — but this was different. I couldn’t quite figure out which direction I wanted to go when I saw the Guy Morriss interview. Then I knew. It was like a bolt of lightning that you couldn’t miss.

Coach Morriss told a story about playing football in college and participating in a certain practice drill as an offensive lineman.  It was a blocking drill and his defensive counterpart put him right on his back on the ground. His position coach came running up to him, grabbing his face mask and screaming and cursing at him about how poorly he had executed the drill. Coach Morriss said that as the coach was holding his face mask and screaming at him about how he played his position he was thinking “I know I did it wrong because I ended up on my back, now teach me how to do it right.” But his coach only kept screaming at him awhile longer and then said “get back in line and do it again.”

That interview from Guy Morriss changed the way I approached coaching. From that point on I knew what I needed to do as a coach. Teach players how to play the game. Teach them how to be disciplined in life and their approach to the game. Teach them fundamentals. But above all else, teach. Not scream, not curse but teach.

No one sets out to make mistakes and do anything poorly. Everyone wants to do well at whatever they are trying to accomplish. But sometimes they don’t know how. Sometimes they try so hard to achieve and when they are unsuccessful they feel like a failure. They want to quit. Instead of being berated they need knowledge.

A better understanding of the best way to perform the task. As coaches (and we all are), whether in sports or life, we need to teach people the right way to do something and then support them when they fail so they can pull themselves up off the ground and try it again. This time with a little more knowledge.

Stephen King, the great American author, said “we never know which lives we influence, or when, or why.” Knowing that Coach Morriss influenced my life in such a strong way I can only imagine how many other teammates, players and coaches he has influenced throughout his 66 years on this earth.

I’m just thankful that he was willing to be transparent and honest about his life situation so others might be impacted in a positive way. Even now, in this most difficult time in his life, he is still teaching others about grit, determination and what it takes to live each day to the fullest. Those are good lessons to learn.