Nathan Padgett comes ‘home’ to Owen

Former football coach returns to alma mater in administrative role

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
July 24, 2024

Former Warhorse football coach and Owen graduate Nathan Padgett will return to his alma mater as an assistant principal in the 2024-25 school year. Courtesy photo

Owen homecomings are nothing new for Nathan Padgett, who graduated from the school in 1994 before returning two decades later to join the faculty and lead the Warhorse football team he once played for. 

“I bleed maroon and white,” said Padgett, who left his alma mater in 2021 for an administrative position at A.C. Reynolds High School. “I’m so happy to come back home.”

The Black Mountain native will transition back to Owen, Tuesday, Aug. 6, when he assumes the role of assistant principal and athletic administrator. Padgett, who will oversee ACCESS and AP testing and the Safe Schools initiative, joins principal Dawn Rookey and assistant principals Kim Mason and Sam McIntosh on the school’s administrative team.

The assignment, which comes as Padgett enters his 19th year as an educator with Buncombe County Schools, is an opportunity to serve his local community.

“Most people in the Swannanoa Valley know what an important role Owen plays in the lives of the children in this community,” he said. “In the back of my mind, I always wondered if I would ever have a chance to come back and make a difference. So, when (Buncombe County Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Jackson) asked me to come home, it felt like everything fell into place.”

Padgett began his educational career as a student-teacher and coach at Reynolds. He taught at Cane Creek Middle School and T.C. Roberson prior to 2015, when he was hired to succeed his former football coach, Kenny Ford, as a physical education and health teacher and Owen head football coach.

He accepted an assistant principal position at Reynolds before the 2021-22 school year, and he credits that experience with preparing him for his newest role.

“It’s bittersweet to leave Reynolds because I worked with so many great people there and built a lot of strong relationships in that community,” Padgett said. “I learned a lot in my three years there and I’m looking forward to bringing some of that back to Owen.”

As a former Owen student-athlete and coach, Padgett will lend his familiarity to the school’s search for a new athletic director.

“My heart has always been in Owen Athletics, whether it was when I was a student or coach,” he said. “Getting the opportunity to come back with a chance to make a difference for all of our men’s and women’s sports is a huge honor. We have a rich tradition of athletic excellence at Owen, and that’s something I want to preserve and build on.”

Representing the community on the field or court has bonded generations of Swannanoa Valley children, he added.

“Growing up here, we always had a lot of pride when wearing that Owen uniform and representing the Valley,” Padgett said. “That shared sense of pride played a big role in shaping the school’s culture, and I want current Warhorses and Warlassies to experience the same things I did when I was a student here. I want to create an atmosphere that our student-athletes, coaches and community can support and take pride in.”

The process of turning that vision into reality requires stability, he added.

“We’ve had some turnover at Owen in the past few years, with our administration and our athletic programs, so it’s important we reinforce that foundation,” Padgett said. “Doing my part to add to the stability of the school, culture and athletic programs is probably my top priority as I get back to campus. I want to help all of our students, faculty and coaches, however I can.”

As he prepares for what he hopes will be his final Owen homecoming, Padgett is eager to return to the school.

“I’m really looking forward to wearing maroon and white to work again,” he said. “I hope this is the final stop of my professional career, because there is no place I’d rather be.”