Sumter's secret weapon: Gamecock coaches thankful for Nelson's 38 years

"We were concerned about injuries. Everybody is, but we knew we had a secret weapon and that was Gary Nelson."

Sammy Way knows a thing or two about Sumter High athletics. He is a legendary track coach, while serving as an assistant for other sports over the years. The Sumter Item historian also knew how special a guy like Gary Nelson was to every Gamecock sport.

Nelson served as the Sumter High athletic trainer for 38 years, first stepping foot on campus in 1984. Once he did, every Gamecock coach shared the thoughts of Way.

"I told Gary he was best thing that happened to Sumter athletics," Way said.

Tom Lewis was the man that brought Nelson to Sumter High. He was the head coach of the football team and wanted to hire an athletic trainer. When Paul Sorrells, an assistant at the time, recommended Nelson after their time together at Furman, it seemed like the perfect fit. Lewis said bringing Nelson on board was a huge advantage Sumter High had in the mid-80s.

"I look back at my early days of coaching and there were guys like John McKissic, who was at Summerville and was always one of my idols. He was like the first to have a weight room and a strength coach and I kinda compare us to that with the training part," Lewis said. "I hired a lot of coaches when I was there, and we had some really good ones. We went on a run there for like 10 years where we played for like six state championships and it wasn't just because of me, it was the people I had around me, and Gary Nelson was probably one of the most important ones. It took a lot of pressure off of me to have someone making those decisions."

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. While Lewis was happy to have someone to worry about injuries, he wasn't used to having someone tell him that one of his players was unavailable.

"I think the hardest thing I had to deal with was him telling me this guy can't play tonight and the kid coming to me saying they're fine. It's like, what do you do? But I always respected Gary, I never overruled him on any decision," Lewis said. "I know he wanted to win as badly as anybody, but he always put the kids' safety first. I can't say we didn't rub noses. We might have had a few words over it, but I always listened to him and his decision was final. That was just the way it was. He always put the kids first."

Sorrells eventually became head coach of the program and worked alongside Nelson for two decades. The lasting memory he has of Nelson is the trainer's ability to provide a calming presence.

"I remember one night; it was one of the worst injuries we ever saw. It was a compound fracture of his ankle. He wasn't going to play anymore that year," Sorrells said. "He was telling coach Nelson, 'Just put some tape on it and put me back in there, I'm a warrior, coach!' He was going on and on and Gary was just like, 'I know you're a warrior, we're going to take care of you but you're probably not going to go back in there tonight.'

"He was just always so calming. That not only affected the players, it affected the coaches. He just had a way about himself. Gary's reaction never made it worse for them, he always made it better."

Mark Barnes has led the football program at Sumter for the last seven years. He's worked with a number of athletic trainers over the years, but none like coach Nelson.

"He's the most competitive trainer I've been around. He loves to win, he loves to be a part of winning and he has been a part of winning," Barnes said. "Most trainers don't see themselves as being part of your program, they see themselves as being separate. With Gary, I always felt like he thought like I did, that he was part of our football staff. He's a big asset to our program and the community."

By the time Barnes came to Sumter High, Nelson was a staple. He seemed to be the only one confused by the trainer that was hollering at referees.

"I had to get onto him a couple of times. He's the first athletic trainer I had to tell not to get on the officials," Barnes said. "But that just shows how much he cares about the success of the athletic program. I think that's the greatest compliment you can pay to an athletic trainer. He's into the games, he's into the players and making sure he's giving our players and our team the best opportunity to succeed. He takes losses as hard as we do and that's what makes him special as an athletic trainer."

While football coaches and athletic trainers work hand in hand, Nelson worked with every athletic program at Sumter High. In his first season with the Gamecocks' Byron Kinney's 'Running Roosters' were preparing for an undefeated championship season in basketball. Kinney knew they had a leg up on the competition with Nelson on board.

"The old days of the coach taking up an athlete and putting some ice on it disappeared for us and we definitely had an advantage with him. He sat on the end of the bench for all of our games and he was known to get on a referee too. He was very involved in our athletic programs and a key, integral part of all of our team success."

Current girls basketball and golf coach Jeff Schaffer has worked with Nelson since 2001. He appreciates the fire that Nelson brings from the end of the bench, but also his attention to detail.

A prime example came in Schaffer's first season at Sumter. The girls basketball team was playing a tournament in Georgia and one of the towels was left behind in the gym. When the team got to the hotel, the student trainer was distraught, because one of the first things Schaffer learned when he got to Sumter High was, 'You can't lose any of Gary Nelson's towels whatever you do.'

