As football is a way of life for many around Wando’s campus, what many are not used to is the changing of the guard. After a very unexpected resignation by previous head football coach, Jimmy Noonan, Wando was left with a big hole to fill at the head coach position.
The man to fill that role is newly appointed Wando head football coach, Rocco Adrian, who has had lots of time in different football environments.

“I started coaching in 1999, at Christ Church Apiscabal Church…” Coach Adrian said.
“I coached college football for a couple of years: three at Furman…, North Greenwood for a year, and coached a couple of years at Gardner Webb and then got here at Wando.”

Coach Adrian looks to use his extensive knowledge as a football coach and will use it to develop the football players at Wando.

“We have to make sure we have fun and at the same time we are teaching the values that we want young men to learn,” he said in a telephone interview.

For Coach Adrian, football was instilled into his life at a very early age.

“My dad was a college football coach for 40 years, so I spent a lot of time either Saturdays or Friday nights on a football field,” Coach Adrian said.

With several years of experience in the football atmosphere, Coach Adrian looks to lead the Warriors’ football team in a new path. He believes football to be a family atmosphere and that your family is a big part of being able to coach.

“If you’re married you have to have a great wife and I’m fortunate enough that I do because there is a lot that is thrown on them because of how much time you spend on them doing football or away from home,” Coach Adrian said. “You always want to make football a family atmosphere.”

Even with the recurring problems of the COVID-19 pandemic, Coach Adrian is ready to start training for next year’s football season as soon as possible.

“That’s what we are trying to figure out. We have to find out what the state allows us to do and we have to find out what the high school league allows us to do,” Coach Adrian said. “The best thing to do is to do what we are allowed to do without breaking any rules… and just trying to control the things we can control.”