Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 14, 1991 TAG: 9102150300
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BUCHANAN LENGTH: Long
A young man, just out of the service, arrives in town, becomes the basketball coach and grows into a legend before retiring with 400 or more victories.
"I guess I was probably the first person John Shotwell met when he came here," said Jimmy Barley, owner of the North Star Restaurant.
"I can see him on the front porch at Mrs. [Dorothy] Teaford's. She was a widow who took in new teachers just to room. She called and said, `I have someone I want you to meet.' "
That was 30 years ago. Since then, Shotwell's teams have won 398 games Two of his clubs have made the Group A finals. And he has held a community together.
His being named Group A coach of the year last winter and his emotional involvement with his players were among the reasons Shotwell was honored Wednesday by a resolution from the Virginia General Assembly. Bo Trumbo, D-Botetourt county, and Sens. Granger Macfarlane and Buzz Emick sponsored the resolution that recognized Shotwell, a Roxboro, N.C., native.
He's a second-generation coach. "I think my dad, Gerald, played for him for a year," said Jerry Austin, the 6-7 star of the James River team five years ago. "Everybody in the community has either had a relative or a friend who has played for him. You can see how many people he's coached in 25 to 30 years."
"When I came here, I never thought I'd be here this long," said Shotwell, 52. "I figured I'd get some game experience and go back to North Carolina."
Now he's talking about giving up full-time coaching and teaching. But he can't do that unless the General Assembly approves a proposal by Gov. Douglas Wilder to offer state employees who are 50 or older and have at least 25 years of experience a one-time opportunity to take early retirement with full benefits.
Shotwell, one of a handful of Timesland coaches who will qualify if the measure passes the legislature, says he'll retire. But he's willing to take James River Principal Larry Journell's offer to continue coaching basketball, golf and softball on a part-time basis.
Shotwell hadn't planned to retire until his youngest son, Ryan, a junior starter for the Knights, was out of school. "I'd like to have gone three more years, but I didn't want to wait until I was too old to enjoy retirement," said Shotwell, an avid golfer.
If he continues to coach part time, he will be able to maintain the relationship he has nurtured with his players over the years.
"The one thing John enjoys is the relationship with the team and the way they come by the house. He seems to care so much," said his wife, Sue.
"John doesn't get stressed out over the games. The times I see him most stressed out is when something goes wrong with one of the players.. . . he tries so hard to help."
The veteran coach admits there have been problems with his players.
"It hurt me when [1990 Group A state player of the year] Maurice Davenport didn't go back to college. I would lie in bed wondering why," he said.
"Then there was Dana Waldron. We got him into a school; he went one semester and dropped out. He was the best basketball player I've ever coached on a high school level.
"There was a kid, Phil Perry, who had a lot of ability. He went to James Madison, played junior varsity, and he dropped out of school."
Some Buchanan residents say one of Shotwell's best qualities is the relationships he has with his teams.
"Rural players are a lot different from the urban players," said Watts Steger, president of the Bank of Buchanan and another friend of Shotwell's. "It takes a special type of person who can prod them and teach them discipline along with basketball. John certainly does a good job of that."
Some of the relationships start before players get to high school.
Austin was in elementary school when he first started working with Shotwell. School was out, but James River had practice, he said. "Coach Shotwell would pick me and my brother up so we could play against some of the players in high school."
Shotwell said he thinks this early involvement has "created a lot of interest as far as coming here later and playing basketball."
"You'd be surprised how much influence teachers have in shaping kids' futures. If every teacher was like John, we'd have no worries at all," said Debbie Jordan, a legislative aide to Macfarlane. "I feel very safe in turning my two children over to him."
Although James River, ranked No. 1, didn't win the Group A title last year, the residents rallied for the team and coach.
Steger, the banker, said going to the state championships was "a rallying point for the town, a sense of unity for - and I hate to mention it - the first time since the flood of 1985.
"We had a crowd of 1,500 here when the team returned. I don't think John was crying, but he was touched. Very often he's touched by his kids."
It wasn't always this way. Shotwell had three consecutive losing seasons when he started.
"I figured after the first year [3-13], they might run me out of town. I wondered if I was in the right place doing the right thing. They had been 14-7 the year before, but all the starters had graduated."
But the people of Buchanan had patience. In 28 varsity seasons, the Knights have had only five losing records and two with .500 performances.
This year might be one of Shotwell's best. His team, which was inexperienced and lost its tallest player, started 3-5. At one time, his second-leading scorer thought about quitting but then returned after staying out two games. Now the Knights have reeled off nine straight victories.
"We really struggled those first three years, but there's never been any pressure," Shotwell said. "In all the years, I've had only two parents contact me about their kid not playing enough. I've been lucky. That's the reason I stayed around so long."
Memo: CORRECTION