Former Beach coach back at it in N.C.

Norbie Wilson doesn't have much time.

As on most weekdays, he awoke at 5 a.m., and he has rarely stopped to take a breath.

Before 6, he was preparing First Colonial High School's parking lot for bus arrivals, then had hall duty before classes began around 8.

Now, at midday, Wilson walks briskly to a classroom to look after a study hall.

Soon, Wilson, who turns 61 in July, will hop into his 1991 Mazda pickup and drive an hour to Elizabeth City, N.C., for his gig as College of the Albemarle's first-year baseball coach.

Wilson is perfectly dressed for his nonstop day, the dictionary definition of a high school gym teacher: whistle hanging from his neck, T-shirt, athletic shorts, calf-high white socks and worn-in tennis shoes.

"I'm tired," Wilson says. "I'm probably a little bit frazzled. But I love it."

It has been a whirlwind 13 months for Wilson, who last April was lured back into coaching to lead College of the Albemarle's first baseball team in more than 30 years. He kept his day job as physical education and driver's ed teacher at First Colonial, where as a baseball coach he won more than 400 games in 26 seasons.

The reason for his return to the dugout was simple.

"I'm just crazy about baseball," Wilson says. "I was getting bored."

These days, Wilson rarely is bored - or without something to do.

While teaching takes up most of the day, Wilson devotes evenings and weekends to his first college baseball job: daily practices or games, weekend doubleheaders and scouting for potential players.

The Dolphins (20-19) are making a surprise appearance in the postseason today as the Region 10 Division II junior college tournament begins in Martinsville.

Asked about his last day off, Wilson replies quickly, "Yesterday."

Reminded that he was scouting a high school player in Newport News, Wilson smiles.

"Oh, yeah."

Norbert Bahnson Wilson Jr., dubbed "Norbie" as a boy, was no athletic superstar as a youngster.

But while Mount Olive, N.C., doesn't lack pickles - the N.C. Pickle Festival is held each April - talented athletes were not in abundance when Wilson was growing up.

Wilson played football, baseball, basketball and golf in high school.

"People say, 'You must have been a great athlete,' " Wilson said. "No, there just weren't enough boys to go around. Everybody played."

"Baseball was year-round," Wilson adds. "You just never put down a baseball."

Wilson, though, excelled in other sports. Given a choice between playing football at Elon or basketball at Atlantic Christian College, he chose the latter to be closer to home.

After college, he was teaching in Virginia Beach when First Colonial High School's baseball job came open.

"I was only going to do it for a year or two," Wilson says, "and really liked it."

A year or two turned into 26.

Wilson built First Colonial into a perennial Beach District and Eastern Region contender. He guided the Patriots to 14 district titles, seven region crowns and the 1993 Group AAA state title.

Wilson won 417 games, but he walked away after the 2004 season as his parents' health began to fail. His father, Norbert Sr., had lost his sight and his mother, Edna, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

"I turned 55, and said, 'Well, it's time,' " Wilson said. "I needed to go home and spend more time with them and take care of them."

Wilson retired from coaching, but within six months both parents had died.

To quench his thirst for baseball, Wilson became an associate scout for the Washington Nationals.

"You go and you sit," Wilson said. "I like being active, and sitting around and chewing the fat with people wasn't my cup of tea. I just didn't have a passion for it. It just wasn't me."

Then, a classified ad caught his attention.

Not long after his retirement, Wilson was moping, and his wife, Candy, noticed.

Enjoy your retirement, she told him. Go fishing.

"It was always too windy to do this or to do that," Candy said. "He didn't know what to do with himself. He was going around in circles."

Early last year, College of the Albemarle began advertising for a baseball coach to revive its program. Dozens of applications came across athletic director Jeff Carter's desk. One belonged to Norbie Wilson.

"We had everything from high school coaches to college coaches to former minor league players," Carter said of the applicant pool.

A five-member panel interviewed Wilson. He told the committee he was surely their oldest applicant.

"You might question whether I have enough fire in my belly," Carter remembered Wilson saying. "But I assure you I do."

"He was our choice, without a doubt," Carter said. "The energy, the passion he has for baseball, his contacts. But more than anything we felt like Norbie was a great teacher of the game. There are a lot of good coaches, but not everybody is a good baseball teacher."

Soon, word got out that Wilson was getting back into coaching. Wilson's cell phone began ringing constantly, friends and former players wanting to talk about their baseball-playing sons, or area coaches calling about their players. Wilson tabbed a pair of former Beach District coaches - Bayside's Billy Mike Chadwick and Kempsville's Paul Shows - for his staff.

Wilson's first recruiting class last May included 10 players from South Hampton Roads.

"Having coached in this area a long time, we've always needed a junior college," Wilson said. "A lot of kids feel like they're Division I players, and they get overlooked. And a lot of kids have not done what they're supposed to do in the classroom, and they're not able to get into a Division I school."

Getting the chance to play for Wilson was a bonus.

"When kids play for him, he's going to take care of them," said Scott Stubbe, who replaced Wilson at First Colonial. "Character and discipline is very important, and he's going to keep them straight. I think parents know that, and they feel comfortable sending their kids down there."

Wilson returned to coaching for this?

College of the Albemarle's campus has no baseball field, no dormitories and the school has no scholarships to offer. Baseball is the only varsity sport, to be joined by softball later this year.

On-campus athletic facilities include two outdoor batting cages and bullpens built by Wilson. The team's home games are a few miles down Road Street at Knobb's Creek Park. The Dolphins schedule practices and games around those of Elizabeth City State University and city youth leagues.

Wilson, though, envisions the possibilities, including a pristine on-campus field overlooking the Pasquotank River.

"We're going to do it right," Wilson said, estimating the school has to raise about $300,000 to start building.

For now, Wilson is more concerned with coaching, and he's a flurry of activity at practices. He sometimes throws batting practice and hits infield and doesn't hesitate to challenge his players.

"It's not just him barking 'Do this, do that.' He's out there working with you," said infielder Matt Ittner, a graduate of Cox High in Virginia Beach. "You have this feeling if you give everything you've got, he's going to give everything to make you a better player."

Wilson hasn't looked much beyond this season; he hasn't had time. But he has no plans to retire from teaching or coaching. His old pickup, its odometer nearing 200,000 miles, recently broke down.

But Wilson keeps going.

"Some people wonder why they were put on this earth," Wilson says. "Coaching - I think that's why I was. That was my calling."