Leek enjoying retirement after lengthy Purnell Swett career

PEMBROKE — David Leek often begins his day with a run around Pembroke, his hometown of over 50 years.

Nowadays, he can take his time on those morning jogs — he doesn’t have to beat the first-period bell.

Leek retired earlier this year after nearly a quarter century on staff at Purnell Swett, including 21 years as the girls tennis coach.

“I’m just staying busy, doing the things that I like, running and working out,” Leek said. “Right now … it just feels good to do nothing if you want to. Of course, I still stay in tune with what’s going at Purnell Swett.”

From 2000 through the end of the 2023 fall semester, Leek was an active part of the Purnell Swett community and the Rams athletic department, between his coaching duties, his role as an ISS instructor and yearbook supervisor; he also photographed countless Purnell Swett events, sports and otherwise.

Now the 61-year-old is enjoying a more laid-back period in his life in the first months of retirement.

“It takes some getting used to being wide open and then going to having all the time you want,” Leek said. “I love it; knock on wood, it may change, but right now I enjoy it. I live right there at the university, so I’m going to a lot of sporting events at (UNC Pembroke).”

“He just remains a fixture in our athletic department,” Purnell Swett athletic director Robert McLean said. “It’s not just tennis; you’ll see him pop up taking pictures at a softball game. Last year at a conference tournament game he was there taking pictures, Purnell and Lumberton. He’s just a constant fixture in our community, and I’m glad that even though he’s retired he’s still a part of our program.”

Leek coached varsity and JV softball and JV basketball at various points during his career, and the avid runner points out that it’s ironic he never coached track or cross country.

But it’s girls tennis for which he’s best known around Purnell Swett. In 21 seasons, from 2003-23, his teams won 142 matches and made three dual-team state playoff appearances. The Rams had a regional qualifier in 17 of those seasons, with Kali Strickland reaching the state tournament in 2013.

“We’ve got somewhere around 15 girls on this year’s squad,” McLean said. “His impact that he’s had, and girls playing tennis, and girls coming in and wanting to play tennis — I think that’s his lasting impact. He’s a big reason why we’ve got girls interested in playing tennis.”

Leek took over the program after Al Parnell — for whom Purnell Swett’s tennis courts are now named — coached the team from the school’s inception in 1984 until 2002. In his last season, Parnell had Leek attend practices and travel to away matches, informing Leek after the season he wanted him to be his successor.

“It was a thrill to follow in Coach Parnell’s footsteps in the fall of 2003,” Leek said. “I tried to do things the way he did and I knew I couldn’t go wrong. I’ve always been told, you coach girls’ tennis, you get to coach the good girls, and they were right. Looking back, I’ve had some great tennis players, but they were all 1000 percent better people.”

Katara Hunt took over as head coach this fall, marking just the third head coach in program history after Parnell and Leek.

“The stability that program’s had, only having two coaches, that’s just amazing,” McLean said. “I don’t think there’s any other programs out there that can say that, at our particular school anyway. He’s meant a lot to Purnell Swett, and our athletic program as a whole.”

Originally from Maryland, Leek moved to Pembroke as a child, attending Pembroke schools throughout grade school and graduating from Pembroke High School in 1981; he also graduated from UNCP in 1986.

His first career was as a journalist at the Laurinburg Exchange, holding that position from 1986 to 2000, before transitioning to a career in education.

“When I worked at the Laurinburg Exchange, reporting on all these teams and talking to all these coaches, I always wanted to coach,” Leek said. “In 2000, Mr. Wesley Revels at Purnell Swett gave me an opportunity to come to the school. Lord, it’s nothing more than amazing.”

After more than two decades of coaching, he’s gotten used to witnessing life milestones for many of his former players.

“What’s extra special for me is when they invite me to their college graduation party or their wedding or their child’s birthday party or message me and tell me about a job promotion,” Leek said. “Just Tuesday, I went to a middle school track meet and took pictures of the daughter of a former player.”

Another of those came Monday, Leek attended senior night for the current Rams team.

“It was so awesome to see all the girls, especially those seniors,” Leek said. “I’m not sad about retiring because I have a ton of memories to fall back on. I’ll be running a long distance and a certain player will just pop up in my mind and I just smile.”

These days, he can reminisce on that run for as long as he wants.