VETERAN COACH ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM BASKETBALL
WEST JEFFERSON— Veteran men’s head basketball coach Marc Payne of Ashe County High School has announced his retirement from his coaching position.
Payne said, “I have come to the incredibly tough decision to retire from my position as head basketball coach at Ashe County High School. The decision is a very tough one for me and is based solely on my personal health concerns.”
He plans to continue as athletic director at Ashe County, and Scott Grubb will take over as the head basketball coach. Payne noted that “Scott is prepared and ready for this opportunity – he is an outstanding coach and he will do a wonderful job as our head basketball coach.”
Payne, a former member of the NCHSAA Board of Directors from 1994-98, has been a head coach at the high school level for 37 years, including the last 10 at Ashe County. He coached for 14 years at Beaver Creek and 10 more at Watauga, with a career coaching mark of 574-383. His teams won 13 regular season championships and seven conference tournament crowns.
