THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406010170
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAN COOLEY, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940603 LENGTH: Medium
Wiley Lee, 28, isn't from here originally, but he coaches baseball and football at Indian River Middle School.
{REST} A transplant from Emporia, Lee played both football and baseball for Greensville County High. He went on to play for ODU where he ranks high in several school career standings.
However, his selection into the Hall of Fame caught him totally by surprise.
``I was rather flattered I was picked, especially because the selection committee goes through an extensive process,'' Lee said. ``They look at several hundred names.
``And I'm still pretty young. I should have had a lot of years before such an honor was bestowed upon me.''
According to ODU sports information director Carol Hudson, though, there was no doubt why Lee was selected this year.
``Simply put, we felt he was one of the five most deserving athletes,'' said Hudson. ``He was a great player for Old Dominion.''
Hudson couldn't recall any other Chesapeake resident being in the Hall of Fame. Basketball player Kenny Gattison lived here for a year, but has moved.
In only three years - from 1985-87 - Lee stole a school record 120 bases in 132 attempts, ranking him second in the all-time Sun Belt Conference list. ODU was a member of the Sun Belt before it joined the Colonial Athletic Association.
An infielder, Lee also ranked second at ODU in both career triples with 12, and runs scored with 193. He finished fourth in career hits with 231.
Lee had 42 stolen bases, 42 runs batted in and hit .355 as a freshman. He was named to the freshman All-American team. The Monarch star started at second base for the U.S. National team in 1986 and was named to the all-Sun Belt Conference team three times.
Drafted by the California Angels, Lee played minor league baseball at the Class A and AA levels from 1987 to 1991. He decided to make a career change after four years in the minors.
``It was a tough decision, but one I had to make,'' said Lee. ``I wasn't sure if I could make it to the major league level.
``I had been married two years at the time and I wanted to start a family. All of the traveling I did is tough on a family.''
At the time, his wife Jillayne - a Great Bridge High graduate - was teaching at Indian River Middle School. Lee who has a distributive education and marketing degree from ODU, applied for an opening at the same school.
He was accepted and has been there ever since. Lee teaches education for employment as well as coaching defense for the football team and serving as the head baseball coach.
As a teacher and coach, his goal is to teach kids how to excel as both students and athletes, like he did. As a teacher, that means teaching kids how to get jobs.
That includes convincing them to stay in school. Then he tells them what employers expect in a job.
In sports, it means helping kids improve.
``I try to teach them what I learned from my high school and college coaches,'' Lee said. ``Both (Emporia's Bobby Hudson and Mark Newman of ODU) tuned me into having mental toughness, never breaking down from any situation.
``It also included learning what you do well and then working on your weak points to improve. The best situation would be to have each kid progress toward his goals and be mentally and physically ready to handle any situation.
``If they can improve their skills to the level where they're ready for high school ball, I think I've done my job.''
Lee said the transition from baseball to teaching and coaching has not been easy. However, he said the support he received from both school administrators and other coaches has helped tremendously.
His next goal, which may be several years away, is getting a head coaching job at the high school level. Meanwhile, he and his wife have achieved one of their other goals: starting a family. Justin was born 14 months ago.
``Right now, I'm comfortable where I'm at,'' Lee said. ``I'm still learning. It's quite a coaching transition from being around people with great athletic abilities to the middle school or JV level.''
by CNB