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Tuesday August 13, 2013 Edition
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The Man, The Myth, The Legend


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Tuesday August 13, 2013

By Sean Harrison

Middlebury, Vermont was and still is the perfect community. William Harris, at the time of his arrival here in Middlebury, was a young African-American man from the inner city of Chester, PA who was seeking the opportunity to start fresh. The year was 1999, just shortly after his mother passed from Hepatitis C infection. His mission was to work for a job corps as a recreational supervisor. Enduring with self-struggle and unhappiness for an entire year, Harris moved down to Grafton, MA for a very brief time before coming back to Vermont in 2000 and found his way to Middlebury where he has lived for the last thirteen years.

    Adapting to such a place like Middlebury was a brand new experience compared to growing up in the housing projects of the inner city. As a child, Harris’ escape was the game of basketball—“I received guidance from the Boys and Girls Club: learning about competition, structure, and self-discipline. At age ten, I committed my life to the sport of basketball.” From National High School Basketball All-American, to coaching, to camp director, to personal trainer are all of the aspects of his basketball filled life that has brought him to where he is today. His bright smile and spontaneous and uncanny personality, along with his positive attitude has helped develop children and young adults as basketball players as well as human beings off the court. He loves the value of education and importance of discipline in the town of Middlebury due to the lack of opportunity that he had as a youngster to develop these skills.

    Middlebury has allowed Harris to keep an open mind to learning about such a positive environment and he has adapted so quickly and optimistically that one would never even know he wasn’t from around here until you heard his inner city vernacular. Since being in Middlebury he has strived to put the value of education, and the importance of discipline in his students minds ahead of athletics. How about being nominated… or wait! How about being selected to be Speaker at the Make-A-Wish Foundation Hockey Banquet for this years VT/NH All-Star Game sound? William Harris’ efforts and positive impact on the communities that are lucky enough to be graced with his presence continue to show their appreciation. “I am thankful to get a first hand experience to see kids who have battled from such life threatening illnesses. I have focused on developing young people—there is too much emphasis on sports: It’s about winning in life rather than winning on the field,” Harris stated.  Harris has truly blessed the community of Middlebury and other surrounding towns, but he too, is fortunate to live in a town like Middlebury.


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