BY MILES LAYTON

COLUMBIA — Tyrrell County Schools Athletic Director Shawn Walker stood before the Board of Education Tuesday night with a presentation that was equal parts pep talk, performance review, and passionate plea for investment in the district’s athletes.

Since joining the district on July 8, Walker said his mission has been to rebuild Tyrrell County’s athletic culture from the ground up — not by tearing down what exists, but by identifying what works, fixing what doesn’t, and inspiring students and staff to “run up to the plumbing from 64 and back” with enthusiasm for what’s next.

“My task here is to give an update on athletics,” he said. “Athletics is dear to my heart, and I’m hoping tonight when I’m done, my mission is that everybody in here is ready to leave here and be so excited about what it is we’re trying to accomplish. We’re going to be geared up to do something special.”

A Philosophy of “Continuous Improvement”

Walker explained that his approach to rebuilding the program is based on the Japanese business model of Kaizen, which emphasizes continuous, incremental improvement. He outlined its five principles as his guiding philosophy.

“The first principle behind that is ‘know your customer,’” he said. “So since July 8, I’ve been figuring out who our stakeholders are, what they’re all about, and who actually supports athletics.”

The second principle, he explained, is “let it flow” — building systems that eliminate wasted time and create structure. The third, Gemba — meaning “the real place” — has been central to his work.

“That’s what I’ve spent my time doing in athletics,” Walker said. “Each and every day, I go to a practice. I go to all of the practices. I go and find out what our student athletes are experiencing, I go and figure out what our coaches are experiencing — and we’re getting to the money.”

The final principles, he said, involve empowering others and maintaining transparency. “A coach called me today about a matter and wanted to know, ‘What do I do in this situation?’ I said, ‘I don’t get involved in that — that’s your business. You tell me what you’re going to do. As long as you do this and don’t do this, then you’re in good shape.’”

“The Front Porch of the School District”

Walker used two contrasting images of houses — one abandoned, one well-kept — to illustrate his belief that athletics is a reflection of the entire school system.

“I want everybody to take a good look at this slide,” he told the board. “Would you have your morning coffee there? Would you feel like it was safe? Do you feel like there’s life there?”

He paused. “Athletics is the front porch of this school district. If your front porch doesn’t look good, then you never go in the house where the academics live and the discipline live. Athletics is the key, in my opinion, to how we make some of these things we’ve heard tonight better. It can make the student-athlete experience better.”

He said Tyrrell’s athletic program is “under construction,” but he emphasized that “construction” doesn’t mean starting from scratch.

“I don’t want to come here and rip anything up,” Walker said. “We want to make sure that when we come in, we are assessing what needs to happen, assessing what’s good — because there are many things that are good — assessing things that need improvement, and then ripping up all the stuff that’s bad.”

Progress Since July

In his first four months, Walker said he and his team have made tangible improvements across the board.

The district’s gym floor — long criticized for being slick — was sanded and refinished, creating a safer playing surface. “That floor was like ice skating,” he said. “It was a risk. It did not aid in a better student-athlete experience.”

He’s also set new standards for maintenance. “I don’t let anybody in my PE classes get on the floor without sneakers on — equals a zero,” he said with a laugh. 

The district has also invested in a new scorer’s table for the high school gym. “The one we had, somebody went to Lowe’s and got some plywood and some wheels and put that together,” Walker said. “I just asked for what we needed. Ms. Williams said, ‘Move forward.’ And in about six to eight weeks, that new table is going to be in the gym.”

Another improvement came through what he called “a blessing.” When the gym’s washing machine broke down, Walker said a local laundromat “gifted” the school an industrial washer and dryer worth $16,000. “Those machines are going to save us $16,000,” he said. “They’re not here yet — we’ve got to get some gas lines run — but that’s going to be really, really good for us.”

Walker also celebrated the district’s student-athletes. The tennis team reached the NCHSAA playoffs for both team and individual competition, and student Taylor Brinkley advanced to the second round. The football team, he noted, made the playoffs playing 11-man football — a first in recent memory.

“It’s commendable,” he said. “We normally play eight-man. We’re down on numbers, but our team still made it.”

“The Student-Athlete Experience”

Throughout his presentation, Walker returned to a central theme — the student-athlete experience. He compared sports to learning an instrument.

“If you’re not an athletic person, walk with me,” he said. “You’re a musician, and you’re going to play a piece from Beethoven. But you have no piano. You just have a picture of a piano, and you have to stick your hands on the picture keys. Who has the best advantage when it’s time to compete?”

He said many of Tyrrell’s athletes face that same disadvantage — not having the equipment needed to practice effectively.

“Our football team doesn’t have a blocking sled,” he said. “Our middle school sports have no equipment. Middle school football had no footballs, no uniforms. I went to Washington County and asked them to loan us 15 of their practice pants so we could play our first game.”

He said he washed and returned those borrowed uniforms himself. “It’s our student-athlete experience,” he said. “This is where we are.”

Looking Ahead: Facilities, Fundraising, and Participation

Walker said his short-term focus is on football — “the front porch of athletics” — but his long-term goal is to build a program that fosters year-round participation across all sports.

“We need a three-man sled and a five-man sled,” he said. “We can’t tackle every day — somebody’s going to get hurt — but you still have to be taught the fundamentals. We also need a tackling dummy and a volleyball serving machine. These are things that encourage participation.”

He said participation, particularly among girls, is a growing concern. “We are in very, very grave and imminent danger of not having a girls’ basketball team this year,” Walker said. “We have not had a middle school girls’ basketball team in two years, and we do not have one this year.”

To address the funding gap, Walker said he’s exploring partnerships with a national fundraising platform called SNAP. “It costs us no money up front,” he said. “People can donate $5, $10, $20, $100 — whatever they can give. I did something like this last year at Allen University and raised over $12,000 in 19 days.”

He also proposed a new community event — Wildcat Fest — for the spring. “We’ll have a spring football game, a 5K run, maybe a flag football game for girls, and a chicken plate sale,” he said. “It’s a way to get everybody involved and raise some money.”

“They’ll See You in a Minute”

Walker closed with a story that captured both his optimism and his determination.

“There’s a story about a little boy named Sammy,” he said. “He’s sitting at his desk painting a picture. The teacher says, ‘Sammy, what are you doing?’ Sammy says, ‘I’m painting a picture of God.’ The teacher says, ‘Sammy, no one knows what God looks like.’ Sammy says, ‘Well, they will in a minute.’”

Walker smiled. “There will be plenty of people that tell you we don’t do it that way, that it can’t be done. I hear that almost every day,” he said. “But what we will do is believe in ourselves even when nobody else will. They’ll see you in a minute.”

He looked around the room and nodded. “We’re looking forward to seeing what winter sports hold and spring sports hold,” he said. “And I’m looking forward to seeing where athletics is going to go.”