Buchanan’s Terry Austin, who represents the 37th District of the Virginia House of Delegates, recently introduced House Resolution Number 428 commending Jamie Harless for his successful 14-year run as Lord Botetourt High School football coach. The resolution reads as follows.
WHEREAS, Jamie Harless, head football coach at Lord Botetourt High School in Daleville, retired from his position after 14 seasons that encompassed one of the most successful eras in the Lord Botetourt High School football program’s history; and
WHEREAS, Jamie Harless was named head coach in 2012 and compiled an outstanding career record of 134–41 and 26–14 in the playoffs during his tenure; he led the Lord Botetourt Cavaliers to consistent postseason success, including playoff appearances in every season; and
WHEREAS, under his leadership, the Cavaliers achieved multiple regional championship game appearances and four appearances in the Virginia High School League state championship game; and
WHEREAS, Jamie Harless was named Coach of the Year at WSLS 10’s 1st and 10 awards following the 2019 season, during which the Cavaliers posted a record 14 wins and advanced to the Virginia High School League Class 3 state championship game; the 2019 season marked the Cavaliers’ first 10–0 regular season in school history since 1961; and
WHEREAS, Jamie Harless is widely recognized as one of the region’s most successful high school football coaches, winning more than 100 games as head coach and driving the Cavaliers’ sustained excellence; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Delegates hereby commend Jamie Harless on the occasion of his retirement as head football coach at Lord Botetourt High School; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for Jamie Harless as an expression of the House of Delegates’ admiration for his achievements and best wishes for his future endeavors.
It was high praise for Harless, who was never named Employee of the Month in 14 years with the school system. Jamie was never named Blue Ridge District Coach of the Year but only because he refused to accept the award, opting to let one of his contemporaries enjoy it. Other than Austin, the only other pat on the back for his service came as an announcement at the school congratulating him on his success from Principal Beth Mast and Athletic Director Tim Fulton.
“Terry Austin has been very supportive of our program,” said Harless. “He’s come by to see me and he personally called me to thank me for our success with the football program. He’s the cream of the crop.”
Harless also noted that in his final remarks as LB coach he failed to mention Paul Hansen, who has been a big supporter of the program.
“I feel bad that I didn’t mention Paul, he’s been a huge part of this program,” said Harless. “He was instrumental in getting four days of lifting and getting the younger kids in the weight room. He’s always gone above and beyond the call of duty.”
Harless is leaving the LB program to take a similar position at Union High in Rocky Gap. An important part of his decision was to be closer to his mother, who is getting up in years and has some health issues. Jamie noted that he is not selling his house in the valley and it was a tough decision to leave Lord Botetourt High.
I’d like to suggest the Botetourt County School Board consider naming the high school field after Jamie. It certainly isn’t unprecedented in the Roanoke Valley. Salem High, Patrick Henry, William Byrd, Northside, Cave Spring, Radford and probably some others I’m forgetting have their fields named after coaches who have made a big impact on the school and community. As Terry Austin stated, Harless’ record speaks for itself in turning the LB program into one of the best in the state.
Jamie’s son Jackson, who is a student at Emory & Henry University, recently ran some numbers through an Artificial Intelligence program to determine the probability of his dad’s success considering the history of the Lord Botetourt program. The numbers it came up with are very interesting.
Among them, the probability of having 14 straight winning seasons when Jamie took over the program was 1 in 275 million. The 134 wins in the program’s 14 years is more than double the expectation from past seasons. The probability of winning 134 games considering the 53 years prior to Harless is less than 1 in 100 quintillion. The probability of winning 26 playoff games in 14 years, considering Botetourt’s past history, was effectively zero.
The AI program notes that the LB football turnaround is not a random hot streak, but one of the most extreme program turnarounds you could ever measure statistically. The program added that a typical “turnaround” would go from a 2-8 record to a 6-4 record, occasionally contending in the region. It explained that Botetourt’s run is different because the Cavaliers went from averaging four wins a year to almost 10 wins a year and maintained that success for 14 consecutive seasons. “That’s not a rebuild,” it explained, but an “instant identity change.”
The AI report goes into much detail and compares LB to other successful programs, but in essence it finds Lord Botetourt’s turnaround to be “one of a kind.”
“What makes this unique isn’t just winning, it’s the combination,” the report concludes. “Considering worst-to-first scale jump, Immediate Success, No Regression in 14 Years, and Playoff Dominance, in VHSL context this is not just rare, it’s borderline unprecedented as a turnaround profile.”
The report goes into a lot more detail than we have room for in our sports section, but any football fan, LB or otherwise, would find it fascinating. If you’d like to see it, shoot me an e-mail at bhoffman@ourvalley.org and I’d be happy to send it your way.
I’m not all that up on this AI stuff, and I still can’t figure why some people say it could be the end of mankind. That’s pretty scary and above my pay grade. However, when you’re just talking about football it makes a terrific case that Lord Botetourt has been something really special under the Harless years.
And, for that, wouldn’t it be a good idea to name the field after Jamie? You don’t have to do the whole stadium, just the field itself like Jim Hickam Field at Northside, Bill Edmunds and Charlie Hammes Field at Cave Spring or Jeff Highfill Field at William Byrd.
It’s certainly deserving, and it would mean a lot more than “Employee of the Month.”
