Demon Love: 'Coach Black' is heart and soul of NSU Athletics
Written by Raymond A. Partsch III
The Town Talk
August 11, 2013
Northwestern State has produced, and been associated with, its fair share of popular sports figures.
Joe Delaney, Harry "Rags" Turpin, Walter Ledet, Bobby Hebert and Mike McConathy are just a few of the names that achieved high levels of admiration and respect that traveled far beyond the confines of the college campus located in historic Natchitoches.
There is one individual, though, who may be as beloved as those famous figures of NSU athletic lore. This man never scored a game-winning touchdown in front of thousands at Turpin Stadium or hit a buzzer-beater inside Prather Coliseum.
Yet, for the better part of the past 20 years, no one is more loved or cherished by NSU coaches, players and university faculty than he. Despite having what many would consider a disability, he has served as inspiration and given joy to hundreds, if not thousands.
For many, Harris Wilson - better known as "Coach Black" - is the heart and soul of the NSU athletics.
"He is as much a part of the Northwestern State family as anybody could be," said NSU assistant athletic director and sports information director Doug Ireland. "His loyalty and love for NSU athletics, the players and programs is unequaled."
"He is very special to us and the entire program," said first-year football coach Jay Thomas, who worked at NSU from 2010-11 as the team's defensive line coach. "He brings joy to the entire building. It's a blessing to have him around. To be honest, I don't know if we could do it without him."
"I just have great trust with all of our coaches and staff," said Black. "They are all really good friends of mine."
A young boy with a dream
Harris Wilson entered this world on April 14, 1977, seemingly a normal, healthy baby boy. It wasn't until years later that his mother Joella Wilson began to notice that there might be something wrong with her young son.
"He was around 4 or 5 when we realized he couldn't talk like the other children," Wilson said. "He wasn't able to speak well and had trouble using his hand picking up a spoon or fork."
It was during this time that doctors diagnosed Wilson with autism, a disorder of neural development which impairs social interaction and communication skills. The doctors informed Black's mother that there was a chance that he would never speak.
That diagnosis was one that Wilson and her family refused to believe, a stance that proved prophetic as he began to talk more and more in the years to come.
"We never accepted it," Wilson said. "We always believed God would give us a miracle and he did."
Wilson made a point of not treating her son differently and taught her son not to let his autism be an obstacle in his life.
"To me, his autism never showed," said Black's half-brother Jessie Burton, a former star running back at Natchitoches Central High School. "I never saw him have challenges. He sometimes had problems with speaking but that was it. To me, he was just my brother."
Added Wilson, "We never treated him different than any other kid."
It was during his early years that he dreamed of becoming a coach and where the nickname "Coach Black" comes from.
"He would always write on this little paper that he wanted to coach," remembered his mother. "That's what his thing was. That's all he wanted. God fulfilled his dream and desire."
Big man on campus
Black would attend Natchitoches Central High School and became a huge supporter of the school's athletic programs, including cheering on his brother and teammates to the Class 5A state semifinals in 1995. Black was graduating the following spring and his future was uncertain.
That's when his childhood friend, Jay Goodwin, referred to by Black as Bird, short for Jay Bird, decided he needed to do something for his friend.
"I remember walking into my dad's office," said Goodwin, the son of legendary NSU football coach Sam Goodwin. "I started to tear up and I just told him that Black was one of the greatest guys that I knew. Now that we were both done with high school, he's got nowhere to go.
"My dad told Black that he had a home there at NSU and that it was time for him to step up to the college level. Just like that, my dad let him be part of the family."
It didn't take long for Black to showcase his affinity for memorizing numbers.
"Coach (Bradley Dale) Peveto was filling out some paperwork after joining the staff back in 1996," said Ireland. "He needed his license plate number on his car for insurance purposes and he didn't know it. So Black spoke up and said 'Coach I know it.'" Peveto and the other guys didn't believe him but Black told him again and even recited the number. They guys didn't believe Black but when they went downstairs and looked, sure enough Black was right."
