I will start and will likely surprise some Salem fans. Coach Steve Oliver came from Lucy Addison and joined Willis White's staff at Patrick Henry-Roanoke in the early 80's. In fact, so did Mike Andrews who was also a favorite of mine. The entire coaching staff was rock solid on the field, but also in the classroom. For those who don't know our coaches were freaking smart. Coach White taught Calculus, Coach Andrews taught Latin, and Coach Oliver taught Geography. Coach Oliver was such a sound motivator. He rarely yelled and always kept you focused. He was a nervous nellie and smoked the heck out of cigarettes. I actually grew fond of him in the wrestling room. He pushed me hard, but always believed in me. He outweighed me by 100 pounds, but would pound on me in practice. On one occassion he hit his finger on my forehead and dislocated his pinky. He went down and I laughed my tail off. We put a tongue depressor and some tape on it and went back at it. I remember in 1982 two of us qualified for the AAA state championships in VA Beach. The school refused pay for our hotels or meals, so my father and Mike Helvey's father paid for Coach Oliver, Coach Sislers and our rooms for two night.. We road down in an old van that belonged to coach Sisler. I think it may have had a playboy bunny window in it. lol We didn't have much money for meals , so after weigh in Coach Oliver took us to his mother's home in Portsmouth and she fed us. We not only had success on the mat we had fun getting to know both coaches a lot better. I will forever be grateful for his guidance and kindness.
