Enjoying a fulfilling career before retiring from teaching in 2020 – though still active as a coach – Mark Lackey is the only person to have coached and taught at all four of Lincoln County’s high schools. That’s quite an accomplishment for this genuine leader, mentor and friend who was inducted into the Lincoln County Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 and remains a strong supporter of local high school athletics!
A graduate of West Lincoln High School, Lackey attended Appalachian State University and received his teaching certificate from Lenoir-Rhyne, even doing his student teaching at Lincolnton High School.
While he still does some substitute teaching, it’s no secret Lackey does miss the day-to-day adventures of watching students grow into successful young adults. He’s beyond thankful for the people he crossed paths with through the years and those he still considers close friends. “It’s so rewarding for a former player or student to speak and say “thanks for coaching me” and tell a short story of something they remember,” he shares.
Lackey’s career began in 1990 when he was hired at Lincolnton High School, coaching football, JV boys’ basketball and JV baseball. In 1991, he moved to East Lincoln High School where he coached football, JV boys’ basketball and boys’ golf. In 1992 – and for the next five years – he added varsity girls’ basketball to his resumé. Then, from 1997 until 2003, he focused only on football and boys’ golf.
The year 2003 brought a brand new high school to the mix – North Lincoln – where Lackey remained for the next 17 years, also serving as the school’s athletic director from 2003 to 2009, and again from 2017 to 2019.
“I started the girls’ basketball program and the boys’ golf program,” he explains. “The boys’ golf team won the State 2A golf championships in both 2009 and 2010 and finished as state runner-up the next three years.” This dynamic group of golfers also won 10 conference championships over the next 12 seasons.
In the spring of 2020, Lackey retired from teaching but moved to Bandys High School as an assistant girls’ basketball coach for the next three years. While at Bandys, fate stepped in with the opportunity to coach at West Lincoln High School.
“I graduated from West Lincoln in 1982, and I knew this opportunity would never come around again,” he shares. “When we played our first game last winter, I had completed coaching at all four Lincoln County High Schools and one in Catawba County.” This coming school year will be his second coaching at his alma mater!
Lackey credits much of his coaching and teaching success to solid family support, and always shares one important piece of advice with young coaches – marry a special person who understands what coaching is all about and how much time it involves. He then adds that his wife, Heather, is the “perfect example!” Lackey’s son, Chase, a recent ECU graduate, was also a three-time all-conference golfer at North Lincoln High School.
“I still get a thrill from watching individual athletes grow and get better at their sport,” he adds. “That’s a very rewarding experience.”
Lackey’s best advice to novice coaches is two-part – always be loyal to your athletes and don’t dwell on a loss.
“You learn more from a loss than you do from a win – it’s just not as fun!”
Reflecting on his varied career, it’s clear he also followed his own wise life advice – to learn and experience everything you can. “You will be a better person for having done so!”
In 2021, Lackey won the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s Special Person award – honoring someone with at least 10 years experience in education and athletics, who is still active in the field, and who has routinely gone “above and beyond” for his athletes.
Well done, Coach Lackey – the guy you’ll find cheering for young athletes all around Lincoln County for many years to come!
