JWU's wrestling coach Lonnie Morris goes to the mat for his powerhouse team
They've also made him a bit of a celebrity on campus and around town. A graduate of Rhode Island College who now lives with his family in Barrington, Morris draws on his personal experience as an all-American wrestler. As a coach and the assistant athletic director at JWU, Morris says he aims to lead by example — and 'with love.'
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Q: What made you start a wrestling program at Johnson & Wales?
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Morris:
I was coaching high school wrestling. [It] was a pretty historic program, still very good, Coventry High School. They had won the state 17 years in a row, and I was helping out there, and then I went to another school, and I just wanted my own thing. I didn't want to play second fiddle, and I just wanted to start something from scratch. And they were starting wrestling at Johnson & Wales, and a longtime friend reached out to me and said this might be something you would be interested in. And we started with four kids, and next thing you know, we just got it rolling. And we really haven't looked back.
How do you inspire your wrestlers?
I try to live the right way; some people call it a championship lifestyle. I'm not a big drinker, I don't smoke. I try to be a good person. I try to live by the Golden Rule, treat others the way you want to be treated. I don't rule by fear. I rule by love. There's two ways to run a program. You can rule by fear, or you can rule by love. I choose love. I think it lasts longer. I think my guys know I love them, and I care about them. To inspire them, I share stories from some of the alumni that have come through. And like I tell everyone, there are kids that come from struggle, there are kids that come from privilege. And that's the best part of wrestling — you can benefit from learning from each other.
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Can you talk about the upcoming NCAA DIII championships taking place in Providence in March?
It's been a bucket list item of mine. It hasn't been back in New England since 1993. I actually wrestled in it. It was at the Coast Guard Academy. It was my junior year in college. It's just embarrassing that we haven't had it back in New England. Part of the reason no one wants to take it on is because it's a lot of work. But in the end, the Midwest kids deserve to come to the East Coast to see the ocean and get to see New York City, or Boston, or Providence. And our kids get to wrestle in front of their moms and dads. This year, it's right here in our backyard. So that'll be awesome for the JWU kids. I think this year's team has a chance to do something that no JWU team has ever done and have a chance to really win it, and doing it at home would be pretty special, so time will tell.
Speaking of the Ocean State, you're a member of the New England Wrestling Association,
you were inducted into the RIC Hall of Fame, the Rhode Island Wrestling Hall of Fame, and you're also an National Wresting Coaches Association hall of famer. How does it feel to have made such a massive impact on Rhode Island wrestling?
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Do you know the only hall of fame I'm not in?
Which one?
Where are we from?
Oh, Coventry, that's crazy! They have to get you in there, man!
I think I'm a good nominee! But, in all seriousness, I've been very blessed to have great coaches, and I've been very lucky. I've surrounded myself with great assistant coaches. And when you recruit a lot of good kids, you win a lot of matches, and when you've been doing it a long time, that's how you get all those things, but it means a lot that we built the program from scratch, and we've offered a lot of opportunities. I'm very proud of the fact that more than half our lineup are local kids. But all that hall of fame stuff is just a sign of getting old and doing it a long, long time and surrounding yourself with really good people.
Jason Simon is a student at Johnson & Wales University.
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