Lord Botetourt’s Jamie Harless: Leading A Football Program To New Heights

Coach Jamie Harless
Coach Jamie Harless

On January 12, 2012, Lord Botetourt High School football changed in a way few people would have ever expected.

On that night, the Botetourt County School Board approved Jamie Harless as the new Lord Botetourt head football coach. Cavalier football was on a new course.

Now, four years later, Lord Botetourt has produced 36 wins under Harless and four straight post-season appearances including a trip to the Group 3A state final at Liberty University this past December.

“It would be safe to say that night in January, 2012 had a major impact on our football program,” Lord Botetourt athletic director Chuck Pound said during a recent interview. “Jamie Harless has turned Botetourt football in a new direction. He has changed the culture of our program and the kids have bought into his coaching style and techniques. You can really tell the difference.”

So, how did Harless, who once was out of commission for six months after breaking his back from falling off a ladder, and who had once worked in the construction business taking on jobs never too small or large, suddenly turn around a high school football program that hadn’t had a winning season in over a decade?

You might start with plenty of perseverance and a lot of determination to take advantage of opportunities.

Harless grew up in far Southwest Virginia where he attended Abingdon High School. He played football at Abingdon for head coach Randy Flinchum, earning Group AA All-State defensive honors twice and being named Region-4 defensive player-of-the-year his senior year.

Ask Harless the key to his early success as a defensive lineman and you’ll get a short answer.

“I was BIG,” he answers with a equally wide grin.

Harless’ father was a tobacco farmer and Jamie worked the fields alongside his dad. It was the way of life for his family that likewise had some big numbers.

“My great-grandfather was one of 22 kids, my grandmother was one of 20, my dad was one of 12 and my mom was one of 7,” Harless says. “We were a family that did not recognize individual behavior, but instead recognized that the group must succeed.”

Obviously, a philosophy that Harless also transitioned into football.

Because of his size and talent, Harless got scholarship offers at Division-1 and Division-2 schools. Instead, he chose to stay closer to home to play for Division-3 Emory and Henry College.

“Where my family lived was very rural,” Harless notes. “You get attached and it’s hard to leave. Emory and Henry was 15 miles away and it was the only college football team I had seen play when I was growing up. There was a huge benefit of my parents only having to drive 25 minutes to see me play.”

Harless was at Emory and Henry for five years, receiving a medical redshirt after a spinal cord injury that gave him an extra year of eligibility. His career for the Wasps spanned from 1993 to the fall of 1997. Harless was named a Division-3 All-American in 1995 and was named to 5 preseason All-American teams his senior year as a defensive lineman.

Harless’ path to coaching was one of odd twists and turns.

After college, he was in the construction business with his brother, taking on projects of every size and dimension.

“It taught me how to be self-sufficient and self-dependent,” Harless says.

But, nothing had prepared him for the challenges of breaking his back after falling off a ladder, leading to doctors telling Harless to do little for six months.

“While I was recovering, I took more college courses and looked into getting my teacher certification,” Harless said of the setback.

It led to Harless getting his first teaching and coaching job at Franklin County High School in 2000. Other than one year at Cave Spring High School in 2005, Harless remained at Franklin County until 2009. At that point, he returned to Cave Spring to be the defensive coordinator under Cave Spring head coach Tim Fulton through the 2011 season.

“The assistant coaching jobs at Franklin County and Cave Spring laid the foundation for my career,” Harless points out. “At Franklin County I learned how to do things right. When I came to Cave Spring in 2009, I had more experience and got more freedom. Tim cut me loose to do whatever I wanted on the defensive side. Tim was great in letting me share my ideas.”

“Jamie and I worked together at Franklin County and Cave Spring,” Fulton notes. “Jamie was always a tireless worker who was highly intelligent. He strives for excellence in everything he does and always wants the best for the kids. Jamie knows a lot about football. There’s not enough good things I can say about him.”

“Jamie knew he wanted to be a head coach, and he was serious about it,” Fulton added. “When the opening came up at Botetourt, we talked about it. Cave Spring had played Botetourt that season and he saw something he liked. It’s a good school system in Botetourt County, and everything fell in place. He had a plan and believed in it. I’m not surprised by his success because hard work pays off. He’s gotten some quick results, for sure.”

The night of January 12th was a game-changer. Harless, along with his wife, Robyn, and two children Ellie (now 11) and Jackson (9), became Cavaliers.

“I went through the approval process,” Harless recalled. “That night I was excited and very nervous. It definitely presented the biggest challenge I’d ever had. To be honest, very few people had encouraged me to come to Lord Botetourt. They said the kids are soft, the parents are tough and the community doesn’t support the team.”

“I made up my mind that I’ll be the one to decide my future. I saw the opportunity at Lord Botetourt. They could have picked anyone, but the selection committee put their trust in me. I was determined to deliver what they were looking for.”

Lord Botetourt players have been quick to buy in to Harless’ philosophies.

“It had been 13 years since Lord Botetourt had a winning season,” Harless noted. “But, you don’t focus on negatives. You focus on what you can do and you teach your players to be tough physically and mentally. If your players are tough, you can always do two things- run the football and play defense. I had to impress to them that if we are tough and do those two things well, you’ll be successful.”

“If you stay tough, you’ll gain control of the outcome. Then the outcome affects the team as well.”

“Football is challenging every year. You create your own expectations.”

“There’s a lot of distractions for kids today… watching TV, computers….but, hard work, commitment and avoiding short cuts will solve a lot of society’s ills. To be on top, you first have to be lonely. You’ve got to learn to handle pain, both mental and physical, before you learn how to gain control of your life.”

“We made it to the state championship game this year and this community came together for these kids. A state championship game isn’t a goal, it’s a dream. There’s a lot of teams that can only wish they could be playing in that game. It takes talent, preparation and some luck to get there.”

“But, when chance meets opportunity, you make your own luck.”

Little doubt, Harless has Botetourt football reaching for the stars.

Bill Turner

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Related Articles