October 12, 2016
By KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
Rutherford County Schools
Tom Nolan still remembers the morning after a long night of preparing for his first English lecture.
It was 36-years-ago, in August 1980, and yet the images and sounds of his first day at Riverdale High School are as readily available at the forefront of his treasure trove of memories as if it had been two months ago.
Unlike a lot of football coaches at the time, Nolan said he was “smart enough to have an English degree,” and Riverdale’s first varsity football coach, Phil Watts, knew it.
Watts had a head coaching position open for the freshman team, but there were no physical education openings. Nolan’s older brother, Ken – then principal at crosstown rival Oakland High School – reminded Watts that his brother had majored in English at Middle Tennessee State University.
Riverdale also had an opening for an English teacher.
The younger Nolan was hired for both.
Nolan had grown up in Nashville. He played football and baseball while attending McGavock High School, and later played for the Blue Raiders until he graduated in 1979. A year later, Nolan was working as a manager at Champs Sports at Hickory Hallow Mall when Watts called and made the offer.
“I said, ‘Well, yeah, lets go,’” recalled Nolan. “I was able to step right into a good job and that’s how I got into it.”
It, of course, being an entire career spent at Riverdale.
Nolan had played football for much of his young life.
He knew how to schedule a practice. He also knew how to put a game plan together.
However, he had no experience when it came time for a lesson plan.
“I planned all night for class,” recalled Nolan, whose smile turned to laughter, “all these assignments and stuff, and went in the classroom and they were finished in about 20 minutes. I was like, ‘What do I do now?’
“That was the funniest thing about the first day of school.”
Silence followed the laughter.
His typically watery eyes became redder than usual.
He hasn’t coached football in years and it’s been even longer since he’s taught English, but on this particular morning – surrounded by four decades of Riverdale memorabilia and sporting a Warriors shirt – it could very well have been Nolan’s first day.
It wasn’t.
In fact, the man who has affectionately come to be known as Mr. Riverdale is retiring as principal at the end of the 2016-17 school year. Nolan has been at Riverdale for 36 years, 24 of which have been in an administrator role.
“It’s tough,” said Nolan, who paused to wipe away the tears welling up along the lower edge of his eyes. “I’ve spent, it’ll be 36 years of my life I’ve spent in this building and it’s tough. I’ll miss the kids. I’ll miss the faculty. A lot of other stuff, I probably won’t miss that much.
“It’s been a lot of fun.”
On the sideline, he was a player’s coach.
He brought the same philosophy with him to the classroom. His students loved him.
So naturally, years later, he established himself as a student-friendly administrator. The student body and faculty alike love the man.
“He’s personable,” said assistant principal Ryan Nance, who described Nolan as his mentor. “He’s loves being around kids.”
Nolan added, “If kids know you care about them, they’re going to care about you. I’m always going to be student-first.”
His approach has a lot to do with his own upbringing. Nolan said his parents were friendly and outgoing. His father worked for American Airlines and his mother stayed home to raise four children—three of which went into education and the youngest of which followed in their father’s footsteps.
He combined his parents’ influence with the fact that even growing up and playing sports, Tom Nolan was always comfortable taking on a leadership role. He was just as relaxed and relished opportunities to lead by example.
Nolan said he never felt the stress of having to perform in key situations.
In baseball, he was a pitcher.
In football, he was a placekicker.
“Pressure never bothered me,” Nolan said.
It’s a temperament that has served him well as principal.
It came as a shock to many when — on Monday, Aug. 29 — Nolan, who’s known for Tweeting about football and other sports at Riverdale, sent out a Tweet reading: “To my Warriors past and present!! I have loved every min. with you!! 16-17 will be my last year! Let’s make it the best! Dale Yea!!”
Nolan sent the Tweet three days after having filed his paperwork with Rutherford County Schools’ central office.
“There are a few things our students rally around,” said senior Tyler Redmon, president of the Student Council, “and one of them is our principal Tom Nolan. The way he handles himself and the affairs of the school is amazing. He gives us a sense of freedom that a lot of other schools don’t have.”
Nolan is an elder statesman in terms of principals in Rutherford County. He said he and his wife, who is retiring in April, had always planned to retire together – “it’s, it’s just, it’s a good time for me” – and the only plans they’ve made revolve around grandchildren.
He already has more than 1,000 photos of his four granddaughters saved on his iPhone and his retirement doesn’t even begin for another seven months.
Asked if he’s seriously contemplated what it’ll be like to walk out of the 44-year-old school knowing he’ll never return to Riverdale as the principal, Nolan turned his chair to the right and simply nodded yes.
Told it’s hard to imagine his messy desk being void of any papers and “just stuff” – as he calls it – and Nolan’s childlike smile returns.
“It’s going to be tough,” said Nolan, raising one hand to his face and momentarily shielding his eyes from sight. “I’ve already started unloading stuff. I’ve already started giving away some of my clothes. I’ve got 36 years of Riverdale clothing. It looked like a Goodwill store at my house. I just had to start giving stuff away.
“I’m preparing myself for it and,” he continued, after pausing, “no, it’s not going to be easy. I’m going to have to act like it is, but, no, it ain’t going to be easy.”
PHOTO / JAMES EVANS
Retiring Riverdale Principal Tom Nolan, right, poses with School Resource Officer James Coots after both men had their heads shaved as part of a fund-raiser last spring for youth cancer research.