Lyman Ward Graduate John Loflin Returns Home to Teach and Coach

CAMP HILL, AL - At the age of 22, John Loflin feels like his life has come full circle.  After graduating from Lyman Ward in the Class of 2004, then graduating last May from The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, Loflin is back home - this time as a social studies teacher and an assistant football coach.

"I'm still trying to get used to the idea, it's all happened so fast," the Andalusia, AL, native said this week.  "It's different being on the faculty with many of the same teachers I had as a cadet.  I'm really enjoying being here."

Loflin was a Dean's List student at Lyman Ward, where he started on the football and soccer teams.  He came to LWMA as a 14-year-old freshman from Andalusia, and quickly adapted to life at a military boarding school.   After graduation, he played two years of college football at The Citadel in Charleston, S. C., before, as he says, "putting the football down and picking the books up."  He graduated last May from The Citadel with a 3.7 grade point average (GPA) and a history major.

"Lyman Ward definitely prepared me for college life at The Citadel," Loflin says.  "I learned how to rely on myself, make friends from all over the country, and gain people's trust.  The friendships you make at both schools last a lifetime."

Loflin joins new head football coach Sheldon Ward as a young, dynamic coaching duo determined to bring respect back to LWMA's storied football program.  Loflin joined the Academy last June and worked as the head resident in the dorm for the summer school program.

"My experience as a cadet at Lyman Ward was very positive, especially the football part," he says.  "It was something I chose to do, and became an obsession with me.  I decided here that I could play at a NCAA Division I school like The Citadel; I wouldn't settle for Division II or Division III."

Loflin looks forward to "giving back" to the Academy that provided him with the opportunity to play college football and earn a degree from a respected institution like The Citadel, which also happens to be the alma mater of Academy President COL Bill Jenrette.

"Lyman Ward gave me a great start in life, and a huge head start at The Citadel," Loflin said.  "The scrub knowledge I learned at LWMA is essentially the same as the knob knowledge you learn at The Citadel.  I even taught my college classmates how to shine shoes and brass."

Loflin is already very popular and highly respected by Lyman Ward cadets, who realize that he has been where they are now.  Loflin plans to pursue a master's degree in history from Auburn University, beginning next Spring, and is keeping his career options open for the future.  For now, he is happy to be back at Lyman Ward, where he lives on campus, back home where it all started.

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