Coach Morris Fields
The saying “It takes a village to raise a child” is an old African proverb, meaning that a child’s well-being and development rely on the support and interaction of an entire community, not just their parents.
Growing up on Toy Field Circle in the Buck Island community, Morris and his brothers didn’t just know that statement, they lived that statement. Having lost their father at a very young age, and a mother who worked multiple jobs to support the boys, The older folks of Bluffton helped keep the boys on track and away from trouble.
“Black or white, the villagers in the early to mid-80s all still knew each other, and if you were doing something you weren’t supposed to, someone was gonna let your mama know”, laughed Fields.
Morris Fields attended M.C. Riley, McCracken Middle, and graduated from Hilton Head High School in 1999. He played baseball and football before attending Middle Georgia College.
“After my freshman year of college, I realized how much I was calling home asking for money, and I made the hard decision to return to Bluffton and begin my working career.”
Morris returned to Bluffton and started working for Kenneth Frazier in the masonry business before moving on and learning the trade of an electrician. Today, He owns his own company, Mo’s Custom Services.
From his extremely modest upbringing and the fact that he lost his father, Morris did what most kids in that situation did, he made do with what he had.
“I had a great childhood here in Bluffton! We didn’t have much money but all the kids in the neighborhood stuck together very closely. The generation of kids that were outside playing sports from sunup, till sun down.
“I remember vividly, playing the football game, pick ‘em up bust ‘em up, for hours! But we didn’t have a football, so we used the biggest pinecone we could find. When we were in basketball mode, someone nailed an old bike tire wheel to a post, and we used a rubber ball we got from gym class. It wasn’t until they tore down one of the schools in town that someone snagged an old basketball rim that was going to be thrown out. That was the first time we had anything that resembled a real basketball goal”.
Morris always knew that he wanted to give back to the community in some way, and he figured sports were going to be his best bet. He started coaching the Bluffton Bulldogs about ten years ago and started learning from the older coaches that had much more experience than him. Year after year he learned and he started to become the coach that he wanted to be, picking bits and pieces of coaching knowledge from each older coach.
In 2023, after carpooling to the island and back multiple times a week for his own boys 7 v 7 teams, he made the decision that he was going to venture off on his own, and B-Town Athletics was born!
“We didn’t really have any 7v7 for our Bluffton youth out here, so I decided it was time to have a go at starting a team on this side of the bridge. Last year was our first year and we had one team, and now in our second year, we are up to three teams, so it’s growing”, Fields said to me with a smile.
But Fields was still looking for that big break, the job opening that would really jump start his career. A career of coaching football, but also of mentoring and helping boys grow into men. A mentor like Kenneth Frazier, Leroy Jenkins, and Brother Kitty gave to him when he needed a father figure in his life.
That break finally happened!
“My son came home from HHCA one day and said “Dad, I heard the coaches talking, and they might ask you to coach, would you, do it?”
“YESSSS I yelled and I’m sure my jaw hit the floor. Wait, coach what?”
“Football Dad! Middle school Football”!
Morris has since signed on to coach and is now an official part of the HHCA coaches!
“I do feel like this was my break, I was waiting for something, what it was going to be, I wasn’t sure. I feel extremely blessed and excited to start this next chapter of my life. I look forward to the coaching aspect of course, but I also want to be someone that these kids can trust. I want to be someone that they can look up to and help to steer them in a positive direction. Not every kid comes from a happy home with guidance, I want to be that person for them. This is my chance to give back to Bluffton, the town that gave me so much.
As I sit with Morris, on the old bleachers of Eagles Field, where he was once a kid watching the “pros” of Bluffton play baseball on the weekends, I asked him one more question.
“Can you remember any funny stories of growing up where you did”?
“Man”, he says, and he starts to laugh. As I said, I grew up right down the road from this field, and every time my friends and I walked down the street, we had to pass Mr. Joseph Lewis Green’s house. Mr. Green had this monster of a rottweiler, and that thing would chase us all the way down the street! You almost had to sneak up on the house to see if the dog was in the back or the front, because if he was in the front, you had better have your shoelaces tied tight, cause it was off to the races for us young boys!”
Bluffton wishes you the best Coach Fields, you are truly a wonderful human and HHCA is extremely lucky to have you!
Paul Tollefson is the Director of Tennis at the Hampton Hall Club in Bluffton. He found his love for the Lowcountry in early 2002 after graduating high school and unsure of what career path he was destined towards. After moving from Hilton Head to Bluffton he became enthralled with the history of the town and the people and cultures that called it home for many generations. He has found a passion in writing and enjoys being able to share the stories and pictures of long-time locals. He is the co-creator of the Facebook page “B
