From Engineering to Athletics: The Inspiring Journey of Coach Oliver
It has been almost a month since Derrell Oliver was named Athletic Director of Spring Independent School District — the first African American to fill the role in the district’s history. But ever since being named Interim Athletic Director over the summer after the retirement of previous Athletic Director Armando Jacinto, Coach Oliver has been busier than ever.
“It has been a blur since July, so everything just happened really, really fast,” he said. “And the only thing I could do was strap up and let's go. It's about what needs to be done to take care of the department, what needs to be done to take care of the coaches, and what needs to be done to take care of the kids. And that's the only thing that I focused on the entire time.”
Coach Oliver spent the majority of the last few fielding one of the busiest times of the year for any athletic director in Texas — football season. And with the undefeated district play of the Westfield High School football team and their appearance in the playoffs, the only option was to hit the ground running.
But Coach Oliver is quick to highlight the efforts of his colleagues in the Athletics Department, as well as help from coaches in other school districts.
“I was really, really blessed because we had a lot of coaches who stepped up to the plate,” Oliver said. “We had athletic directors from around the area, from around the state, chipping in to help.”
Though Oliver is fairly new to Spring ISD, having joined the district three years ago, he boasts two decades of experience in education and athletics.
He began his coaching career in 2004 at Richardson ISD, serving roles as varied as Head Football Coach, Assistant Principal, Head Track and Cross Country Coach, Head Golf Coach, Assistant Head Baseball Coach, and eventually Athletic Director.
But what many may not know about Oliver is the fact that he spent the beginning of his career in the engineering field. He studied engineering at Prairie View A&M University, followed by stints at two titans of Houston industry — NASA and Hewlett Packard.
“I worked at NASA for eight and a half years, and I trained astronauts. I wound up ultimately becoming the manager of the group that built the flight software for each space shuttle mission,” he said. “From there, I transitioned over to Hewlett Packard and became a worldwide consultant for them, managing global projects and integration projects and traveled the world.”
Though he loved his time in engineering, he always knew that he would ultimately end up back in the classroom and back on the field.
“I had always said, at some point in time in my career, I'm going to go do what I really, really love,” Coach Oliver said.
But Coach Oliver – who has an engineering degree as well as an Master of Business Administration and Master’s in Educational Leadership and Administration – believes it is that time at NASA and HP that have made him a perfect fit as athletic director.
“There's so many different facets that people don't really understand about this job,” he said. “This job is really not about being a former coach. I think that's what gives me the knowledge, having had those experiences at NASA and Hewlett Packard.”
As for his vision for the future of Spring ISD Athletics, it is simple. He wants to continue to provide an excellent experience for student athletes.
“The biggest thing for me is the overall student athlete experience,” he said. “I want student athletes to leave here and I want them to be able to say that it was a great foundation for them for whatever is in their future. Because the things we teach them, that is what is going to propel them to achieving their life goals.”
And Coach Oliver knows that he will lean on his engineering experience to help lead the department into the future.
“One thing that I hope that I bring to the table is innovation and creativity,” he said. “We already have extremely successful programs, but what do we need to do to propel those programs to a different level? And I think that's where the analytical side, the engineering side of me, comes into play.”
As for the fact that he is the first African American to fill the role of Athletic Director in the district’s history, Coach Oliver sees it as an opportunity to inspire.
“I don't look at it as me being a trailblazer or anything like that,” he said. “I just look at it that I happen to be the one that was blessed in that role. But if I can inspire even one kid to think – hey, maybe one day – that would be the ultimate outcome for me.”
He wants that inspiration to come from all coaches within the district, as well.
“Coaches have an incredible impact on students,” he said. “I do tell coaches – I said it just yesterday – that if you don't like that type of visibility and exposure for everything that you do, then you need to do something different. Because you are going to make an impact every day based on what you do. These coaches are in a position where students are going to mimic what it is they do, and learn what's acceptable and what's not acceptable. I believe it’s vital for coaches to understand that.”
At the end of the day, Coach Oliver is excited to help build on the strong legacy of athletics in Spring ISD. Having worked in the Dallas area, he also hopes that students and staff throughout Spring ISD recognize the reputation that Spring ISD already has around the state.
“I think that Spring ISD and Spring ISD Athletics have a bigger impact across the state of Texas, one that I don't think everybody in Spring ISD realizes,” he said. “They view us around the state as a very competitive district, very strong in terms of overall athletics and academics. I would like to help the community here to realize how we are really, really valued around the state of Texas. And that our visibility and our impact is high. I want to keep telling people here that, hey, Spring is a bigger deal than we think.”
Source: Spring ISD
