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PINETOWN, N.C. — How do you wrap 30 years of memories, accomplishments and other good times into one story? Boyd “Pooh” Woolard has a lot of them.

Woolard, who spent most of his career at Northeast Elementary School, retired after the 2023-24 year. He was a teacher, coached nearly every sport and even showcased his woodworking skills to build benches, the football press box, a trophy case and other landmarks now at the school.

There are all the students he coached, taught and worked with, some who became very popular like NFL legend C.J. Wilson and NBA superstar Bam Adebayo. Still, there are so many others he’ll see and chat with when at the grocery store or while running other errands.

“Coach Woolard dedicated his life and career to teaching and coaching students at Northeast Elementary,” school principal Paula Sherman said. “His organization, dependability, and good reputation helped make our athletic program at Northeast so successful. His rapport with students always demanded his respect in a caring yet fun way. His commitment to Northeast goes beyond words.”

Woolard’s reach and impact within the community are vast — a swath that covers more than just the Belhaven, Pinetown and Bath area. He may not remember all of their names right away, but he’ll never forget his time spent with them.

“The funny thing is, especially when my kids were younger, it didn’t matter where we went in Beaufort County, somebody would say ‘Hey Coach Woolard,” he said. “And my kids are like, “Do you know everybody?’ Anywhere I go now, I go through the fast food line, they’re like, ‘Hey, Coach Woolard,’ and they reach through the window and hug you.

“I mean, you’re always going to be Coach Woolard, and I enjoy that probably the best.”

Woolard graduated from UNC Wilmington, taught at Pungo Christian Academy in 1995 and helped coach Northside’s junior varsity team in 1994 and 1995. He then became a teacher at Belhaven Junior High School in 1996 and 1997 … a period when the school flooded twice due to Hurricane Bertha and Hurricane Fran.

“All the sports equipment … all the stuff was just like … we look like the Little Rascals when we went out to play,” Boyd said. “We had one pair of football pants and like several mismatched jerseys.

“During the actual school year, we had Tropical Storm Josephine, and water was running down the hallways. The dumpster behind the cafeteria floated onto the football field.”

That led to trailers at Northside, where the school split time so they’d have a place to have class time before those trailers were installed.

“Northside would go in the mornings and then we’d go to school from 12 to 4,” Woolard said. “Northside got out at 12 and then we’d use their school from 12 to 4. Then the following, the next four years, we were trailers on part of Northside.”

During one of the baseball seasons, Woolard had a routine he had to follow each morning. He’d load all the equipment into his truck at home, take it to Northside, load it onto a bus and drive to Belhaven to practice. Then he’d have to do it all again to get the equipment back home only to do it all again the next day.

“And that’s how I kept baseball and softball alive those four years,” he said.

Northeast Elementary was built and opened not long after that. Woolard helped the school choose its mascot and colors. He wanted something besides the Belhaven red, loved Columbia Blue and thought a nickname like Bull Sharks would be cool. Instead, the school became the Cougars.

“The student body voted for Cougars. So I did get to pick the colors,” Woolard said with a smile.

Woolard said he and Louis Paul worked days, weekends and other times, to get the fields seeded and set for play. They’d also put together the bleachers — seven sets — so fans would have a place to sit when watching games. When they needed a press box for the football field, he and his father, Jasper Woolard, worked to put that together from money the new booster club raised.

“Jerry Boyd down here was building his house,” Woolard said. “And so I got centipede plugs from his house, put them on a flat trailer.

“And me and two of my students from Northeast, we’d go out there and plug centipede and spray them down with water hose for about two Saturdays in a row. And I’d take them out to eat at Andy’s and buy cheeseburgers and stuff.”

When things needed to be done, he got them done. That included building a trophy case when his work on the field resulted in success there and off the field.

“His rapport with students always demanded his respect in a caring yet fun way,” Sherman said. “His commitment to Northeast goes beyond words. Coach Woolard built and established a solid athletic program where our students excelled in sports and academics. The hours he spent serving our school in the athletic department goes beyond record.”

Woolard remembered a time when Adebayo was becoming a name playing basketball (he also played football and baseball). A child younger than Bam wanted his autograph and Bam wasn’t sure what to do. Woolard said Adebayo was humble and didn’t want to come across as someone bigger than himself or as a ball hog on the court.

“I mean, when he was in 7th grade, little kindergarten kids at St. Peter’s came up and wanted his autograph,” Woolard said. ‘We know you’re going to the NBA. Can you give us your autograph?’

“He’s like, ‘Coach, what do I do?’ “I’m like, ‘Well, sign it. Enjoy it.’ He’s like, ‘I don’t want anybody to think I’m a ball hog.’ I said, “You go ahead and play. And once we get a lead, we’ll tone it down a little bit.”

Woolard talked about what a big impact the administrators made who came and went from Northeast. He said they expressed some of the same passion he had for the school and students.

“And all of my administrators I’ve had have been very, very supportive with that. And they’ve helped me out a lot with that,” Woolard said.

He’s a big collector and has countless items he’s picked up along the way. There’s the many glasses with everything from the Smurfs to Bugs Bunny. He’s also big into finding things with his metal detector and even found a class ring in Hyde County that was lost by another person. When he’s not doing all of that, he and Boyd are involved in a tree service.

But it’s those students that bring back all the good memories, many he vividly recalled and shared when asked about his time in teaching. He’s collected a lot of memories along the way, many of which he loves showing off, just like the collectibles and other things he enjoys now.

“In his 29 years in education, he coached three sports for at least 15 of those years,” Sherman said. “His commitment every afternoon helped him develop priceless relationships with students, staff and people in the community. Without a doubt, he is one of the best and will be greatly missed.”