From his wheelchair, Larry Mitchell guides Patterson football team

New Clippers coach was paralyzed after being hit by a bullet 11 years ago

Mitchell said coaching on the high school level is all about teaching, a lesson he learned early from Wrenn, and he can do that as easily from his wheelchair as he could on his feet. He has always relied on his hands more than his feet to demonstrate, something he picked up at a coaches' clinic in the mid-1990s.

"Other than that," he said, "I've just been blessed with being able to say something to a child and him getting halfway to what I'm talking about, so I can say, 'Move your feet back a little bit, sit down a little bit, move over a little bit' until they get it right. Instead of me just sitting there trying to explain it, we just do it over and over again until we get it right."

One lesson Mitchell has instilled in his players is that he doesn't want to hear the words, "I can't." Mitchell has high hopes for the Clippers who, with a 6-4 record, just missed the playoffs last fall.

Muhammad said seeing Mitchell on the field every day motivates the players to work harder.

"When I look at him, I can't say, 'I can't,' so I'm going to do it. Even if it's the hardest thing in the world, I'm going to do it," Muhammad said.

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