Strongest 'Walls' -- A fixture among Goldsboro High athletics

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on May 12, 2014 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

Zach Falconer felt lost.

He was ready to hang up his baseball cleats -- quit playing a sport he has loved as long as he can remember.

Damon Pate thought he wouldn't be able to play soccer this season.

His high school team was without a coach -- a void that left the young man scared he wouldn't have the senior sendoff he had imagined.

Isaiah Core thought about giving up.

He had the desire, but no way to make it to practices and games.

The three young men who nearly didn't take their respective fields this year share something more than just that.

Each of them found Terry Walls.

And each found in him a father figure, mentor and friend.

Walls is Goldsboro High School's athletic jack of all trades.

He coaches the boy's soccer team and serves as an assistant on the football, basketball and baseball teams.

He logs stats and assumes the role of groundskeeper for the athletic fields. And he also coordinates the students who film games for the basketball and football teams.

Mentor. Father figure. Trusted adviser -- Walls is all of these things.

But those who count themselves as fortunate enough to have come into contact with him say that, above all else, he is a friend.

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When Falconer's father, a member of the U.S. Air Force was deployed, it left a void in the young man's life. And when he thought about quitting baseball, he didn't have a strong male role model to help weigh the decision.

Walls stepped in.

When Pate struggled with the notion that without a soccer coach, Goldsboro might not be able to field a team, Walls, who knew little about the sport, offered to take on the role of head coach so the kids would be able to have a team.

As for Core, the young man found a way to get to practices and games. Walls even helped him fill out the paperwork to ensure his eligibility.

"It's a lot of little things he does that a lot of other people might take for granted," Pate said. "But it really means a lot to us."

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Walls found his way to Goldsboro the same way many others do -- the military. Originally from Delaware, he served as a commissioned officer in the Navy and Air Force.

In the early 1970s, Walls was stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, but didn't particularly like the town.

"There was no mall in Goldsboro. There was no McDonald's," Walls said. "I remember getting back to (Florida) and saying, 'Please don't send me back to Goldsboro.'"

His wish did not come true.

But when Walls returned to the city, he decided to embrace his new home -- to get involved in athletics programs as his three sons approached high school and his retirement date approached.

Decades later, "he is truly the backbone of Goldsboro athletics," GHS Athletic Director Ray Lippert said.

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Asunji Maddox credits Walls for helping him play Division I football.

When Maddox was a senior -- and needed highlight tapes to send to colleges for recruiting visits -- Walls made DVDs of the Cougars' games and gave them to Maddox to send out to colleges.

"He's partially responsible for me being (at Elon)," the GHS alum said. "He made sure I had what I need. He does that for everybody. It's crazy."

When Maddox comes home from school he makes sure to stop by and catch up with Walls. And like Maddox, many Goldsboro baseball players plan to come back from college and visit with Coach Walls -- not only to see the coach who helped them reach their full potential, but also to see a winning program on the diamond.

"We feel like our four years here and all the improvement we've seen is something that we've passed down for the younger guys to build on," Falconer said. "And Coach Walls is a big part of that."

The GHS baseball program -- one that has been in flux for much of the past four years -- is one that will likely continue to take small steps forward.

Next season Wayne Egineering Middle School will institute a sports a program to help develop players for the high school level. Baseball will be one of the sports they offer.

"Lord knows Coach Walls will probably be out there coaching them too," Falconer said.

And while the program has seen three different coaches in that time, there has been one constant in the dugout.

"We've had three coaches in four years," infielder Kenny Stempien said. "The coaches that have been here have (come and gone). (Coach Walls) has been here with us through it all."

"It's nice to know he's there just for us and doesn't have his own agenda," Goldsboro senior infielder Cayce Herring added.

Those who know him aren't surprised.

Walls, they said, has always been about the students.

"If I can read a kid's name on the sports page and not in the police blotter, then it's worth it," Walls said. "I try to help them in more than just sports. I think there are lessons to be learned in sports whether you go on to be an athlete or not. I try to be a mentor to them in that respect."