A multitude of great athletes have come out of DFW, from professionals in football, baseball, basketball, and soccer, to gymnastics, golf, and more. The latest DFW athlete to be added to the list participates in a very unexpected sport.
Freddie Harris Jr., a former college football player who is now a 5th-grade physical education teacher at Annie Webb Blanton Elementary in Dallas, was recently added to the USA national bobsled team.
Harris has been training for the past two years, trying to make the national Team USA Bobsled.
The Carrollton R.L. Turner High School graduate, who played college football at the University of Central Oklahoma, has achieved his goal.
Last weekend, Harris competed in his first World Cup race in Park City, Utah, and placed 11th. This week, he is in Lake Placid, New York, where he will again have the chance to compete against the sport’s best.
Harris’ position in bobsledding is called a ‘pusher.’ Once the pusher jumps in the bobsled, it’s the pilot’s job to get the bobsled to the bottom, reaching speeds up to 85 miles an hour down an icy track.
While training for bobsledding around the Dallas-Fort Worth area may seem nearly impossible, Harris has learned the sport’s technique by watching YouTube videos and training at grassy fields and around a track.
The North Texas teacher has been away from teaching for training and competitions for the past couple of months.
He told WFAA that he is sharing his journey with his students to teach them the important lesson that it is never too late to go after your dreams.
“We all have dreams, but dreams are just dreams until you apply action and they become reality,” Harris said.
Harris’s ultimate dream is to make the U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team for the 2026 Winter Games.
