South Georgia - In The Game High School Sports Magazine

Ware County High head basketball coach Ed Dowling has done just about everything a high school coach can do. He’s coached, in one fashion or another, for 38 years — 10 in private school and 28 in the public school system — and he’s had success in every sport at every level.

These days, Dowling coaches the men’s varsity squad at Ware County, a position he took over last year, and also coaches the defensive line for the varsity football team. Just a few minutes before speaking to In The Game, Coach Dowling had wrapped up practice for the Gators’ first round play-off game against Evans (which they won 18-14) and was also looking a few weeks ahead to basketball season.

That’s that way it’s been for much of Coach Dowling’s career. He’s a coach’s coach. Dowling has, at one time or another, coached football, baseball, basketball, soccer and even track and field. His depth of knowledge spans a variety of sports, and his love for athletics and the kids who participate has paved the way for success no matter where he’s been.

Coach Dowling was born in Waycross but grew up in South Carolina. After finishing high school, Coach Dowling was taken in the Major League Baseball draft. Knowing he would need something besides baseball in the future, his parents encouraged him to attend college. He obliged, and accepted a baseball scholarship at Charleston Southern. He earned his undergraduate degree from Baptist College of South Carolina, and then obtained a Master’s degree from Moorehead State University in Kentucky. After he earned his Master’s, he returned to Waycross and landed a job at Southwood School. While there, he won five state soccer championships and two basketball state titles.

Coach Dowling left Southwood in 1982 and went to work at Pierce County High, where he coached basketball and baseball. After five years at Pierce, he left for Waycross, where he remained until consolidation. With the Bulldogs, Dowling served as an assistant football and basketball coach, and head baseball coach. “I was younger then and could coach three sports,” he laughs.

After all these years, he considers basketball his favorite of them all. “I played football in high school and baseball in college. I love them both. I’ve always been a position coach in football, and I’ve fit in well defensively with every head coach we’ve had. But I really love basketball,” he says.

In his career, he’s worked with some of the best coaches in the area, most notably E.B. Price, who is among a select group of  basketball  coaches  who

have won at least 500 games. Coach Dowling worked with Price at Waycross, and then moved with him to Ware County when the two systems consolidated in the mid-1990s. “I hated Ware County for 19 years. Now, I wear that green Gator outfit every day,” he laughs. “But I don’t look at the colors of a uniform. I look at the kids.”

In the years he has been coaching, Dowling has enjoyed being an assistant. He hasn’t wanted to deal with the headaches that come with a head coaching job. He had plenty of head coaching experience at Southland and with the Pierce and Waycross baseball teams. He’s wanted to leave the paperwork, phone calls and eligibility forms to someone else. He just wants to coach. But when the head coaching position at Ware opened up last year, he felt like the time was right to take over the program.

Ware had experienced some success in recent years. The Gators had enjoyed two 18-win seasons prior to last season, but the team had also experienced some instability at head coach. When Coach Dowling saw the job would be open for the 2008-2009 season, he decided to seek the position. He got the job, but knew he had his work cut out for him. “The program was weak when I got it. We had several freshmen starting and we were inexperienced. But we were in every game we played. Our guys played well, but just couldn’t finish games,” he says. 

This season, those freshmen are sophomores, and they’ll again be starting. “We’re still young, but we should be good. When these guys are seniors, we’ll be very good,” he says.

The 2009-2010 Gators are led by 6’6” forward Quentin Edwards, who is one of those sophomores, and Jimmy Wilkins, a senior who possesses an excellent shot from just about anywhere on the court. Coach Dowling believes Edwards will be a bona fide Division I prospect and says Wilkins is getting some looks from a few colleges as well. Edwards can be as good as he wants to be, and his combination of size and sheer athleticism creates nightmares for opponents.

So after all these years of coaching, Dowling is helping to rebuild a program he’s coached, in one way or another, for 12 years. It’s a real challenge, made even more difficult by the distractions he has to compete with just to get players on the court. “Kids don’t have fun playing outside anymore. They all have trucks and money in their pockets. When I was growing up, I had a choice — play ball or work. I played ball. It’s not that way now. There’s just too much to deal with,” he says.

The distractions keep kids from making commitments and putting in the time it takes to become great players. “They won’t commit to anything these days. Competition should be fun; it’s what drives people to succeed. But today, competition is looked at as adversity. Kids miss practice and expect to play. And I’ve seen some great athletes not make it because they wouldn’t make a commitment,” he says.

Coach Dowling’s goal is teach his athletes about life — the hard work and discipline that lead to success on the field or court also lead to success in school, in the job market, and in life. He’s coached a few players who have gone on and played at the Division I level and beyond − the most notable example is Leodis McKelvin, a cornerback and punt returner with the Buffalo Bills. But players like McKelvin aren’t what build a program. “Those guys rarely come along. It’s the kids who go out every day and work hard in practice, then play their guts out in games who are fun to coach. We’ve had thousands of those players.  They’re the ones who come back to Ware County and set up businesses or get jobs locally. They’re the booster club members and the ones in the community who support the program. I don’t want a kid to stay in Waycross and not get involved in the program because he had a bad experience with athletics,” says Coach Dowling. He’s put his money where his mouth is regarding keeping former players involved in the program; all of his assistant coaches are former players.

He’s an old-school coach who believes in giving everything for the program. His coaching philosophy isn’t complicated, and it’s not very sophisticated. Success boils down to hard work and a desire to win. It’s that simple. “I’m trying to get the fundamentals, discipline, and a love of the game back in the program. Those are lost characteristics these days,” he muses.

As much as Coach Dowling loves his job, he doesn’t want to do it forever. In fact, he doesn’t plan on doing it much longer at all. “Two more years for sure. Last year, I told the freshman I would stay with them until they graduated. If I stay longer than two years, I won’t coach basketball and football, just basketball. I’m seriously considering retirement in two years. But I won’t go away. I’ll be one of the fans in the stands cheering and yelling and causing trouble,” he chuckles. •