Springwood School announces the hiring of Coach Steve Pardue of LaGrange, GA. Coach Pardue joins the school as Director of Athletics and Head Football Coach. Carson Champion, a Springwood School junior who participates in cheer and softball, said, "I am excited to see the transformation Coach Pardue will make at Springwood with athletics. Eager to see him join the Springwood family!"
"We are honored to welcome a man with Coach Pardue's commitment to family, dedication to hard work, and student-athletes at our school", said Springwood School in a press release.
Among his many accomplishments, Steve Pardue was named the 2010 AAA Coach of the Decade by Georgia High School Daily Report. In 2003, he won the Touchdown Club of Atlanta's Wright Bazemore All-Classification Coach of the Year Award, named for Valdosta High School's long-time, 14-time State Championship Coach. Coach Pardue is also a Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame member, inducted in 2020.
A native of Hopkinsville, KY, Coach Pardue played football at Christian County High School under KHSAA Hall of Fame coach Fred Clayton. Pardue played on the offensive line at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN, and got his master's degree at West Georgia College in Carrollton, GA.
Coach Pardue's coaching career began in 1985 at Fayette County High School in Fayetteville, GA, in football and baseball. In 1986, Pardue coached at Albertville High School in Alabama before moving home to Kentucky as Head Football Coach at Crittenden County High School in Marion, KY.
In 1991, Coach Pardue moved to LaGrange, GA, coaching outside linebackers at LaGrange High School. During his first season with the Grangers, they won the state championship and were declared National Champions by USA Today. Pardue then coached the offensive line and was defensive coordinator before taking over as Head Coach in 1994. At LaGrange High, Pardue also served as Assistant Athletic Director and Physical Education Department building a football program with a 78% winning percentage, eight Region Championships, and three State Championships.
After LaGrange High School, Pardue coached football at the University of Kentucky, East Coweta High School in Sharpsburg, GA, and LaGrange College before retiring in 2018.
"We are thrilled Coach Pardue chose to come out of his retirement to join Springwood School. Enthusiasm for his hiring is widespread. It is great to welcome the coach to the Springwood family. With his Hall of Fame accomplishments, we look forward to renewed energy and leadership in our athletic department. Go Wildcats!" said Chattahoochee Valley Educational Foundation Board Chair Sykes Smith.
Lowrie McCown, Springwood's Head of School, shares Mr. Smith's excitement. "Coach
Pardue understands how to build a culture that teaches student-athletes how to achieve and perform at their highest level. He will not only bring his attention to detail and his love
for developing student-athletes, but he will focus on mentoring our entire coaching staff.
We are excited that Coach Pardue has chosen Springwood School as his next opportunity to
develop young men and women of impact."
Coach Pardue's wife, Pam, teaches fourth grade at Springwood School. They have two children, Morgan Tomberlin, an administrative nurse at Emory Clark Holder Clinic, and Chas Pardue, is a teacher, and coach at Dunbar High School in Lexington, KY. They also have two grandchildren: Mason, eight years old, and Bennett, four years old.
Coach Pardue will begin his tenure at Springwood School on Monday, March 21, 2022.
