Digital Harbor Excels under
Coach Lutalo Bakari
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by Alejandro Danois
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The Digital Harbor boys�?? track and field program, under the leadership of head coach Lutalo Bakari, captured their first 1A state championship in the spring of 2005.
The following school year, the girls program finished second at the cross country state championships, won the indoor regional championships and were runners up at the outdoor regional championships.
The boys kept pace in 2005-2006 by capturing the indoor regional championships and the city and regional outdoor championships.
These were monumental achievements for the institution formerly known as Southern High School.
The Southern Bulldogs were once known for their powerful boys' basketball program, which captured the school�??s only state championships in 1993, 1994 and 1996. While the Bulldog name was closely associated with hoops prominence, the school�??s athletic program, under its current incarnation as the Digital Harbor Rams, is now firmly linked to running excellence.
Last year, the girls�?? team won both the indoor and outdoor 1A state championships, while the boys placed third indoors and second outdoors.
The transformation from track and field afterthought to one of the most accomplished programs in the city, region and state is compelling. It is a story of perseverance, dedication and persistence best embodied by the man solely responsible for the program�??s ascendance.
It is a tale of hope in the unseen �?? the story of a boy, born with the name Darnell Martin, who successfully navigated the city�??s violent and unforgiving streets and transformed himself from a self described �??Park Heights knucklehead�?� into a mentor, role model, surrogate father and social worker named Lutalo Bakari.
It is a heartwarming account of sincerity, of a man driven to provide young people who grow up facing daunting obstacles with a successful blueprint to win. In the cauldron of scholastic athletic competition, and even more importantly, in the crucible of adolescence and adulthood, his athletes at Digital Harbor have come to elevate their athletic and personal expectations.
Growing up in the rugged Park Heights section of Baltimore City, Bakari followed behind his two older brothers, playing football on the rough city streets.
His mother, Minnie Martin, encouraged her sons to stick together. No matter what dangers lurked outside, the boys knew that they could always depend on each other. Minnie also cultivated a curiosity in her sons by encouraging them to seek refuge in books. The family was active in the local church, where Bakari served as an alter boy starting at the age of six.
At the age of nine, he got his first taste of organized competition, playing defensive back for a football team in the Woodlawn Recreation League.
�??Even though I was nine, I played with my older brothers in the 10-12 group,�?� said Bakari. �??My mom wanted us to all play together.�?�
Although smaller than the rest of the players, he more than held his own.
He played football in the Woodlawn program until the age of fourteen, riding his bike, along with his brothers, from Park Heights to practice on a daily basis.
�??Playing in the Woodlawn Rec League provided the foundation that inspired me to be a coach,�?� said Bakari. �??My coach, Jimmy Howard, took time to mentor us on and off the field.�?�
As a sophomore at Northwestern High School in the fall of 1980, Bakari was pulled up from the JV to play defensive back with the big boys on the varsity team. He was reunited on the field once again with his brothers Dwayne and Paul, who were starters in the Wildcats defensive backfield.
While basking in the glow of his high school celebrity, due to his feats as an athlete, a tragedy soon brought him back to reality. On December 8th, 1980, his father, Paul Martin, was stabbed to death on Pennsylvania Avenue. Martin was on his way home from work as a handyman, and attacked. The crime was, and to this day remains, unsolved.
�??It was the same day that John Lennon was murdered,�?� said Bakari. �??Everybody was crying about John Lennon and my thing was, nobody�??s crying about my daddy.�?�
That spring, he stepped on the track for the first time and became a hurdler. In addition to the coaching staff, Bakari was mentored by Northwestern senior Adrian Ward.
Ward was a phenomenal track talent, known as �??Bird Man�?� because of his ability to gracefully soar over the hurdles. One of the country�??s premier talents in the sport, Ward was heading to Villanova on a full scholarship in the fall and dripping with Olympic promise.
In the fall of his junior year, Bakari switched to the offensive side of the football and flourished as a running back. That Thanksgiving, Ward stopped in to visit with Bakari and some other buddies while on break from Villanova.
The very next day, after hanging out with Bakari, Ward was arrested for a horrific crime that shook the foundation of Baltimore�??s athletic community. He was charged with the rape and attempted murder of a Park Heights neighbor.
Bakari was shocked beyond belief that his friend could be capable of such a heinous crime. Coupled with the fresh memories of his father�??s murder, he struggled to make sense of what was going on around him.
He admits to walking a tightrope on the streets during this tumultuous time in his life. Although he flirted with trouble, his inner compass would only allow him to go but so far.
