Sports

South Lakes' Wooten Will Coach Friday, in Wake of Mother's Death

Carol Wooten was longtime Reston resident who died in a car accident on Wednesday.

head football coach Marvin Wooten will make his coaching debut Friday, less than two days after his mother was killed in a car crash.

Carol Wooten, a 25-year resident of Reston who moved within the last year to Loudoun County, was in a fatal accident on Wednesday morning at Routes 15 and 50 near South Riding. Carol Wooten, 53, worked in food service for Loudoun County Public Schools and was working this week at Arcola Elementary School in Aldie, Marvin Wooten said.

Wooten said he will go right from his mother's viewing at in Herndon to the game against Westfield at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The funeral will be Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at in Ashburn.

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"I am doing OK," said Wooten. "I am trying to keep things normal as possible, but it is going to be emotional. I have not been at practice the last two days, but the team knows and the thing is, they have been more focused than ever and we are playing one of the top schools in the state."

South Lakes principal Bruce Butler told the staff of Wooten's loss on Thursday. He said the coach wanted the game and the block party to go on as scheduled.

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“Even when experiencing the most difficult and tragic family events Coach Wooten places the needs of his students and players at the forefront,” he said

Carol Wooten's death comes almost exactly a year to the day after her husband, Marvin Wooten Sr., suffered a fatal heart attack, Coach Wooten said.

Wooten, an only child, is a Reston native and South Lakes alumni. He has been an assistant football coach and physical education teacher at South Lakes since he graduated from Howard University in 2006.

last spring after the departure of coach Andy Hill. The Seahawks were 8-4 and won a playoff game under Hill was at South Lakes for one season before leaving to coach his alma mater in Minnesota.

Wooten said his mother "broke into tears" when he told her of his job promotion in May.

"Both my dad and my mom were very supportive of me," he said. "I know what getting the job meant to her and to my father. Both of them were so supportive of me. When I was at Howard, they did not miss a game. They traveled up and down the East Coast to see me play.

Carol Wooten was a diabetic who loved children, said Wooten. So if anyone wishes to make a donation in her memory, charities that help either of those would be 


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