Dave Spurlock, a longtime coach and administrator for Charleston County Schools and an innovative thinker on physical education and learning, has died.
Spurlock, who spent 42 years with CCSD before retiring in 2016, was 69 years old.
Though officially retired from coaching for a number of years, Spurlock never lost the desire to mentor young athletes. He attended games at Hanahan to watch his grandson, Rhett Bagwell, who was a young offensive lineman in the program.
Before long, sitting in the stands didn't sit well with Spurlock, and he approached Hawks head coach Art Craig about getting involved.
"He asked about maybe sitting in the box with a headset, just offering some input where he could," Craig explained. "Before long, he was at practice a few days a week, and then he was there every day. What a resource he was for our kids. He loved kids, and my players loved him.
"This is a huge blow to our program. Coach Spurlock was very important to us, and we are going to miss him dearly."
Spurlock became even more involved after the 2021 season, deciding to become a full-time substitute teacher at Hanahan, which put him in front of the football players even more. Craig said Spurlock was coaching quarterbacks just last week in a 7-on-7 scrimmage against Cross.
"The thing about Coach was he was old school, but he could relate very well with the kids," Craig said. "And his knowledge? Wow. He and I would sit for hours and just talk football. He was a great asset to me."
Spurlock was noted for wearing shorts with white socks and black shoes. Hanahan's coaching staff went with the look in Hanahan's last game of the 2021 season as a tribute to Spurlock and might pull that uniform out again next season.
A coach, a father, a mentor, he did it all. from being the best substitute teacher you can have, to preparing us for war under those Friday night lights. Smile down on the young ones Friday nights and me on Saturdays. This season is personal💯 Rest easy Coach Spurlock❤️ pic.twitter.com/cJuQwFa2Hc
— Josh “Turbo” Shaw🌹. (@Josh_BD34) June 27, 2022
Spurlock retired in 2016 at age 63 after 42 years in CCSD as a coach, teacher and administrator.
He began as a coach at the old Garrett High School in 1974, and spent nine years as athletic director for CCSD.
“You know, it’s just time,” Spurlock said when he retired. “I’ve done everything I wanted to do ... I’ve been fortunate enough to compete against some of the best coaches ever. And, I’ve been around a lot of great people and a lot of great kids all of my career.”
After four years at Garrett, Spurlock moved to the former St. Andrews High School as an assistant football and head baseball coach.
He led the Rocks to a state title in his first season in baseball in 1978, then became the head football coach in 1982. Spurlock remained at St. Andrews until 2001, when West Ashley High was created with the merger of St. Andrews and Middleton High. He retired from coaching in 2007 and began his work with the district office.
“Lot of ups and downs in 33 years as a coach, but I wouldn’t change anything,” Spurlock said. “Like most coaches, I got into education because I wanted to coach. What I have learned over the years is good coaches make good teachers. The coaching profession is vitally important in this day and age.”
As a CCSD administrator, Spurlock was a proponent of physical education and its impact on the total learning process of young children.
Spurlock worked to create what he called “brain rooms” in local elementary and secondary schools. The idea was for students to get more physical activity while learning at the same time.
His “brain rooms” came equipped with exercise equipment that included balance boards, treadmills, boxing gloves and a punching bag and exercise bikes. The rooms also included television monitors used by teachers as visual aids. Thus, students could potentially exercise their bodies while feeding their mind.
“We have a long way to go in terms of convincing the school boards and such that this is needed,” said Spurlock, whose work and ideas were featured in a Washington Post article. “The ‘No child left behind’ law put a lot of focus on stuff like language arts, math and reading, which is obviously very important.
"But, it also decreased the amount of time these kids are exercising their body. We’re trying to convince people that we can do both."
