Laddie Lawrence has been teaching at Staples since before Steve Jobs founded Apple and coaching at Staples since before the moon landing. He met fellow P.E. teacher and Staples alum Bruce Betts before the Kennedy assassination, and the two have shared an office since the Reagan presidency.
And yet, after retiring from a teaching career that spanned nearly half a century, Lawrence has yet to sleep in past 8:30 a.m. Ever.
“It was the day after the FCIAC championships,” the varsity track coach explained. “Mostly I’ve been getting up at six, which is actually late for me.”
Lawrence stopped teaching physical education and fitness concepts classes before the start of second semester, the culmination of a retirement process that began at the end of last year. However, the longtime coach will still remain a fixture in the community, as he has no intentions of leaving his job with the track team anytime soon.
“I plan on coaching for as long as I can do the job,” he said. “We like to joke that someday they’ll be wheeling me out to practice.”
Members of the team reacted positively to Lawrence’s retirement, expressing hope that the team will improve as a result of Lawrence’s ability to spend more time preparing for meets.
“We know Laddie’s really looking forward to his time off, and with a little more focus, the team will hit the next level,” co-captain Walker Marsh ‘13 said.
Added co-captain Henry Wynne ’13, “We’ll rocket-ship our way to the top.”
Runner Max Kurzner ’13 was also glad to know that Lawrence would remain coaching after concluding his teaching career.
“It’s nice that he’s still around and a part of the community,” Kurzner said.
Principal John Dodig spoke glowingly of Lawrence as well. Dodig has only been at Staples for eleven years, a fourth of Lawrence’s tenure, but it wasn’t too long before he came to understand how Lawrence became an icon in the community.
“He’s a mensch,” said Dodig. “He’s a terrific coach, but most importantly, he’s a good person.”
Although his 44 years as a coach have led to many great moments on the track, Lawrence said that the most wonderful experience in his time at Staples has little to do with the sport or with teaching.
In 1991, Lawrence’s wife fell ill and required an extensive stay in the hospital. Medical bills quickly piled up. But the Westport community, led by a group of Staples students, raised $80,000 to pay for her care.
“You know the movie It’s a Wonderful Life? I’ve lived it,” he said.
Choking up, he then added, “Except I had a whole army of angels.”
But while that one particularly moving tale stood out to him as the highlight of his tenure, Lawrence has loved just about every minute of his time as a teacher and a coach, which he described as his dream job.
“Staples has been an absolutely fantastic place to work,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better career. I’ll miss this place.”
