Boys soccer coach, girls flag football coach and math teacher Harry Lee has been part of Northwood athletics since he was in high school. Continuing his legacy, Lee was named as one of the LA Chargers Coach of the Week for girls flag football on Sept. 12.
Lee’s approach to coaching is building the right team culture. He is firm with his athletes, emphasizing discipline through punctuality. However, his style varies between the two teams he coaches, adapting to their needs. Although he’s tough on both, he spends more time on teaching and guiding the flag football players because it’s a new sport.
“Mr. Lee always reminds us what we are capable of and pushes us to strive for success,” flag football player senior Laura Cardenas said. “He definitely deserves Coach of the Week, not only because he’s a good coach but he’s someone we could count on when we need help whether it’s in the field or outside of it.”
Beginning his coaching career as an assistant coach for the girls soccer team, Lee moved on to coach boys soccer for the past three years and flag football for the past two years. Drawing on strategies and mindsets of current Northwood athletic coaches and his high school volleyball and soccer coaches, he integrates these experiences into his coaching.
“If it wasn’t for my former coaches, I wouldn’t know how to coach,” Lee said. “I am not the perfect coach or the best coach. I’m just trying to learn how to be a better coach for my athletes.”
Lee’s practices are structured to improve skills based on the team’s game performance and to prepare for upcoming opponents. Since girls flag football scores many points, his primary focus is now on improving their defense to solidify their winning strategy.
“One time the whole team was struggling with pulling flags and catching balls so we focused a whole practice on those two skills and he constantly gave us feedback and ideas to improve,” flag football freshman Gillian Downs said. “He’s always giving us feedback and you can really tell how much he cares about the team and how much he wants us to succeed.”
To tackle areas of growth for athletes, Lee draws from his experience as a math teacher, incorporating clarity, patience and kindness to show his students and athletes that he cares about their progress. When coaching his athletes on specific skills they may be struggling with, he ensures that they have a thorough understanding on how to improve.
“I can’t just be like ‘catch the ball,’” Lee said. “It’s more so like here are the clear steps on how to catch the ball better or how do we get into the position where we’re able to succeed rather than ‘you need to do it like this.’ I want to be as clear as possible so they know how to get there to improve.”
With a league winning record of 11-3, flag football qualified for CIF and won their first two CIF games.
After flag football, Lee will be coaching boys soccer, a winter sport, continuing to adjust his strategy for the team’s needs.
