VIRGINIA BEACH — Friday was an emotional day at Landstown High as the school said goodbye to longtime athletic director Dave Siock.
Siock, 55, has been at the school since 2002, one year after the school opened.
Earlier in the week, Siock got to see how much he meant to the school as students, teachers and administrators lined the hallways as he did a final walk through the school.
Dressed in a black robe with a blue sash that read “The Legend” and wearing a blue Landstown hat, Siock took a nearly 30-minute stroll through the entire school one last time.
He was greeted with smiles, hugs, handshakes, fist bumps and signs telling him just how much he was going to be missed. The song “Wind Beneath My Wings” could be heard over the loudspeakers as he made his way through the school.
“It’s family at Landstown High School. We all work together to support the kids, athletics and each other,” said Dwight Robinson, who has been the only boys basketball coach at the school. “We have been together for I believe more than 20 years, so he is a fixture and he has helped Landstown High School athletes be successful all along the way. He will surely be missed. But we are all friends, so I know we will still get in a few rounds of golf at some point.”
Baseball coach Dave Hart, who will replace Siock as athletic director, said his former boss was one of a kind.
“He has been the face of our athletic programs for over two decades,” he said. “Nobody was seen at more Landstown events than him. That is irreplaceable.”
Dave Siock, Landstown High School athletic director, covers Alonzo Mourning while a player for Syracuse University. (Courtesy of Dave Siock)
I have known Siock for more than 30 years. Yeah, I’m showing my age.
I began my journalism career in radio at WOLF-AM in Syracuse, New York.
One of my beats was to cover the Syracuse University basketball team. Siock, 6 feet 10 inches, played center for the Orange.
Siock played alongside many Syracuse greats, including Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens, Stephen Thompson, Lawrence Moten, John Wallace and Adrian Autry, who is the current coach at Syracuse after he replaced Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim.
As Siock and I spoke for nearly two hours, he talked about his path to Landstown High from Binghamton, New York. An interesting note about Binghamton that I didn’t know but Siock did, is that’s where Dick’s Sporting Goods, now a Fortune 500 company, began in 1948.
As we talked, I also learned many other things about him.
He loved playing football more than basketball, but the latter would allow him to go to college for free. And not only did he play basketball with my cousin, former NFL player Dorsey Levens, but he also played basketball with my childhood friend Chuck Giscombe.
Siock remembers growing up in Binghamton, which is a little more than an hour drive from Syracuse. He was a talented basketball player who had many scholarship offers, including from Providence, Louisville, Stanford, Northwestern and Purdue.
He chose Syracuse.
“When Coach Boeheim called me for the first time and offered me a scholarship, I was like, ‘Man, this is great,’” he said. “I was just so lucky, you know, just growing up in the area. What a great time it was. It was so much fun.”
His biggest highlight from college was when Syracuse won the 1992 Big East Tournament, which I was fortunate enough to cover. They did it by beating a Georgetown team led by Chesapeake’s Alonzo Mourning.
“It was Alonzo Mourning’s last Big East Tournament,” said Siock, who started 21 of 31 games that season. “I used to love playing against him. That was my biggest thrill, and I actually contributed.”
He laughs now because he, like me, didn’t know Mourning was from Hampton Roads.
Dave Siock, who has been the athletic director at Landstown High for more than 20 years, met his wife Stacy while he was a Syracuse University basketball player and she was a cheerleader. (Courtesy of Dave Siock)
But Siock’s biggest moment at Syracuse was meeting his future wife, Stacy, who was a cheerleader for the Orange.
“Dave and I first crossed paths as math majors and student-athletes at Syracuse University,” she told me earlier this week. “We shared a pivotal conversation at our hotel in Worcester, Massachusetts, during the NCAA Tournament my junior year. And we haven’t been apart since.”
In July, the Siocks — who have two children, Connor and Marissa — will celebrate 30 years of marriage.
They came to Virginia Beach when Stacy got a job here.
“She came down here to work and I followed her down here,” he said. “She started teaching at Bayside Middle right out of college. So, that’s how we got down here.”
Siock adjusted to Hampton Roads. He served as an assistant coach with legendary basketball coach Ron Jenkins, who helped lead Bayside to back-to-back state boys basketball titles in 1990 and ’91.
“I got a little bit of a coaching bug for a few years,” he said. “Then I got a job teaching math at Bayside.”
His life changed when Bayside athletic director Lisa Corprew asked him to be her assistant.
“And I just went from there,” he said. “I was 27 years old and said, ‘I finally figured out what I want to do with the rest of my life.’”
He eventually left Bayside and took the athletic director position at Landstown.
“And I’ve been here more than 20 years later,” he said. “I give thanks to Lisa for giving me the opportunity to learn from her.”
Siock has seen many great athletes come through the doors at Landstown, including NFL player Percy Harvin, professional basketball player Stanley Pringle, United Soccer League players Travis Brent and Garrett Halfhill, and Olympians Marlena and Darrell Wesh.
Asked if he could name his favorite memory, he told me, “I knew you were going to ask me that,” he said. “That’s like saying, ‘Who’s your favorite child?’ But it’s too hard. Too many kids. I just like seeing the kids compete and see how they represent the school with their sportsmanship and character.”
He remembers how sports helped him become the person he is today. He mentioned his former high school basketball coach, Mickey Greenberg, and his impact.
“He kept me in my place,” he said. “I’m forever thankful that he did. I haven’t forgotten that.”
He also mentioned former Syracuse basketball assistant coach Bernie Fine, who was his position coach.
“He was so hard on you and so honest with you, which I needed,” he said. “He would basically tell me what I needed to do. But he was fair with you. He taught me how to work hard because he made us work hard. And he expected us to work hard. And he would tell you when he recruited you that it wasn’t going to be easy. I still talk to him. He was a big influence for me.”
As I talked to him in his office, he got emotional several times as he thought about the kids.
If you know Siock, you know has a deep passion for his students.
“I always wanted to be the AD who was involved and into it all,” he said. “I didn’t want to be just sitting behind the desk. I’m all about relationships and being a part of the action. You get so attached. I just love these kids. And I’ve been very, very fortunate to have had some great coaches here.”
That’s why saying goodbye was so tough.
“I love the kids. I love the people I work with. I love going to the games,” said Siock, who will take a new job as director of student housing for ECPI University. “But it’s someone else’s turn. But I’m going to miss the kids.”
His wife has seen his impact firsthand.
“Dave has a natural gift for connecting with everyone he meets,” said Stacy, who is Landstown’s school improvement specialist. “His passion for his students is truly immeasurable. He absolutely pours his heart into his work. Coaches and sponsors alike value his unwavering support and his ability to make everyone feel seen and appreciated.
“No matter where I go in the community, I get stopped by people sharing stories of how much they love Dave and how he helped them during their time at Landstown High School,” she added. “He is simply an amazing man.”
Even as she spoke about him, tears welled up in her eyes as she realizes her office won’t be next to his anymore.
“The halls and walls will feel noticeably quieter without our gentle giant,” she said. “It’s often only when someone is gone that you truly appreciate the depth of their impact and the kindness they brought every day. Dave’s impact was as large as his presence. He will be missed more than words can say.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
