Our friend Harry
Every now and then someone comes into your life and leaves an indelible mark. That was Harry Roy James Denson. This kid was born in Brim and went to school with my eldest son Matthew, in Horsham. We only had a short time, but boy did he pack plenty into that time.
I first met Harry when Matthew’s school relay team qualified for primary school state finals at Melbourne’s Olympic Park.
He was a big kid, bigger than most grade-six primary school kids, but he could run like the wind.
The team members gave it their best shot and finished seventh or eighth, but that didn’t matter to them – they were just running at Olympic Park in the state finals, these four kids from Horsham.
The next time I met Harry was when Matthew’s school volleyball team decided to play in a tournament in Melbourne. They only had six players, I told Matthew he needed eight – go and get at least two more players. Back he came the next day with this big kid again, and another mate.
Not only could Harry run like the wind but he could jump like a jackrabbit too, which is handy when you are putting a volleyball team together. He loved nothing more than to hit the ball.
The team went to Melbourne and smashed it. They then went to Geelong and smashed it again to qualify for year-eight state finals.
My counterpart from Geelong came up to me and said ‘you’ve got a good team here, especially that kid, number five’. Thanks Joe.
The team went to Melbourne and caused a massive boilover, winning the year-eight School Sport Victoria state title and Harry was central to that win.
They then went to the National Schools Cup and won again, with Harry winning the best player award as voted by the opposition coaches.
That started a four-year volleyball journey for Harry, which saw him earn the respect and applause of his team-mates and opposition players alike.
He wanted to play as a pass-hitter, but he didn’t want to do too much passing. So we moved Lachie to opposite, which let us move Harry out of the passing row. It worked, so we stuck with it.
His and the team’s greatest triumph was winning the under-17 honors gold medal at the National Schools Cup in 2005.
Three gold medals in a row, and this one was even more special because it made the team the best in Australia.
The bond these boys developed over that threeyear period was so strong – one that lives on even today.
Harry will always be remembered as the first person to put his hand up to flip the numbers on the scoreboard when it came to duty.
So much so that he would be sitting in his seat well before the game was scheduled to start. ‘Get on the ref stand Harry’. ‘Do a line Harry’. ‘No, I’m in charge of the scoreboard’. Harry then went on to try his luck with the Rebels in TAC Cup football before heading to South Australia to play for Glenelg in the under-19s.
But he kept in touch and we saw him play in a 10-year reunion tournament in 2015, which was a beautiful moment, especially when his team played the Murtoa boys, who were the ‘new kids on the block’.
I remember talking with the Murtoa team after Harry’s boys gave them an absolute volleyball lesson.
“We thought they might have forgotten how to play,” one member said. How wrong they were.
Harry came to the Volleyball Horsham 40-year anniversary dinner and shared a great moment in the history of the association. One of the greatest photos of that night shows all the boys together laughing and enjoying the night. Priceless.
Harry then dropped in at country championships last year and supported the Volleyball Horsham boys throughout the weekend as they won a bronze medal.
It was fitting that Harry jumped in on the team photo because that is the best way to remember such a wonderful, talented kid.
We will say farewell to Harry on Monday at Horsham Church of Christ at 11am.
We will always remember the big kid with that cheeky grin.
A family has lost a son, a brother, a brother-inlaw, an uncle and a cousin.
A special group of boys has lost one of its own – one that will never be replaced.
RIP Harry Roy James. • Anyone needing crisis support can call Lifeline 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 13 11 14 or visit website www.lifeline.org.au/gethelp.