Whether you knew Activities Director Scott Harris by a friendly smile and “Nice to see you,” or if you had a more personal relationship with him like quarterback and senior Tristan Graham, who became a better leader with his help, one thing is for certain: FHC is going to miss Coach Harris.
Coach Harris announced he is retiring at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, his official ending date being June 28, as written on his contract. Since joining FHC and the district 14 years ago, having worked three years prior as an activities director, Coach Harris has impacted the administration, teachers, staff, and student body in many different positive ways by improving the atmosphere for everyone he could throughout the community.
“One of the first things I heard about it was the family atmosphere. ‘You’re gonna love it there because of the family atmosphere, Scott,’ and I have experienced that from day one. It truly is a family here,” Coach Harris said. “And I’ve pretty much raised my kids here. My favorite thing about our school and our whole community is…how we all love and care for each other.”
Coach Harris throughout the years has constantly shown support for every student — no matter what they’re involved in.
“I just like to take an active interest in them, whether they’re the football quarterback, whether they run cross country, whether they’re in the speech and debate, whether they’re in the band, it doesn’t matter, whatever they’re doing is the most important thing to that student and their family,” Coach Harris said. “So I try to talk to them about their likes and interests. And that’s the best part of my job, my daily interaction with our students.”
Graham has bounced ideas off of him over football plans and procedures and being in the Activities Leadership Council, he has improved his leadership skills by taking advice, and he appreciates how Coach Harris goes out of his way to support students.
“Scotty H is what we call him,” Graham said. “He makes sure he comes to every single thing, every single activity, every single sport, no matter if it’s tryouts or the championship game. Just knowing someone takes time out of their day to appreciate what you do and the hard work you put in … I’m grateful for that.”
Though he hasn’t finalized his retirement plans yet, Coach Harris looks forward to watching his daughter participate in softball next year at FHC, and is considering staying involved with schools in a different role.
“Nothing before 9 a.m. I’ve got a few options, considering a couple of them that will keep me on ball with schools, but I haven’t finalized those yet. I’m just going to enjoy being a husband and enjoy being a dad,” Coach Harris said. “I spent 14 years of my life here, half of my professional career, and I love everything about Howell Central from all the students that come through here, all the teachers, and coaches and administrators. I’ve been blessed to have some great assistants, Mrs. [Annette] Herdt, one of my closest friends and my work partner.”
Having known Coach Harris closely since his freshman year, Graham said losing Coach Harris is a loss for FHC.
“I think it sucks for the kids that don’t get to experience his passion and his love for FHC, I hope the person that comes behind him, if they do half as good a job, they’ll be doing real good…he does a lot of things right,” Graham said. “Scotty H is the best AD in Missouri, with two exclamation points.”
By going out of his way to support FHC activities such as having pizza parties for different sports or bringing donuts in for Cheer and Dance or for A-Band, Graham said Coach Harris does a lot of small things that turn into big things.
“He doesn’t do a bunch of big things in a sense. He does so many different little things correctly, and he makes sure he gets those small, mundane things right, that a lot of people overlook, and it’s like a snowball effect. You consistently do the little things and it turns into one big thing,” Graham said.
Senior Phoebe Miller, a softball athlete, is friends with Coach Harris’s daughter who is also in softball, and has gotten closer to him that way. Miller said softball wouldn’t be the same without him.
“I think he really cares for all the sports whereas some [activities directors] don’t. He is very open and I think that’s something you can learn about him,” Miller said. “It makes everybody feel good whenever he says something [on X] about your sport or your club and makes you know that you’re seen no matter who you are. He’s a really good guy and knowing that he sees you and wants you to succeed feels really good.”
Senior Katelyn Guth appreciates how Coach Harris posts updates about various sports teams and clubs on X and said it makes the school feel tighter and helps keep the students informed. Guth also said his retirement is a big loss to the community, and highlights how Coach Harris was helpful to her.
“He’s been a good role model in terms of like, character and the importance of being a good person over being just a good player. Because the character and people skills you build through your sport are going to last longer than your high school sports experience. So just priorities like that, and being a good teammate,” Guth said. “He made a great impact on more people than he will ever know in his time at FHC and he will be greatly missed. I think it’s going to be a pretty hard spot to fill.”
