In the Corner with Coach Atwood: Lee Lawson- NC’s Nationally Renowned Tournament Director
North Carolina is truly a blessed wrestling state. In our history, we have had some tremendous success stories often overlooked or forgotten about behind the debates that rage within the wrestling community. Success stories like Tab Thacker (NCAA National Champion), Sara McMann (Olympic Silver Medalist), and Michael Macchiavello (NCAA National Champion) are examples of nationally recognized wrestling personalities that have graced the mats in North Carolina. There are others for sure, and one of them is someone everyone should have a true appreciation for, Lee Lawson.
Some involved in the NC Wrestling Community may have a hard time understanding just how fortunate the wrestling community is to have someone of Lee’s stature. To help you understand, I’m going to harken back to the period when there was no other off-season form of competition offered in North Carolina other than Freestyle and Greco (1980s-2000).
The fundamental reason for what I refer to as “The Breakoff” that took place within the pre-season and off-season competition seasons offered in NC was the extremely poor way many pre/off-season wrestling tournaments were ran from the 1980s-2000. The primary focus of “The Breakoff” was to provide the opportunity for NC wrestlers to compete in folkstyle events that were ran efficiently with the goal being to finish wrestling as quickly as possible. Gone were the days of 100 or less wrestlers showing and not finishing until after dark.
Lee Lawson is a lifelong resident of Stokes County. Born in 1972 to Virgil and Lois Lawson, Lee grew up in Walnut Cove. They were a middle-class family living in a small farm town, which was also the place where the first girl who ever broke poor ol’ Coach Atwood’s heart lived.
On growing up Lee commented, “I don’t really think we were poor as other people had harder times than we did. We were not rolling in money either.” Lee’s parents had 3 kids total (all boys). Lee’s brothers are Ricky and Jerry. Additionally, Lee’s father had 4 other kids from a previous marriage while he lived in Texas (2 boys and 2 girls). They are Wayne, Richard, Carol , and Kathy.
Lee joined the wrestling team at Southeastern Middle School where he was blessed to wrestle for Ronnie Mendenhall, who would go on to become an outstanding official and eventually Superintendent of Stokes County Schools. The Assistant Coach at SEMS was Jimmy Via, who is the son of Joe Via, the long-time head coach at South Stokes and namesake for the annual December memorial tournament held at South Stokes.
In high school, Lee would continue to be coached by genuine coaching legends, Rick Williams and Dean Smith. These two coaches would lead South Stokes to perhaps the best run they ever had. Lee was a member of the team from 1988-90. The Sauras during those years truly brought the heat and would win many tournament titles along the way including multiple conference and regional championships. On his high school wrestling career, Lee stated, “I was solid in high school. Better than .500. Nothing super great in stats.”
If Lee wasn’t wrestling or in school, he was working. Living on a farm required many hours working from all family members. Lee would perform those tasks, and he would do something many other farm boys did in NC, prime tobacco.
Lee graduated in 1990. Immediately, he joined the work force. He has held three jobs since graduation. They are as follows:
Thomasville Furniture 1990-99
Sara Lee Corporation 1999-2004
American Red Cross 2004-current
Regarding his time at American Red Cross, Lee commented, “I have had a few awards at the Red Cross. The one that was the most special to me was the Employee Excellence Award that was nominated by a coworker and good friend, Greg Caudle.”
Life became real for Lee and his eventual wife, Jeanette, in 1993. The couple had their first child, Brandon. It was Brandon who would eventually bring Lee back into wrestling.
Jeanette and Lee were married in 1995 and have now been married 29 years.
Fast forward to the year 2001. A chance run-in with a former teammate sparked the desire for Lee to get back into wrestling. Lee stated, “After I graduated and got started with my life, I had a trip to one of the events we had attended when I was in school and ran into Jason Hooker. Jason was coaching at Mt. Tabor with Maurice Atwood at the time. Jason invited me to come out to the club workouts with my son Brandon. I went once and that was the beginning of the story for me. I spent many days and nights working and coaching at Mt Tabor from 2001 to 2007.”
The first conversation I ever had with Lee was over the phone. I was working in my office at Mt. Tabor and Lee called introducing himself. Said he wanted to be a part of the coaching staff at Mt. Tabor and that Jason told him he also needed to speak to me since he and I were Co-Coaches. More than anything, Lee wanted to get involved to reacquaint himself with the sport and help in any way possible.