Early on, Black would just sit in on football meetings, particularly with the defensive line, but he eventually expanded his love of sports at the university. He began reporting basketball scores to television stations in Shreveport and Alexandria, and later operated the scoreboard for the baseball team.
Regardless of what sport season or day of the week it was, Coach Black could be found on campus.
"College athletics by nature is going to have turnover with coaches and student athletes," said Northwestern State athletics director Greg Burke, who remembers Black walking into his office on his first day on the job back in 1996. "But for us, Coach Black has been a constant. He is truly part of the fabric of our athletics department."
"I wanted to get involved in all sports here," said Black, who is usually picked up by a graduate or student assistant at 5:30 or 6 a.m. and stays until dusk or later. "It's been that way since high school. I love it."
That level of dedication has served as inspiration.
"You see his dedication and his will and love for the game and for you," Burton said. "Seeing that every day, how was I not going to go out and practice as hard as I could? Everybody wants to take a day off, but not him. I don't have that level of dedication and not too many people do."
"Everybody treats him with the utmost respect because he respects every one of us," said NSU senior defensive tackle Lesley Deamer. "I'd like to have the respect Coach Black has around the town, around this facility.
"Once you get outside of Natchitoches, people still know about Coach Black. That's very impressive. I'd like to have the respect he has. He knows everything about the game of football, and he knows everything about everybody on the team."
A heart filled with love
As much as Black loves being part of the NSU athletic family, he is not hesitant to dish out some tough love from time to time. He has pretty much playfully told everyone in the department that they have been fired at least once.
"I had to cancel a lunch with Black one day back when I was defensive line coach," said Thomas, who bestowed Black the title of commissioner after taking over earlier this year. "Next thing I know, he is telling me that I am fired and that Ed Oregon was coming back to coach the defensive line. I never canceled another lunch with Coach Black again."
That tough love just wasn't regulated to his NSU family, as Black dished it out to his own flesh and blood as well.
"When I played at McNeese State, he wouldn't talk to me the entire week of the game with NSU," Burton said. "He wouldn't even shake my hand until after the game. Now that's loyalty."
That loyalty has endeared him to the NSU staff, but it is his compassion and positivity for others that has made him beloved. It's that quality that has inspired former coaches like Kevin Peoples, Todd Cooley and Peveto to fly him up for a week or two for summer camps.
"I just think Coach Black has a very soothing effect on all of us," said McConathy, who would have Black come over for Sunday dinners and play with his sons, Michael and Logan. "To see a young man care so much for our programs means a lot. There have been times over the years that I will be uptight about a game and Black will come up to me and tell me that everything will be all right. There's not a lot of that in today's world."
"You've got to look forward," said Black, whose favorite sports moment at NSU was Jermaine Wallace's game-winning 3-pointer against Iowa in the opening round of the 2006 NCAA basketball tournament. "I like to look ahead to the next game... got to stay positive."
Those who know him best cite Black's capacity for love and compassion, especially in a time of need.
"He brings a lot of joy to the department," said NSU athletics secretary Elizabeth Holloway. "I've been through some tragedies recently. He would call me and simply tell me 'hello friend, how are you doing.' It meant the world to me."
"I had never seen Black act upset in an emotional way," Jay Goodwin said. "I remember standing at my mom's viewing held there in Natchitoches. I heard someone say from behind me, 'Hey Bird' and I turned and it was him. He started to break down. Even though he was upset, he came and gave me a big hug.
That was the most consoled I felt that day... He means everything to me."
That feeling is mutual as both Black and his mother are forever thankful for allowing NSU to let him live out his dream.
"My heart is overwhelmed and thankful for that," Wilson said. "He's always said he's wanted to coach. I thank God that he has the opportunity of fulfill his dream. He loves NSU with all of his heart."
"I love all of the people here," Black said. "I love everything about it. I love it truly."
Gallery: (4/24/2018) Harris Ray Wilson- Coach Black
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