Lawrence Gardner discusses shoulder pads in Airport’s storage room.
A lot has changed at Airport High School since 1969. One person that’s seen it all is Lawrence Gardner, the equipment manager for the Eagles’ football program.
For most of the past 54 years, Gardner has been a part of the Airport Eagles football program in some capacity. He began when he was in ninth grade. He was unable to play due to a medical issue. He wanted to remain involved and chose to be a student manager for the B-Team. A year later he became the student trainer.
He left after graduating in 1972, but his departure from the program didn’t last long. Three years later, he visited his alma mater and was told by head coach Don Richardson they needed his help. Gardner agreed, and he stayed for the next 27 years.
During that time he was also part of coach Les Evans’s staff for 25 years and Barry Avant’s staff for one year before leaving again.
“That was my vacation. My retirement,” Gardner joked.
When Airport hired Kirk Burnett to take over the football program, he met with Gardner during an American Legion baseball game and asked him if was ready to get back to work. Gardner agreed and has remained at Airport ever since.
Gardner’s been working with the equipment on a part-time basis for most of his time at Airport. For 37 years, he worked full time for the City of Cayce. He would travel to Airport High School after work or on his days off.
“It was a hobby,” Gardner said. “It was an alternative.”
When he decided to retire from the City of Cayce 12 years ago, his hobby at Airport soon became something else.
“I was already working with the equipment at Airport so I decided to do it full time,” Gardner said. “The worst part of retiring is if you don’t have something to do, you die. This was perfect.”
For Gardner, the job has turned into a full time gig in more ways than one. The storage part of the equipment room is filled with bins holding shoes, pads, and pants among other things. There are also shelves to organize the same equipment. Information is kept on a computer program that came out in 1988.
Everything Gardner does, from washing shoulder pads in the 65 lb. washing machine to keeping up with the age of helmets, he does for one reason.
“I’m not going to put a kid in a pair of shoulder pads where there is the slightest doubt it’s not going to last. It’s just not going to happen,” Gardner said. “If your kid plays at Airport, the equipment they have is solid.”
His daily interaction with the players is its own spectacle.
Stand around the lobby of Airport’s field house around 3 p.m. and there will soon be a few shouts of “L.G.” from the players. That is soon followed by a line of players standing outside his window and a chorus of “I need” or “I want” or “I can’t find.” Those requests are initially met with a small eye roll but are quickly replaced with a smirk or grin. The player’s request is resolved, one way or another, within a few moments.
For Gardner, that is usually how the days go until the end of the season. Once the season is over, he’ll give the players a few days to clean out before he inspects each locker, which takes him a few days to complete.
He documents each player’s equipment as a baseline to project what he might need for the following year. He’ll wash the shoulder pads and send off helmets to get reconditioned if needed. He starts the process as soon as he can to have the equipment ready for spring practice in May.
The offseason usually has some of Gardner’s hardest working months, but that’s no accident.
“We work our butts off for six months during the offseason so I don’t have to work for six minutes during the game,” Gardner said. “If I’m working the game, that kid isn’t playing. That might be our quarterback or left tackle. I don’t want him standing on the sideline because his helmet is broken. I want him in the game.”
Gardner is also not afraid to work late hours. This past Friday, following a game at Swansea, Gardner didn’t leave campus until 2:30 a.m. The only person left was head coach Shane Fidler.
“Someone has to stay here and get this stuff done every night if we want to practice the next day,” Gardner said. “This has got to be done. If I’m not doing it, then the coaches are going to have to do it. If they are doing it, then they are not at home with their wives and families.”
While the job comes with a lot of work, there are also some good perks. Gardner has gotten to see some famous Eagles come through the Airport football program. When Gardner was a senior at Airport, there was a freshman on the football team by the name of Jim Stuckey. He was a small kid, Gardner recalls. Stuckey asked Gardner if he could help. Gardner agreed. He didn’t see Stuckey being much of a football player. When Gardner returned in 1975, one of his initial introductions was to a player resembling a Greek Adonis. It was Stuckey and immediately Gardner decided to return. Stuckey went on to be an All-American at Clemson University and played in the NFL for seven seasons.
Along the way, Gardner has seen players like River Bluff baseball coach Mark Bonnette, Gamecock great and NFL running back Duce Staley, and University of Tennessee kicker Paxton Brooks.
Gardner also isn’t on the same schedule as many of the coaches. Sometimes he doesn’t roll into his office until 2 p.m.
Regardless of what the week has in store for him, Gardner’s favorite part is watching the Eagles win on Friday nights.
The Athletic Equipment Managers Association asked how much equipment managers in high school and college make. The average in high school was $40,000 a year, which is way more than Gardner gets.
“I don’t get paid,” Gardner said. “I told Coach Fidler I don’t get paid. When he asked me why not, I told him, ‘because then I have to start paying attention to you.’”
A lot has changed at Airport since Gardner first arrived. The field house used to be another building, and before that it was a parking lot with a wooden ticket booth. The track and field surfaces have changed, and the scoreboard has been moved behind the other end zone, among other things.
“The only thing that hasn’t changed is the concrete under the home bleachers,” Gardner said. “It’s as old and beat up as ever.”
For over 50 years, Airport has been able to depend on Gardner to provide its players with dependable equipment to keep them safe.
“It’s been fun while it’s lasted,” Gardner said. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll do this. Some days I think there is no way I’m going to be here tomorrow. Other days I can’t believe I’m not here.
“It gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning, come here, and spend a few hours. I get to be around the kids and watch them grow up.”
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