Isaac “Ike” Sherlock graduated from Cradock High School in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1966, where he won Virginia state wrestling championships as a sophomore and senior. The three-sport athlete excelled in football and wrestling, earning numerous awards while being named to regional all-star teams. Captain of the wrestling team and tri-captain of the football team, Sherlock received the Outstanding Athlete award as a senior.

Sherlock earned his bachelor's degree from Northern Colorado University in 1970. He was a two-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion and a two-time MIWA champion.

Following graduation, Sherlock taught and coached wrestling at Northglenn High School in Denver before accepting a teaching assistantship and assistant wrestling coach position at East Carolina University where he also earned his master's degree in 1975.

Sherlock accepted the head coaching position at Campbell University, coaching for two seasons and also serving as a member of the coaching staff for the USA NAIA wrestling team that toured and competed in Japan and Korea. In 1979, Sherlock was named head wrestling coach at Virginia Military Institute. In seven years at VMI his teams compiled an 87-17 record, and he had 64 place-winners at the Southern Conference Championships and four national qualifiers. He was voted Southern Conference Coach of the Year four of his seven years.

In addition to coaching, Sherlock served as director of athletics and assistant to the director of the VMI Keydet Club. He concluded his career in the VMI Foundation, serving as regional director of the Virginia Alumni of the VMI Sesquicentennial campaign. In 1989, Sherlock accepted a regional sales position with KCC International in Louisville, Kentucky, and was named executive vice president and general manager in 1992. He serves in that capacity today and remains a minority shareholder/owner.

His wife of 44 years is the Honorable Judge Paula Sherlock. They have two grown sons, Geoff and Cameron, and three grandchildren, Zach, Cameron, and Kiley.