Back In Black... An Ode To A Hero

Ben Elliott Remembers BHS Hall of Fame Coach Tim Turner

DEDICATION: Robin, Beau, Bryce and Tim Turner. My love and solidarity goes to you. 

If you go into the dictionary and look up the word "coach", you get the following description: "A coach is an instructor who trains athletes, an expert who guides personal or professional development." 

In my time as a student athlete at BHS, I played for three once in a lifetime head coaches. Danny Grogg, Dwight Walton and Tim Turner. If you’ve read this blog before you’ve read my thoughts on these men over the years. Each of them brought different styles to the table that taught us lessons for a lifetime. In other words, experts who guided their athletes towards personal development. 

I am now entering my sixth year of coaching here at BHS (hard to believe I know) and when I think of my bank of coaching knowledge, not only do I think of the wonderful folks I’ve coached with, but I think of the leaders I had in my adolescence, when I needed them the most. 

In 2019, I was a high school sophomore who could best be described as “fearing his own shadow”, Not necessarily having the highest self esteem or self confidence one has ever seen.  But I did have one thing: sports. I loved basketball and football but, those who knew me at the time knew of my undying love for the sport of baseball. My father played it collegiately in Worcester, Massachusetts and my grandfather coached him growing up. It felt like something in my blood, a second nature. 

However, due to a neurological complication, I never played in a team sport of any kind. 

That brings us to the spring of 2019. I went to see a few of my friends play in a rare Saturday afternoon home game against Petersburg, and upon seeing a couple of those friends, they invited me down to the dugout. 

After a couple innings of hanging around, I introduced myself to Coach Turner. The first thing he said to me was “Any friend of Coach Grogg is a friend of mine”. The rest was history. I was back the very next Monday for practice, and would remain on the team until graduation in 2021. 

That moment in time ended up meaning a lot more to me later in life than it did at the time. Tim openly welcomed me into his team’s dugout. A sacred space if you will. One where bonds are forged that last a lifetime. Over the two and a half seasons I spent with the program, I learned the importance of these relationships, many of which I still have today. 

But, the Tim Turner I’ll remember for the rest of my life is the one who commanded respect through his actions. He led by example, never asking us to do something he wouldn’t do himself. He never raised his voice at us (although he probably should’ve) and when he spoke, you listened. He spoke with great intent, no filler. 

I left the baseball program a better person, a more confident person, which was in large part due to him, and his belief in me. He gave me the initial shot to be a part of something bigger than myself, which still means the world to me today. 

Ben Elliott, the adult would tell you that what he values the most from Tim today, is his demeanor and stewardship of the baseball field. No matter how stressful or tense the situation got on the field, he was calm, cool and collected. The game never got to him, never a light too bright. Over my coaching tenure, I have tried my very hardest to instill those lessons onto the next generation of athletes. To never flinch, even when the chips are down. It was more than a baseball lesson to me, it was personal. Life will always bring adversity to you whether you are ready for it or not. The main lesson is what you do with it. Meet the match, and strike first. 

Preparation was a huge part of that ethos. Tim and his staff taught us how to keep a field in good shape, giving love and care back into the grounds that mean so much to us, that give us the chance to live the dream of playing the greatest game in the world. 

Every time I get the honor to be present at the field- for Gobblers or Bruins, I think of those lessons. I always take a moment amongst the madness of gameday operations to admire the field, and the trees and mountains beyond it. To me, it’ll always be Turner Field. He represented true love, care and respect for the facility, which is apparent every time you take in a game at the park. 

The fun stuff I remember the most looking back today, was his love for music. He controlled our practice playlist, always outlaw country or classic rock. Out of all the songs in that playlist, one sums Tim Turner up more than any other could. One that does full justice to who he was as a human being. 

One of the last home games of my senior year, we were beating a rival late in the game, comfortably. Tim asked me if my father would play Back in Black first thing after the final out, which he of course obliged. If you can guess who we were playing that day, it made all the sense in the world, Broadway baseball was here to stay. From that moment on, that was the song you heard after every Tim Turner led team victory. The symbolism in that choice isn’t lost on me at this moment. Back in Black was one of the first singles released from AC/DC following front-man Bon Scott’s passing in early 1980. The band wanted to send a message that they were here to stay, and although Scott had passed on, he still lived in the music, within the message. 

That song and story is synonymous with Tim Turner. His legacy will live on through each and every one of us. Through every pitch, pre-game jitters, listening ear and most importantly through the love we bestow onto one another. Tim was badass, an unshakable figure, who bestowed incredible loyalty to baseball in this town, for the Little League, Gobblers and Bruins. 

He was someone who I am grateful to have known in this lifetime. He texted me after every one of these blogs, to encourage me to keep writing, and that he loved what I was doing, which is who he was in a nutshell. 

Because of him I know that it doesn’t matter if my back is against the wall, what matters most is my response and if I do good by others, I’ll live all nine lives Brian Johnson mentioned, this time, through others.