Pensacola High School head basketball coach Terrance Harris is set to lead the Tigers in defending their district championship for three years running. Beginning his seventh year in charge, Harris feels the program is returning to its stature as a power in the panhandle. The two-time Coach of the Year is excited about his team’s prospects and is excited to get the year started.
Born and raised in Pensacola (he is also a PHS graduate), he says he never thought he would end up being the head coach at his alma mater. As a matter of fact, he didn’t think he would stay in Pensacola. He signed a basketball scholarship to play at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, Louisiana, but after the first exhibition game, he tore his ACL. After a long rehab, he returned the following fall for his sophomore year; however, things were not the same. Although he started as a freshman, the situation had changed. Eventually, Harris made the decision to return home.
The University of West Florida had resurrected its men’s basketball program under Don Hogan, and Harris was offered a chance to play again. Over the next three years (1994-96), he helped lead the Argos. (To this day, he remains the second leading scorer and rebounder in school history.) After his collegiate career, he played three years of professional basketball in Mexico, Iceland, and Lebanon. Even with the challenges of playing professional basketball overseas, Harris remained committed to getting his degree; he graduated from UWF in 1998.
After finishing his playing career, coaching was not what Harris had in mind. He moved to Ohio for a while before returning to Pensacola. During this time, he worked a variety of jobs ranging from juvenile services to working as a medical assistant. In 2001, he got back into the game. He was hired at Pensacola State Junior College as an assistant coach. Later, he accepted the head coaching position of the boys’ basketball team at Booker T. Washington High School in 2006; the team would win a district championship in 2009.
Then the call came to return home. He was offered the position at Pensacola High School. And, in his eyes, once you’re a PHS Tiger, you’re always a PHS Tiger.
It was not too long after he returned to Pensacola to coach that he met his future wife, Angela, at Pensacola Beach. (Angela is currently an assistant principal at Warrington Elementary) Together, they have three children: Dylan, Jarrian, and Brian. Like every educator and coach, he says it’s a full-time whirlwind managing family and work. He laughs; since both older sons are out of the house, they aren’t far from being empty nesters.
When discussing what his future might be, Coach Harris says, “As a player, I thought coaching was not for me, the time and the work involved. But what really keeps me in it is the opportunity to help young men use the game to better themselves and their lives. Pensacola High School has its challenges, and if you can show a young person that through working hard in sport and in the classroom they can earn a scholarship to pay for college, you have helped break the cycle.”
He says there have been a few times he considered other job offers, but then a particular player will come along that, with some guidance and direction, has a chance to succeed.
The future is looking bright for the Pensacola High School Tigers basketball program; Coach Harris is optimistic for the upcoming season. He says, “We have the players and talent; we just have to get the chemistry and develop the teamwork for us to be successful. But as the coach, that’s my job to foster that.”
He would like to see the community come out and support the local teams as they have in the past, sometimes drawing 1,500-2,000 fans for a game. He remembers a contest versus Pine Forest and Washington where fans where hanging from the rafters. After three straight district titles and two Coach of the Year awards, he is well on his way.
Northwest Florida / December 2015
Coaches Corner
Terrance Harris
Pensacola High School
written by: Amber Fletcher
photography by: Arnold Gamber
