From First Team to Last Match: Scott Alston Leaves a Lasting Legacy on North Lenoir Tennis
From First Team to Last Match: Scott Alston Leaves a Lasting Legacy on North Lenoir Tennis
When Scott Alston first returned to North Lenoir 16 years ago, he wasn’t thinking about championships, playoff runs, or awards.
He simply wanted to help.
What followed became one of the most impactful coaching tenures in North Lenoir athletics history.
Following Thursday’s match, Alston officially stepped away as head coach of the Hawks boys tennis program, closing a chapter that included conference championships, state tournament appearances, lifelong relationships, and the development of tennis across all of Lenoir County.
“I didn’t think about wins and losses,” Alston said. “I just wanted to come back and help. I got into it to make me feel young again, to make me feel like I was still playing high school tennis. Along the way, we had a great time, and we won, and the kids have done all I could ask of them.”
Alston finished his boys coaching career with a 136-76 overall record across 15 seasons, winning six conference championships in 2015, 2018, and four straight from 2023-2026. The Hawks reached the state playoffs nine times under his leadership and advanced to the third round in 2018, 2023, and 2026.
He also spent six years coaching the North Lenoir girls team, compiling a 25-28 record with three playoff appearances and a third-round finish. His girls team captured the 2016 Eastern Carolina Conference Tournament championship based on overall points against Greene Central.
Alston earned conference coach of the year honors four times — 2015, 2016 (girls), 2018, and 2026 — while also being named the Free Press inaugural Tennis Coach of the Year in 2018.
But for Alston, the memories that mattered most were never found in records or trophies.
Many of them came with his son, Casey.
“I had no earthly idea I’d get to coach him,” Alston said. “His first match as a freshman against Croatan, when he won that first match ever with me coaching him, that was special.”
Casey Alston became a three-time individual state qualifier, tying former standout Shane Swindell for the most state tournament appearances in program history.
The father-son journey created moments Scott Alston said he will never forget.
“Going to states three times with him was special,” he said. “This year was special too, just him and Maddox being able to play together. They’ve played together for years. Walking around Bill Fay Park during this last match, coaching between points, I realized I’ve done this for 15 years. It was sad.”
Alston’s impact stretched well beyond North Lenoir’s courts.
Since 2008, he has helped organize and lead county-wide tennis clinics through the recreation department, bringing together players from North Lenoir, South Lenoir, Kinston, and Arendell Parrott Academy.
“We’ve had kids from all over the county in our program,” Alston said. “I spent six days a week at Bill Fay Park when I was growing up, and I wanted to pass that love for tennis on to the next generation.”
Even after stepping away from coaching, that mission continues.
“We’ve got clinics going on today,” Alston said. “I’ve probably got about 15 kids signed up from throughout the county, five-, six-, and seven-year-olds. If we can bring some aspect of that love to them, then I think I’ve done my job.”
Alston understands the challenges tennis faces in Eastern North Carolina as participation numbers fluctuate and other sports continue competing for athletes. Still, he believes the foundation built over the past decade and a half can continue growing.
That foundation, he says, became something larger than just a team.
“Coach Wayne Barwick told me after we won our second conference championship that we were no longer just a tennis team — we were a tennis program,” Alston said. “That always stuck with me.”
It’s a statement that defines much of his legacy.
Former players still call and text him regularly. Many of them now help teach younger athletes through clinics and summer programs. The connections built across generations became one of the most rewarding parts of coaching.
“That’s what I’m going to miss,” Alston said. “The older guys still checking on us, asking how the team is doing. They helped teach a lot of the younger kids too. That’s special.”
The timing of Alston’s retirement also comes during a milestone year for North Lenoir tennis. The school is celebrating 30 years of tennis history this season, including a reunion honoring former players and coaches.
Few individuals have been more connected to that history than Alston himself.
As a player, he was part of North Lenoir’s first tennis team in 1996. He became a three-year starter, served as the Hawks’ No. 1 seed in 1998, helped win the school’s first doubles conference championship in 1997, and became North Lenoir’s first singles regional qualifier in 1998.
As a coach, he guided multiple individual standouts, including the 2014 2A state doubles runner-up team of Evan Kramer and Will Hardy, along with 2021 2A state singles runner-up Shane Swindell.
He also coached the 2015 Kinston Rec Junior Team Tennis squad to a USTA North Carolina State Championship in the 18U division, featuring players from both North Lenoir and Kinston High School.
Even in retirement, Alston admits the idea of continuing to help county tennis still excites him.
“If I could coach all three schools, I’d do it right now if I had the time,” Alston said with a laugh. “Maybe when I retire-retire, I’ll be the unified tennis coach for the county.”
For now, though, one of the most influential figures in local tennis history walks away knowing the culture he helped build remains intact.
And that may be his greatest accomplishment of all.
