Pearson tabbed as next Spring Valley football coach

North Rowan High School’s Nygel Pearson has been tabbed as the next Spring Valley football coach, replacing the outgoing Robin Bacon.

“It’s a chance to coach at a place that has such history like Spring Valley,” Pearson said. “Me being a south Carolina native, this gives me a chance to get back to South Carolina. I have a chance to strike some energy back into a pretty historic program.”

A South Carolina native, Pearson started his coaching career at Fairfield Central High School as an assistant coach for two years before returning to South Carolina State University, where he played college football.

After seven seasons in Orangeburg, where he served as tight end/fullback coach, offensive line coach, and then offensive coordinator; Pearson moved to Catawba College where he was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator. In 2020, Pearson became the head coach at North Rowan.

An offensive minded coach by trade, Pearson wants to wait until he can evaluate the Vikings’ personnel before making any decision on the kind of offense he’ll run in 2023. While the same holds true for the most part on defense, Pearson wants to be aggressive and run multiple fronts and coverages to create turnovers.

Coming back to South Carolina is different than his move to North Rowan, which happened during the pandemic. This time he won’t have to deal with all the COVID restrictions. However, he will have to fulfill his duties at North Rowan before making the move to Spring Valley. He hopes to be in Columbia for the start of the Vikings’ spring practice, where he wants to install his basic offensive and defensive philosophies..

Being a South Carolina native, he’s not only familiar with Spring Valley, but also its Region 3-5A foes, especially Nation Ford and Fort Mill who were in the same region with Fairfield Central when Pearson was coaching there.

As far as summer plans go, Pearson wants to make any needed adjustments to his offensive or defensive plans. He also wants the team involved in the weight room in June and July to prepare for the upcoming season.