Schaffer wasn't overly concerned about the towel, but the student trainer was. Luckily, the hotel had similar towels, so they snagged one and thought they were in the clear.

"We get back and we're unloading everything and the first thing he says is, 'This isn't one of my towels.,'" Schaffer said with a laugh. "He was very particular, but it also shows how dedicated he is to how he does things. If he's that worried about the towels, I don't have to be worried that he's going to short a kid on his rehab. He always does things the right way."

That attention to detail was at the heart of Nelson's work ethic. Barnes certainly appreciates his commitment to the little things.

"Big pictures take care of themselves when little things are done right. I think one of Gary's greatest traits is he does the little things right," Barnes said. "His other gift is motivating people to do things they don't want to do because rehab is hard. I don't know if the average person understands that unless you've been through it. Gary is great at getting people to push through it and getting them to understand the results will be better if they do it this way. A lot of people know what to do, but they don't understand how to get people to do it."

Working with every sport is a taxing job. No one can relate more to a school's athletic trainer than its athletic director. Donna Bisom served in that role for Sumter High and spent many an evening at Sumter High with Nelson.

"We understood each other in that part of the job, we were there all the time. When the lights were on in the gym, we were there," Bisom said. "I would run out quickly to McDonald's, I would buy us dinner, we would sit on his golf cart and eat dinner together and then we'd go to work. We stayed in constant communication. The toughest time was the spring because we were all over during the spring. All I had to do was make one phone call and he was on his way.

"I can't say how much it meant to me to be able to depend on him. If I had to go out of town for an event, I knew he was at home taking care of the kids who were participating at home."

As athletic director and a girls basketball coach, Bisom saw Nelson's competitive drive first-hand. At times, she was on the receiving end of it.

"I think he was not only my greatest supporter when I was athletic director, but also my greatest critic. I have great appreciation for that," Bisom said. "He would confront me anytime he thought I made a wrong decision; it didn't bother him a bit. I admire him for standing up for what he thought was right. We didn't always agree, but we learned to talk and compromise and that was a good mix for us."

She also saw the impact Nelson had on the kids of Sumter High, and not just the athletes.

Through his sports medicine class, Nelson inspired countless students to pursue a career in the medical field. Schaffer's son started on that path in college, while Bisom saw her daughter and granddaughter draw inspiration from the long-time AT.

"She would tell you in a heartbeat that Gary is who she wanted to emulate," Bisom said of her granddaughter, who currently works as an assistant athletic trainer in the Sumter School District.

A shining example of Nelson's impact on students is Sonny Jones, an orthopedic surgeon at Tuomey Hospital.

Jones took Nelson's sports medicine course as a sophomore before becoming a student assistant. Nelson suggested Jones look into attending Furman, the school where he received his master's degree, to study athletic training. Jones did just that. While Jones eventually shifted gears in the medical field, the inspiration he received from Nelson was clear.

"First, he is a mentor and, in sense, a father figure, but at the same time he's like a friend that you can cut up with at any time," Jones said. "He's just an affable, approachable guy that's always willing to lend a hand or lend an ear if you need to talk to him. In my mind, there's not a finer person.

"Gary certainly played an instrumental role in my career path, and I certainly owe a lot to him."

Jones is now one of the physicians that helps Sumter High with physicals every year. He's still struck by the way Nelson is able to relate to students.

"When you think about a 30+ year career with hundreds of athletes a year that he's had his hand in, it's an invaluable process. He's leading by example, caring for the athletes. He knows you by name," Jones said. "I help do the physicals every year and kids will walk through the door and he can tell you about everyone. He's personable with everybody and treats them as if they were his child."

That love for the students of Sumter High is one of the reasons Sorrells loved coaching beside Nelson over the years. He's one of many coaches that spoke on how irreplaceable Nelson will be.

"He took very good care of our kids. I did not have to worry about that on Friday night," Sorrells said. "Our kids being injured and getting proper care after they were injured is something I didn't have to stress about because I knew that we had someone that could take care of it. I fully trusted him and respected what he said.

"I cannot imagine playing a football game and going on the sideline without Gary Nelson. I'm not sure if I would coach a game without him by my side. There's so much to the mentality of a kid that knows they have someone like Gary taking care of him. It was immediate attention, it was the right attention. Sumter High School is definitely going to miss him."

Lisa Garcia is the person that will step into the role of head trainer in Nelson's retirement. She has no intention of replacing the Sumter legend, but is glad to have learned from him during his final year.

"I was hoping to work with him for more than a year, but it's been a great learning experience. The great thing is he's only a phone call away if I need anything," Garcia said. "I'm never going to be able to fill his shoes, I'm sure, but I'm looking forward to the community he's had and I hope to become a great part of that."