Photo by Brian Hoffman
Former Cave Spring and William Fleming head football coach Nick Leftwich has landed the highly prized top position at Lord Botetourt High School. Leftwich was named the new head coach by Botetourt County Public Schools last week, replacing Jamie Harless who has moved on to coach at Union High School after 14 winning seasons at LB.
“This was a very tough decision, we had close to 20 people apply for this job,” said Lord Botetourt High School Athletic Director Tim Fulton. “I was thrilled with the talent of the pool of applicants. Coach Harless has turned this into a very desirable job, and I don’t think that was the case when he took over 14 years ago. We needed to hire a coach with experience to run this program and Nick did a great job with his interviews.”
Leftwich is leaving a Fleming program that he took over in 2022 that had one winning season in the previous eight years with a record of 26-45. In his three years as head coach, the Colonels were 27-11 and made the Class 5 playoffs all three years with a 5-3 post-season record.
“It was tough to leave Fleming, but I look at this as a unique opportunity,” said Leftwich. “Coach Harless has established this program into one of the best in the area. The community is very supportive, the school is very supportive, and I’m excited about this opportunity.”
Nick comes from a football family. His dad, Jeff Leftwich, was an assistant coach in Franklin County, Northside, and in Salem where he was on Don Holter’s staff when the Spartans won the state championship in the 2021 spring COVID season.
Nick grew up in Salem and was the starting quarterback his senior year when the Spartans won their first 12 games before losing to a strong Amherst County team in the playoffs. Stephen Magenbauer was the first year Salem coach when Nick was a freshman, one of many talented coaches Nick has crossed paths with.
“He’s been a great mentor,” said Leftwich.
Nick went on to play college ball at UVA-Wise. He played for three years before injuries took him off the field, but that proved to be a blessing in disguise as he served as a student assistant coach his senior year, graduating in 2012.
Magenbauer grabbed Nick for the Salem staff in the winter of 2013. He went through two weeks of two-a-days with Salem that August before he got a call from Michael Williams at Graham who offered him a position in Bluefield.
“Salem didn’t have a teaching job for me and Coach Williams offered me a full-time job, so I had to take it,” said Leftwich.
Nick coached for two years under Williams, then two years under Tony Palmer, who would coach Graham to four state championship games, winning three. Palmer is still the coach at Graham.
After leaving Graham, Nick coached at Tazewell for two years, then had the opportunity to move back to the Roanoke Valley when Fleming coach Jamar Lovelace offered him a position in 2019. He coached defensive backs and weight training while teaching at Breckenridge Middle School.
“It was a chance to move home,” he said.
The next break came when Fulton, who is now athletic director at Lord Botetourt High, resigned his position as head football coach at Cave Spring. Nick applied for the job and was hired. In Nick’s first season the Knights went 6-5 and made the playoffs. He coached one more season at Cave Spring, in 2022, but then Lovelace left Fleming for E.C. Glass and Nick was hired by Roanoke City to return to Fleming as head coach of the Colonels. Three successful years later he finds himself in Daleville, where he met the players on Monday and is going about assembling his staff.
One person he knows will be on the staff will be his dad, Jeff Leftwich. Jeff retired from coaching after Salem won the state championship in the spring of 2021, but just three weeks later he came out of retirement when Nick was hired at Cave Spring.
“He’s been on my staff for the past five years and he’s my defensive coordinator,” said Nick. “We’re both excited about this opportunity. Cave Spring was a great spot and Fleming was a great spot, but this just seems like the perfect fit.”
Nick will be a health and physical education teacher at Lord Botetourt. He lives in Roanoke County, a 20-minute drive to Lord Botetourt if the traffic’s light, with his wife Caroline and 22-month-old son Miles. Caroline (Hall) was a cheerleader at Salem when Nick was the quarterback of the team.
Nick will finish out the school year at Fleming but he’ll be spending a lot of time at LB in the weight room, getting to know the school and players. William Fleming is in the Blue Ridge District so Nick played against the Cavaliers, but it’s not like being on the same sideline.
“When I was at Cave Spring and Fleming we focused more on what we were doing than what the other team was doing,” he said. “We prepared for the other team but it was more about us. They were going to have to beat us.”
And, although he’s getting a lot of congratulatory calls and attention this week, he wants to make it clear that Lord Botetourt football isn’t going to be about him.
“I told the players this program is about them,” he said. “Not to sound morbid, but I could die tomorrow and there would still be Lord Botetourt football. It’s not about me, it’s about them.”