At the time, due to “The Breakoff” Mt. Tabor was hosting a plethora of pre-season, off-season and other non-school affiliated tournaments, so I asked Lee if he would also be interested in learning how to run a tournament. He agreed. Thus, Lee began the early start of his wrestling tournament directing career. In asking Lee about this, he stated, “I will definitely give the credit for learning how to run an event to Maurice Atwood. He taught me the skills of how to run an event before the computer was even a thing we used. PAPER AND PENCIL!!! Old school!!” Those were the days.
In 2003, Lee and Jeanette had their second child, Cody. Regarding his family, Lee stated, “I have two sons Brandon (31) and Cody (21). Brandon is working doing home renovations and any other building needs. Brandon was a solid Wrestler at South Stokes and has been helping coach Team Tomahawk. Cody is now a full time Student at UNC-Chapel Hill. He had a very good wrestling career at South Stokes being a two-time Regional Champion and two-time State Runner up.”
Lee’s tournament directing career really took off in 2004 when he met a guy named Gary Brownell. Known much more affectionately as “Gimp” to the National Wrestling Community, Gimp is the Tournament Director for all the national events offered by the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA). At the time, Jason and I had a close-knit working relationship with the NHSCA that eventually lead to the NHSCA bringing their Pre-Season Nationals to Winston-Salem.
In 2004, Lee joined up with Gimp, and the NHSCA, to assist with running tournaments and from there the rest is history. On Gimp, Lee commented, “I met Gimp at a NHSCA pre-season national event that we hosted in Winston and then started working with him at events like the Super 32. I have been very fortunate to have met Gimp and had him be a part of my life. He is the GOAT!”
From 2004 to now here is a list of some well-known college and high school events Lee works with:
Appalachian State Open
Citadel Open (With Brad Foster)
Davidson Open
Southern Scuffle
Super 32
Early Entry Super 32
NCHSAA Regional Tournament
NCHSAA State Tournament
NHSCA High School Nationals (all divisions)
NHSCA National Duals
Mike Raybon Invitational
Quentin Crosby Invitational
Sarah Wilkes Invitational
In all, Lee is a part of nearly 40 wrestling events each year. Some he says are “mom and pop events here in NC” while others are very large events with some being local and others being national.
Along the way, some of the people Lee has worked with that he wanted to recognize are as follows:
Eric Hess- NHSCA Executive Director
Dave Barker- Super 32 Co-Founder
Sara Koenig- Super 32 Co-Founder
Todd Tilley- Tournament Director
Brad Foster- Tournament Director
Gimp (Gary Brownell)- Tournament Director
Desi Kaplan- Owner Kap Wrestling (runs largest wrestling events in the country)
Mike and Brandy Turner- Close friends and tournament conduction assistants
Lee added, “I currently help run several national events each year with a team of people that should be given credit that make this all happen every year. These are the people that have helped me grow and do the cool things I get to do.”
Lee considers The NC Wrestling Community to be a second family. Spending as much time as he does with wrestling it’s easy to see why. Lee stated, “Wrestling has been a second family for me. I enjoy the sport and the people I get to work with.”
Lee’s life away from work and wrestling would involve cars, building and repairing things (Lee enjoys working with his hands), family trips, and spending down time with his boys.
I requested comments from the following people about Lee and his commitment to providing quality tournaments for the events he directs. Here are their responses:
Gary “Gimp” Brownell- National Wrestling Tournament Director
“Lee and I go back twenty or so years. The one event I remember from early on was the Super 32. I had just started using EscapeSports myself. I was running the HS division and Lee was to run the Middle School which started later. I was running 20 mats basically on my own and Lee hadn't used the software yet. I didn't know he had to learn, and I didn't have time to teach him, so I looked at him and told him to watch and learn, if possible. Somehow, he did. He and I started running more and more events together- especially Super 32 and various NHSCA tournaments. These are among the largest in the country if not the world. Lee has taken over the personnel and planning aspects along with Dave and Sara at Super 32 and Eric Hess and the Ferraro’s at the NHSCA in addition to running the servers with Desi's crew.”
