Whether coaching lacrosse or producing music, David Earl did it big

Whether coaching high school lacrosse, cooking for friends and family or working in the recording studio, David Earl gave it his all.

“He didn’t do anything ‘kind of,’” his wife, Bridget Earl, said. “If he was going to do it, he was going to do it and do it big.”

His commitment was reflected in his record as a boys lacrosse coach. He led Anne Arundel Community College to the 2014 National Junior College Athletic Association Final Four and Severna Park High School to six state championships in seven years, according to the Capital Gazette.

But the legacy of David Earl, who retired from full-time coaching last year, is not bound by the 110 yards of the lacrosse field. He was also an avid cook, gregarious host, loving father and a fixture of the local blues music scene, family and friends said.

The Annapolis resident died suddenly in his sleep while visiting Florida in early September. He was 58.

He left behind his wife and three children, who Bridget Earl says “were absolutely the absolute center of his world.”

He’d show off his children’s good grades and felt a sense of awe at his son Jake’s focus when he watched him sit and work for hours on a single LEGO set.

Tim Troutner, a longtime friend and fellow lacrosse coach, said Earl was “the best with kids.”

“Coach Earl,” as everyone called him, would give the same high level of effort to whichever team he was working with, regardless of the stakes, Troutner said.

He’d watch tape and get scouting reports, Troutner said, learning every player’s strengths and weaknesses. When he coached at the community college, Troutner said, Earl learned all of his players’ class schedules and would walk around campus to make sure they remained in class — and eligible to play sports.

“He was all in. There were no shortcuts,” Troutner said.

In 1998, Earl, who grew up near College Park, founded Severn Records, an independent label with a focus on blues music. The label stopped releasing music about 10 years ago, when he shifted his focus to lacrosse and family.

But in the decades Severn Records was active, it was highly influential.

Severn Records was recognized by the Blues Foundation in 2012 with a Keeping the Blues Alive award. Through Severn Records, Earl worked with dozens of artists over the years, including The Nighthawks, a local blues and roots band.

Mark Wenner, the band’s vocalist and harmonica player, said Earl was deeply knowledgeable about the blues, and knew how to capture the subtleties of blues, roots and jazz.

As a musician, Wenner said, he didn’t have to “explain” things to Earl. He knew the history and the depth of the genre.

“He just knew what we were trying to do, and knew the technology to do it. It made that part of the creative process just so much easier,” Wenner said. “I think he had really good taste, too. He wasn’t pushy, but he would suggest we do another take or something like that.”

Earl was repeatedly described as a good guy and as someone who loved to host people at his Annapolis home.

“It had to be perfect when he was cooking,” Troutner said. “It was a production, that’s how he was.”

True to his nature as a coach, Bridget Earl said, David would expect assistance in the kitchen. “He would assign you something to do. Everyone piled in the kitchen, he just loved it,” she said.

Earl loved cooking for Thanksgiving, and preparing prime rib. He would sometimes tackle Mediterranean flavors — a big hit with guests — including homemade tzatziki and other elements from scratch.

He’d cook all day, and then just sit at the table, enjoying the company of everyone who came over for a meal, Bridget Earl said.

“Sitting around the table, chatting with his friends and his family, it just made him happy.”

The family is planning a celebration of life for David Earl, likely to be held next summer, his wife said. She and the kids — Logan, 20, Jake, 13, and Elizabeth, 11 — miss him every day, she said.

“We have good days, we have bad days. Every once in a while, we’ll think of something he would do and just laugh and laugh,” Bridget Earl said. “Just kind of honor his memory for all the fun we had.”

The family loved to travel, including time spent in Montana and Florida. Bridget Earl said she and her husband had plans to see the Washington Commanders play a game in Madrid.

And David Earl was always looking forward to what came next. The family would be on vacation, his wife said, and David would begin asking where they should go next.

He loved Florida and was excited by a vacation home that the family had recently purchased just south of Sarasota, Bridget Earl said. They had plans to go there for Thanksgiving.

David Earl was visiting the home and getting it ready for future visits when he died. Troutner was with him.

The night before, while eating dinner at the new house, he was keeping tabs on his kids’ grades on his phone. He was excited to get back to his family.

“What a great guy. He lived life to the fullest,” Troutner said. “Right before he passed, he was like, ‘Hey man, how awesome is this? Bridget and the kids are gonna love it.’”