Family ties in wrestling often run deep.
For Beckley grappler Troy Harris, his roots run all the way to Greenbrier County.
Troy Harris is the grandson of Toby Harris and the son of current WVU Tech head wrestling coach Joel Harris.
Toby Harris spearheaded the Greenbrier West wrestling program which he guided for 23 seasons, including a state runner-up finish in 1977.
During his tenure in Charmco, Toby Harris produced 20 all-state wrestlers including his sons Chad and Joel.
Nowadays, the legendary coach has played a key role in the success of his grandson who is a two-time Region 3 champion.
“He is has been a great role model for me and a great coach. He is an all around great guy and he knows his stuff,” Troy Harris said about his grandfather. “He has been around wrestling for a really long time and it is great to have him around me. He will come to all of my wrestling tournaments and we will talk about my opponents, upcoming matches or matches I have already wrestled.”
The knowledge gained from his grandfather has been a confidence builder according to the Beckley standout.
“It is a really great support system. It gives me a lot of confidence when I wrestle, especially when I am really nervous about a match beforehand,” Troy Harris said. “He will talk me through it and give me some pointers. It helps me out a lot.”
Troy’s head coach at Beckley, Matt Osborne, talked about the influence Toby Harris has had on his grandson.
“From a coaching aspect, I have noticed it with both his dad and his grandpa, but when his grandpa is here, he wrestles better,” Osborne said. “I swear he does. It just seems like he turns it on a little bit more and he is already extremely good.”
Joel Harris, Chad Harris (uncle) and older brother Tanner all made the W.Va. state championship final at one point in their careers and add more knowledge to the family tree.
“My dad has been around it for so many years. He wrestled in high school and college. He has coached it forever and he is the coach up at Tech now,” Troy Harris explained. “With his success, it sets a good example of what I want to do and what I need to shoot for.”
The work with his dad has been invaluable for Troy’s career development.
“I have had so many practices with my dad. He is able to find some minuscule little detail that I can fix,” Troy Harris said. “It changes the entire way that I wrestle and it helps out a lot.”
With so many wrestlers in the family, it is no surprise that technical ability is what stands out for the Beckley senior.
“Troy has been wrestling a long time and he is wrestling pretty well right now,” Toby Harris said. “Troy is a real technician. Everybody wrestles a little different, but he is constantly thinking about what he is going to do next. He is not all brawn.”
Prior to the wrestling season, Osborne had high hopes for Troy and also emphasized Harris’ technical prowess.
“Troy looks great. Technically, he is one of the best wrestlers I have seen in person. He is really solid,” Osborne said.
Being the son of a successful coach and a former wrestler can also be a little tough in regards to constructive criticism and the grind needed to get better.
“I guess in a way I had to mature into that. I had to accept that I was wrong and I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Harris said. “When I finally opened up to that and decided that I wanted to take (my wrestling) to another level, I started listening more and appreciated it more.”
Troy also admitted that the previous family success has provided a little extra pressure.
“There is some pressure, but I have dealt with it better this year than I have in the past,” Harris said. “I have enjoyed the pressure a little bit more. It encourages me to do well and wrestle strong.”
Harris has had a solid season compiling a 28-0 record heading into the state tournament. The only hiccup was an ankle injury suffered in practice.
“Troy started out really good and then he had an ankle injury about mid-season. He was out five to six weeks,” Osborne said. “He came back early and made sure he was drilling right and stuff like that. As far as competition goes, he did it right and didn’t push it. He didn’t want to jeopardize his senior season.”
Waiting patiently on the sideline for his ankle to heal was without a doubt, tough on Harris.
“It was really difficult. I had been on such a good pace with wrestling and working out, then I had to stop for a little while and just sit out. It made my conditioning worse and puts you in a worse mental state,” Harris said.
Harris rebounded from the injury to capture the title at 144 pounds in both the Coalfield Conference tournament and the regional tournament in back-to-back weeks.
After finishing fourth last year at the state tournament, Harris now has his eyes set on a state championship title.
Entering the tournament as the No. 3 ranked wrestler in his weight class, Harris starts his run Friday against Levi Wiseman (Cabell Midland) who is ranked No. 9 in the state.
His path to the championship match could include a semifinal showdown with No. 1 ranked Joe Riggs (39-2) from Huntington.
Harris’ pursuit of an individual title will also be a big factor in a possible state tournament run for the Flying Eagles.
“It has been a lot of fun with the team and all. They kind of look up to me and it has been fun watching their success and seeing how I have done,” Harris said. “The past few years have been pretty rough. I haven’t got to wrestle a whole lot. Last year was pretty good, but I still had some health issues. Aside from my ankle injury, this year has been really good and eye-opening for the future.”
