His positive outlook on coaching has carried over from his early days juggling jobs at the meat company and at Menlo-Atherton High School.

“Working at the meat company—that has all kind of built who I am,” Minnis said. “I’m a leader, and I know I’m a leader, but I think I can lead by example and lead with a smile on my face and make [my team] enjoy what they’re doing. I think that’s the line.”

Minnis wants the Harvard student body and community to be equally excited for Harvard water polo and is working hard to make sure his teams are successful.

“My dad’s just a workhorse,” Josh Minnis said. “One of the main things that he focuses on when he is coaching is building up the sport from the ground up.”

When he is not spending time watching and re-watching game film and thinking about how he can make his team better, Minnis has been working on starting a club team at Harvard to get local youth interested in water polo and aquatics.

“I’d always love to see more minorities in general to be interested in aquatics,” Minnis said. “Especially water polo. It’s been such a big part of getting me to where I am.”

During his long journey to Harvard, Minnis has displayed commitment and focus to developing his players and his sport from scratch, just as he has developed his own philosophy and style as a coach over the years through hard work and persistence.

As a single, African-American father from a humble background who gave up so much for his son and his dream of being a college coach, Ted Minnis has finally found a home and a dream fulfilled at Harvard.