INDUCTION YEAR: 2024
In the City of Alexandria, the name Lucky Elliott is synonymous with youth sports. Born and raised in the public housing projects of the Berg, Elliott grew up across the street from what was then the Parker-Mann playground. Little did he realize that his passion for play would turn into a lifetime of using sports to impact generations of young people.
“There were not many places for African American kids to play at that time,” said Elliott of the segregated Alexandria of his youth. “But the professionals who worked on the playgrounds in the summer were a strong influence on me. Because I lived across the street where there was all this equipment, I learned how to use everything and was taught all the games. I had a lot of influence from recreation staff, teachers, and athletic directors who worked on the playgrounds. What was my hobby eventually moved me into coaching.”
Lawrence Elliott, who got his nickname from his mother, attended Charles Houston Elementary and Parker-Gray High School where he played basketball and was team captain. He graduated in 1962. As a teenager he began coaching youth basketball and football, a vocation that would last for close to two decades.
Elliott coached two football teams during football season and then coached three basketball teams during basketball season. Over the years he coached youth in three school districts in the City: Parker Madden (the Berg), Lyles Crouch (South Side) and Charles Houston (Up Town), winning at least one City Championship in each district.
Elliott coached during the City’s segregated youth sports programs and continued into the integration era. He stressed teaching fundamental skills and teamwork, while placing emphasis on fair play and sportsmanship. He won numerous City Championships in basketball and football, coaching basketball teams to 16 City Championships and 5 Runners Up titles. In addition, he has coached football teams to nine City Championships.
Elliott attended Northern Virginia Community College for Recreation and Parks Management while working at Western Electric and part time for the Alexandria Recreation Department. He began his career in recreation as the assistant Youth Sports Supervisor and was promoted to Director of the Charles Houston Community Center one year after the facility opened.
At Charles Houston, Elliott implemented a variety of creative and innovative programs for youth. He started what is now the nationally recognized Alexandria Boxing Club and the Basketball Fundamentals School, which continues to be a successful program.
Elliott’s dedication and hard work led to his promotion to Youth Sports Supervisor. In that role, he quickly doubled the number of participants in the Youth Sports Program by recruiting coaches and restructuring the age divisions for participants in boys and girls baseball, softball, football and basketball. He coordinated the city-wide NFL Pass, Kick and Punt Program, the National Marbles Tournament, the Hershey Track and Field Meets, the Cheerleading Competition, the National Junior Tennis League and the National Hook a Kid On Golf programs.
As a clinician with the National Youth Sports Coaches Association, he has trained and certified over 100 youth sports coaches with the National Alliance of Youth Sports. Additionally, Elliott coached and mentored hundreds of youths that have gone on to play sports at the high school, college, and professional levels.
Elliott was recruited by community leaders to be a member of the Community Action Team (CAT), a program set up under the Police Community Relations Division. CAT members were responsible for working with the police department to devise strategies to prevent youth from participating in rioting, crime, and other unlawful activity.
His concern about the state of youth in Alexandria motivated him to become one of the founders of the “We Care” anti-substance abuse organization. Elliott led the first of several anti-drug marches in Alexandria to bring awareness about the damaging effects of substance abuse on youth. His efforts helped bring about education, intervention, and treatment programs in the City of Alexandria.
“I started the Get Away Clean program that mentored and worked closely with the department of substance abuse drug intervention,” Elliott said. “I tied it into the basketball program – kids had to go through class if they wanted to participate in the basketball program.”
Elliott also started an organization called The Bulldog Connection that held annual programs during Black History Month called Sports Legend Night and Champions of Equality and Justice, to recognize and honor the unsung local sports heroes, community activists and leaders in the community.
“The mascot for Parker-Gray was the Bull Dog,” Elliott explained. “The Bull Dog Connection was about honoring people in African American community that may have been overlooked, from sports legends to local playground heroes.”
Hundreds of the men he coached and mentored over the years continue to show their appreciation for his dedication and hard work by hosting an annual Reunion Tribute Cookout in his honor.
Asked about the impact of sports on young people today, Elliott said he would like to see more done to mentor today’s youth.
“There are a lot of outstanding athletes but I would not necessarily call them heroes,” Elliott said. “I don’t think they are doing enough to help the young people coming up. There is a lot of glamour, a lot of money, a lot of flash in the world of sports and that’s what young people see. But the athletes are not telling them what they should be telling them. They should be stressing education and telling kids to stay away from drugs and negative peer pressure. Kids today need to have a goal and strive for those goals and I don’t think that is happening.”
Elliott has been honored for his contributions with numerous awards, including the 1991 NAACP Community Service Award and the Victory Temple Baptist Church 2013 Men of Courage Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2004, Elliott was inducted into the Fairfax County Youth Football League Hall of Fame for his work as a football commissioner and coach. His work in the City of Alexandria spans nearly four decades as a volunteer coach, part time recreation youth leader, center director, youth sports supervisor, football commissioner and community activist.
“I am thankful for all those people who have helped me along the way,” Elliott said. “From the playground workers when I was growing up to my coaches and teachers in high school and the people in the community who have supported me. I knew they always had my back.”
Elliott has been married to his wife Brenda for 57 years and together they raised two children. The couple were responsible for researching historical facts and raising funds to erect a historical marker for Parker-Gray High School on Madison Street.
“My wife is everything,” Elliott said. “I give her a lot of credit for my successes. She made a lot of sacrifices over the years. I worked several jobs and spent a lot of time with other people’s children yet she always supported everything I did.”
By Jeanne Theismann
Photo Credit: Steven Halperson-Tisara Photo