Horry County has multiple football coaches with pasts in NC. What brought them to the beach?
from Mike Duprez with MyHorryNews.com…Mike Duprez, formerly with the Lexigton, N.C. Dispatch
Socastee assistant football coach Doug Illing was about to answer a question when a young Braves assistant chimed in and said with a smile, “This is the double-dipping story, right?”
That’s part of it but hardly the only reason.
The beach is a draw, of course. A big draw.
“That’s it,” Illing said, laughing off the interruption. “Life is short.”
Illing was a highly successful head coach in North Carolina, particularly at Davie County, where he guided the War Eagles to an appearance in a 4-A state championship game. Personal tragedy, including the loss of his parents, led to Illing reevaluating his situation.
The Socastee head coaching job came open in 2013 and Illing went for it.
“The opportunity came up,” Illing said. “We looked at it and we love the beach. It has worked out well for us.”
One could just look around at the St. James turf last Wednesday during a 7-on-7 scrimmage and see other North Carolina connections.
Illing isn’t the head coach anymore. Ben Hampton – who was a standout football player at West Rowan High School near Salisbury, North Carolina, and later became a very successful head coach at North Rowan – is now the Braves’ coach.
“I’ve known coach Illing a long time,” Hampton said. “I had two questions for him. The first one was would he stay on as defensive coordinator. He said yes. The second was can we build this thing and he said yes.”
Hampton was sold and he made the move in 2020.
Illing was ready to ease off the throttle, dial back some of the responsibility and spend time with his burgeoning charter fishing business.
“I’m getting closer to retirement in South Carolina and charter fishing is my hobby,” Illing said. “I couldn’t do both that and be head football coach. It was too much demand.”
Yet another former North Carolina head coach is on the Braves’ staff. Chuck Henderson had several successful seasons at Ledford High School and then at Lexington High School.
Henderson, known for his intensity and dry wit, was on Hampton’s staff at North Rowan and made the move, too.
“I came because of Doug Illing,” Henderson said. “I’m just kidding. My wife and I both retired. We knew it was going to be her final year and we had the opportunity to move to the beach.”
Hampton, 39, had his own previous ties here. He played college football at Coastal Carolina.
“I love it here,” Hampton said. “I got to bring my family to the beach. The school system here is phenomenal. Our kids are getting a great education.”
St. James head coach Tommy Norwood spent an entire career in North Carolina. Norwood coached many years at Ragsdale, which is near Greensboro.
Norwood was first brought to St. James by then-head coach Joey Price, who has extensive experience coaching in both states.
“We coached in the Shrine Bowl together and he offered me the opportunity to come with him,” Norwood said. “I had around 36 years coaching and teaching in North Carolina. Let’s be honest, to do North Carolina retirement and South Carolina pay was a good opportunity.”
Some don’t wait to retire. They jump at the chance to move to the beach whenever it comes.
Carolina Forest coach Marc Morris was successful at Harnett Central, which is less than an hour from Raleigh. Morris took the Trojans to a state championship game, losing by a point. He continued to win at Cleveland High School.
Morris landed the Carolina Forest job in 2014 and has stayed put.
“South Carolina pays better than North Carolina,” Morris said. “That’s why a young guy like Ben came down here.”
North Myrtle Beach assistant coach Al Hooker was briefly the head coach at North Davidson near Winston-Salem. For him, it’s all about family.
“My folks retired here and I moved down here to be with them,” Hooker said. “There’s a lot of folks from my past that have done the same thing. Horry County is a good place.”
Horry County will likely always be a draw.
“We had to find a house where I could drive my golf cart to the beach,” Hampton said. “We’re living in a place where people come to vacation. How good is that?”
It’s been like this for ages.