Coach Craig Leonard remembered fondly by friends, former players and colleagues
The northwest Georgia community lost another outstanding coach, mentor, motivator and friend with the passing of Marvin “Craig” Leonard on Sunday, Aug, 25.
Leonard, 73, a native of Paducah, Ky. And a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, was a teacher and coach for 33 years with stops at Valley Head (Ala.) High School, Osborn Elementary, LFO High School, Gordon Lee Middle and High Schools and Rossville Middle and High Schools. He most recently coached boys’ basketball at Rossville Middle.
Friends, colleagues, former players and parents of recent players showed outpourings of love and respect for Leonard on social media following his passing.
“We will miss Coach Leonard at Rossville Middle School,” RMS Athletic Director David Stoker said. “He cared so deeply for his community, all of our students, our athletes and our entire staff. He was passionate about his family, his faith and his teams. Coach Leonard was generous with his time, his resources, his knowledge and his love for our entire Rossville community.”
Ridgeland boys’ basketball head coach and Rossville Elementary Assistant Principal Matt King said the passing of Leonard was the loss of a “staple” of the Rossville community.
“He did so much for our school throughout the years,” King added. “He will truly be missed.”
Those who knew him best spoke of his support for all of his players and students and of his never-ending desire to help those less fortunate. A member McFarland United Methodist Church, the Walker County Retired Educators Association and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Coaching Association, Leonard was a fixture in the area, helping those in need and always asking if he could do more.
Lookout Mountain FCA Area Director Greg Spradlin said he first met Leonard back in the 1990’s as he taught and coach with Leonard at Gordon Lee. Spradlin said he was “thankful” to be able to have the opportunity to reconnect with Leonard in recent years.
“When God spared his life through a liver transplant, it ignited a huge desire in him to do all he could for his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Spradlin explained. “He was on fire, organizing prayer walks at the Rossville area schools, assisting with community outreaches, volunteering with the FCA, teaching Sunday School and impacting some additional young lives by coaching again at Rossville Middle School. He was so determined to utilize his second chance to share the love of Christ. I will miss him dearly. He was a great example of how to ‘live like you are dying’.”
But as big of a heart as Leonard had for others, it was also the heart of a fiery competitor who demanded the best from his players.
Former players spoke of Leonard’s ability to instill the drive to succeed in his athletes and how he could be a tough disciplinarian and still love his players deeply. They also spoke of his intensity, especially in pregame locker room speeches, and those who coached against “Big Daddy” – as he was known in coaching circles – talked about how his teams were always prepared and always played as hard as Leonard coached.
Kristen Bradley said she first met Leonard when he coached her brother, Chip, at RMS. She also knew him during her time as a student at Rossville High, but really got to know him when he asked her to be his assistant coach at Gordon Lee High.
“(It was) one of the biggest honors in my life when I received a call from him asking me if I would want to help him coach the girls’ basketball team,” Bradley recalled. “He had never coached girls before and, being my first year out of college, I had never ‘really’ coached basketball before, so he taught me a lot about coaching and I taught him a lot about coaching girls. We always joked that we were not sure who learned the most during that time.
“Shortly after that season, he became the boys’ head coach and I took over the girls’ team, so we continued to spend lots of time together and he became one of the best friends I’ve ever had, as well as one of the most special people I have ever had in my life.”
Bradley said Leonard “absolutely loved the game of basketball” and was always studying the game to learn more and better himself as a coach. She also talked about how wrapped up in the moment he would get during games.
“He would jump, stomp, yell and get completely involved in the game…like he was giving everything he had inside of him to the kids playing that game,” she added. “During talks after games, his voice would start shaking and he would get choked up sometimes because the game and the kids meant that much to him.
“He gave everything he had to the game, the kids and the school and he expected the same from his players and anyone else in his life. You always knew he loved you and he loved you with everything he had. He loved the game, he loved his family, he loved his friends and he loved Jesus and he made sure you knew it. He was just a great man and I will miss him terribly.”
Another person who came to know and work with Leonard over the years was Lance James, who heads up the North Georgia Athletic Conference for local middle school athletics.
“When Coach Leonard became the coach at Rossville Middle School a few years ago, he used to call me about the rules a lot,” James said. “I appreciated his phone calls because he foremost wanted to follow the rules and he wanted his kids to get better. He never hung up without thanking me, even if it wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. He made our middle school league better. We have lost a true teacher when it comes to giving to kids. A lot of people will miss him greatly and I’m one of those.”