Blake Harvard, standing at right, has been voted by his peers as a coach for the North-South Soccer All-Star game. He is James Clemens’ soccer coach. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Blake Harvard, boys’ soccer head coach at James Clemens High School, has been selected to coach in the North-South Soccer All-Star game.

“I cannot wait to represent James Clemens and Madison City Schools in Montgomery this July,” Harvard said. “It was a great honor to learn that I had been selected to represent the North. It’s definitely one of the things I wanted to accomplish as a coach.”

However, Harvard didn’t expect this honor so quickly. “I played high school and college soccer, so soccer is my sport. To know that my peers selected me means everything to me,” he said.

“This is quite an accomplishment for Coach Harvard, especially in his second year as a varsity coach,” principal Dr. Brian Clayton said.

Approximately 160 schools in Alabama have boys’ soccer. The North/South delineation lies at Shelby and Tuscaloosa counties.

Coaches across the state voted for juniors to play in this game on July 22. A committee of coaches selected the North-South coaches.

James Clemens’ final varsity record was 11 wins, 3 loses, 1 tie. “We were put out of the state playoffs in the first round by Huntsville,” Harvard said. “The year was a huge success.”

“We beat our cross-town rivals and matured a lot as a team,” Harvard said. With five seniors graduating, James Clemens still has a young team. Eleven of Harvard’s 19 varsity players are sophomores.

Harvard teaches government, economics and advanced-placement psychology.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in secondary education at the University of Montevallo. He also played soccer.

Harvard taught at Brookhaven Middle School in Decatur for six years. “In my first year at Brookhaven, I was chosen as New Teacher of the Year,” Harvard said. “I’ve been at James Clemens for two years, and I’m not looking to go anywhere else.”

His wife Jennifer is a professor at Calhoun Community College. Their children are two-year-old Eli and five-month-old Hattie.