Eric Hess- Executive Director National High School Coaches Association
“Lee Lawson is integral to the success of NHSCA events, providing thousands of athletes from all 50 states the opportunity to compete at a national event in front of college coaches. He is a leader within our team who excels at bringing good people together to achieve our goal of providing these young athletes the best possible experience. I could speak endlessly about his organization and planning abilities, but that is only a fraction of Lee. He is a man of integrity and loyalty, who holds great respect for the characteristics of our great sport of wrestling. He is a humble man and prefers to let his work speak for itself, however if you look behind the scenes at most high-level wrestling events, you’ll often see Lee or someone he has trained putting in the work. He is a pillar of the wrestling community. The NHSCA is better because of Lee Lawson, and I am very proud to call him my friend.”
Dave Barker- Co-Founder Super 32
“Lee is a man of great loyalty and character whose dedication to the sport of wrestling is truly commendable. He has made a significant impact on the wrestling community, not only in NC, but nationally. On a personal level, Lee has helped elevate the Super 32. His dedication to the sport and his ability to foster a positive and competitive environment have been key factors in the tournament's success. Lee’s abilities make me proud to call him part of the Super 32 family.”
Chad Amos- Former teammate and current South Stokes Head Coach
“Lee Lawson has played a major role in the growth of wrestling for the state of North Carolina. If you want a tournament ran flawlessly, he’s the man. For as long as I can remember, Lee has ran our tournaments here at South Stokes. He’s done our high school tournaments and our off-season club tournaments. When other coaches know he’s the one running our tournaments, they know it will be a smooth day. What people don’t know about Lee is that he spends a lot of his time and money preparing for tournaments. He takes a lot of pride in his work. He truly loves the sport and what it does for the wrestlers and the wrestling community. If you want the truth, ask him, he won’t sugar coat it. Lee and I were teammates in high school and then I ended up coaching his sons. I consider it an honor to call him my friend.”
JohnMark Bentley- Appalachian State Head Coach
“I have known Lee as a great friend and outstanding advocate for the sport of wrestling for over a decade. He has been an integral part of the success of the Mountaineer Open and Appalachian Invitational. He’s the best in the best business when it comes to organization and running a quality wrestling tournament”
Jason Hooker- Former teammate and current West Forsyth Head Coach
“A true friend that will always shoot it to you straight. Lee has always been there for so many in the sport of wrestling and life in general. He has worked hard to improve the way tournaments are ran in our area to give the wrestlers and fans a great experience. I have known Lee for over 34 years. His character and his perseverance are a true testament of the man he is. We have had our disagreements and arguments but have held onto our friendship with forgiveness. I am glad I get to call him a friend and I am proud of all of his accomplishments and where he is in life. Lee has not always been given the best situations (the best hand) to start off with, but he has always worked hard to improve and make everything better never giving up or backing down.”
Tony Hairston- Former teammate and current Wheatmore Assistant Coach
“When we think of Lee, we often think of the local, state and national tournaments that he runs with such precision. When I think of Lee, I see joy. He brings that joy with him to everything he does in life, helping others, and advancing the sport of wrestling. After you talk to Lee, you're guaranteed to walk away smiling and laughing. It has been an honor to be around this joy for 35 plus years.”
Jeanette Lawson- Lee’s wife
“Lee enjoys the opportunity he has to play a role in helping kids receive all they earn in the sport, ensuring they have the ability to compete at a high level and learn the most that they can.”
Brandon Lawson- Lee’s oldest son
“My dad instilled in me the love of wrestling, but not only that, he used wrestling to teach me dedication, perseverance, respect, and discipline. It’s the one thing him and I share that can never be taken from us. I only hope I can be the type of father to instill such incredible traits in my son one day.”
Cody Lawson- Lee’s youngest son
“It’s very rare to find someone personable who can handle anything coming at them; whether that be on a small scale or managing a team that puts on a 65-mat tournament. No one truly understands the time that goes on behind the scenes year-round to regulate the crew and prepare for changes and the process at that large of an event.”
From the small towns to the bright lights of the big cities, Lee has provided excellent tournament conduction for hundreds of tournaments over the past 23 years. He has evolved from novice to guru and in the process helped North Carolina develop some of the most efficient non-school affiliated tournaments anyone can participate in. A family man with a tell it like it is personality, Lee Lawson represents the North Carolina Wrestling Community with a high degree of respect and honor year after year and national event after national event. The next time you see Lee congratulate him for becoming a true national presence on behalf of North Carolina wrestling.
Until next time…
Coach Atwood-XX