Andre Woolcock ’09, ’11
Posted on: October 17, 2023
Sport Management, MBA
Occupation: High School Football Coach
André Woolcock did not want to be a head football coach.
“It’s funny to think about. I didn’t want to be an assistant. I didn’t want to be a head coach. It wasn’t on my radar,” he said.
A two-time North Greenville University graduate (’09, ’11), Woolcock spent four years playing football under former NGU Head Coach Mike Taylor.
“I had a lot of great experiences as a member of the football team and the university,” he said. “But after graduation, I kind of got lost in life figuring out what I wanted to do. I was going from job to job before I got a call from Coach Matt Durham at NGU.”
Woolcock interviewed for a graduate assistant position with the football program and got the job.
“Working alongside Newland Isaac and under Coach Chad Staggs and Coach Jamey Chadwell, I fell in love with the coaching profession,” he said. “It was an opportunity to give back to the generation behind me. Don’t get me wrong, we want to win championships. I want to win more than anybody else. But coaching offered the opportunity to pour into the lives of young men, and I saw the impact guys like Coach Chadwell were able to make. I knew it was something I wanted to do.”
From North Greenville, Woolcock joined the coaching staff at Eastside High School, serving as an assistant coach for five years. He was then hired as the head coach at Ninety-Six High School, where he spent two years before returning to take the head coaching job at Eastside.
Although he never anticipated joining the coaching profession, Woolcock said it was his faith that put him on this path.
“People always say, ‘See what God has for you.’ But that’s not always easy,” he said. “There are some difficult times on the path that God sets for you, but you know you’re not alone on that path. My faith has always told me to walk through the doors that God opens, and he’ll be there with me.”
During his time at Eastside, Woolcock has not only encouraged his teams to become better football players, but also better community members. His teams regularly conduct service projects at nonprofits such as the Greer Soup Kitchen and Habitat for Humanity.
“Coaching is important, but it’s my belief that you can’t expect people to support you if you’re not supporting the community you’re a part of,” he said. “That’s why I’m so big on giving back. You have to take advantage of the opportunities you have to bless someone else.”