�??While others went to the extreme right, I went to the right but knew I had to go back,�?� he said. �??Even though I was a knucklehead, I was going to church and my mother had planted a moral code in me. When I started to see guys like Adrian Ward and others make life the changing mistakes answerable to the laws of the street or the penal system, I realized I didn�??t want to make those mistakes.�?�
Running with the wrong crowd soon ran its course. By the spring of his junior year, he was ruled academically ineligible to compete in athletics. Devastated that his actions caused him to lose the one thing he cherished most, sports, Bakari was determined to never again cheat himself out of opportunity.
While his friends competed during the track season, he missed the laughter and camaraderie of the team. Bakari immersed himself in the process of resurrecting his academic and personal integrity.
He attacked his studies with the same ferocity that he brought to the gridiron and became eligible to compete the fall of his senior season. He again excelled at running back and was selected to play in the inaugural Baltimore City/ Baltimore County All-Star game.
That spring, he decided to challenge himself and went out for the school�??s lacrosse team, though he�??d never played the sport before. He quickly acclimated himself to the nuances of the game and became a fierce hitting midfielder.
Upon graduating from Northwestern, Bakari spent one semester at Bethel College, an N.A.I.A. school in North Newton, Kansas, where his brother Dwayne was the back-up quarterback.
He broke the school�??s freshman rushing record, gaining 966 yards, and was named to the All-Conference team. He transferred to West Virginia State, in the spring and by the next fall, was the school�??s starting tailback.
During his first year in college, his athletic success did not shield him from the aggravating whispers of some fellow students.
�??People would look at me and say, �??He�??s just a football player, not a student,�??�?� said Bakari. �??I never wanted anyone to perceive me as a one dimensional person and I was determined to be seen as a thinking student first, and an athlete second.�?�
One Saturday afternoon, he turned on the television and saw his former high school teammate, Andre Cramer, playing defensive back for the University of Tennessee in a huge Southeastern Conference showdown against Auburn University and their future Heisman Trophy winning running back, Bo Jackson.
�??I thought I could play on that level,�?� said Bakari. �??I did well at West Virginia State but I thought it was too small. I wanted to do something bigger.�?�
He contacted David Roberts, the head football coach at Western Kentucky University and sent film of his on-field exploits.
�??You can walk on but I can�??t promise you anything,�?� Roberts told him.
Bakari packed his bags and transferred again. By the end of spring practice at Western Kentucky, he was awarded a partial scholarship to red shirt. He was awarded a full scholarship and started at defensive back for the Hilltoppers during his final two years of eligibility. As a senior, he finished second on the team in interceptions and tackles and was named the team�??s Al Almond Award winner for exemplary leadership.
After completing the requirements for his Bachelor�??s Degree, Bakari immediately enrolled in the University of Louisville�??s Kent Graduate School of Social Work.
Armed with his Master�??s Degree, which was awarded in December of 1989, he provided mental health and therapeutic services as a Social Worker in Louisville.
In 1990, he changed his name from Darnell Martin to Lutalo Nia Bakari.
�??I was on a spiritual journey for truth and enlightenment and my birth name, Darnell Martin, was not fitting for who I�??d become,�?� said Bakari. �??Lutalo means warrior, Nia means purpose and Bakari means of noble promise, one of whom much is expected. I live every day trying to live up to my name.�?�
Determined to help other city kids through experiences in athletics, he started the 10th Street YMCA Cardinals tackle football program, which competed in Louisville�??s Muhammad Ali league.
One young player that he coached was Michael Bush, who went on to lead the NCAA Division 1-A in scoring during his junior season as a running back at the University of Louisville in 2005. Bush was a fourth round pick of the Oakland Raiders in the most recent NFL draft, after sitting out the majority of his senior season with a broken tibia.
In 1996, Bakari moved back to Baltimore.
�??It was time to come home,�?� said Bakari. �??My grandmother was getting older and I missed my family.�?�
He began working with the Baltimore City Health Department at an outpatient substance abuse program and is now a Social Worker in the Baltimore City Public Schools system.
Eager to become a high school coach, he volunteered to work with Southern�??s powerful basketball program as a strength and conditioning coach.
�??He had a lot of knowledge about strength training and conditioning and he was young, enthusiastic and committed,�?� said Meredith Smith, Southern�??s former basketball coach and the current head men�??s basketball coach at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. �??The thing that really impressed me was his impeccable character and sincere desire to help kids.�?�
Under Smith�??s tutelage, Bakari learned about the importance of out of season preparation and the coach�??s role as teacher.
�??You have to respect young people, not just as athletes,�?� said Smith. �??The approach has to be one of love. You have to impress upon the kids the importance of academics and how its relationship to athletics is inseparable. If kids feel that love and commitment, they�??ll do what�??s necessary to be successful.�?�
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