Sports

LIGHTNING PHOTOS: Kiwanis All Stars

Hendersonville High School’s Womens Volleyball team took the 2013 State Championship.

By Bill Moss, Published: December 18, 2013

Paul Bagwell recalled a startling feature about Glenn Marlow, who was Henderson County schools superintendent when Bagwell coached and taught at West Henderson High School.

"I remember his piercing blue eyes," Bagwell said. "He could get to the point pretty quickly and sometimes he did. But it was deserved."
The Hendersonville Kiwanis Club honored Bagwell last week as the 15th winner of the Glenn C. Marlow Athletic Achievement Award, which recognizes coaches and teachers for athletics, community service and their role in developing young people in a positive way.
A native of Fletcher and graduate of Hendersonville High School, Bagwell earned a degree in psychology from Wofford College. He taught and coached at West Henderson for 30 of his 34 years in the school system.
"I always enjoyed being around Paul and hearing his stories about coaching," said Rick Wood, who emceed the program. Wood and Bagwell were coaches at WHHS together for 11 years. "He seemed to know everyone."
In 12 years as head basketball coach at West, Bagwell won 130 games and four conference championships.
"In the 1970s, West had some good teams and had their fair share of success against rival Owen High School," Wood said. "I think Paul has a better record against Coach Williams than many ACC coaches."
Known by students and players as Coach Bags, Bagwell had a positive mark on kids.
"He exemplified fairness, dedication, passion and genuine love for the student athletes he taught and coached," Wood said.
Dottie Marlow Kinlaw, the guest speaker and daughter of Glenn Marlow, said her dad was "probably a very competitive person because he was one of 10 children. He was born during the Depression and back then you had to work hard for everything you got."
"He always knew what an important role athletics played in the education process," she said. "He always provided opportunities to participate because he saw that athletics could transform a student's life and build character in ways that would help them their entire lives."