Donnie Baxter has excelled as a teacher and coach as well as an administrator during his illustrious career of well over 40 years. Born in Pinehurst, he attended Elise High School in Robbins and then graduated from Appalachian State University in 1968. From there he launched into a coaching career that included stops at Ellerbe,…
Ron Vincent has put together the most wins ever for a North Carolina high school coach in the sport of baseball. Vincent, a native of Greenville, graduated from J.H. Rose High School in 1965 and then from East Carolina University in 1969. Then he embarked on his remarkable teaching and coaching career, all in Pitt…
Sam Story has firmly established a reputation as one of the state’s top high school football coaches. Story is a graduate of Burlington’s Walter Williams High School, where he later guided some great football teams himself. He graduated from Elon in 1969. Story enjoyed a 40-year career as a coach and teacher, including 29 as…
Cindi Simmons compiled a brilliant record as a coach in two different sports at Sylva-Webster and then Smoky Mountain High School when Sylva-Webster and Cullowhee merged. A graduate of Hayesville High and then Western Carolina University, Simmons was a star high school and college athlete. She captained the WCU women’s basketball team in 1981-82 and…
Dave Odom had a stellar career as a collegiate basketball coach, after over a decade of success at the high school level. A three-sport star at Goldsboro High School, Odom went on to Guilford College, where he was the school’s Athlete of the Year before graduating in 1965. From 1965 through ’76, Odom coached in…
Shelly Marsh was an outstanding head coach in basketball at several different stops as well as a well-respected administrator. Born in Chatham County, Marsh went to J.S. Waters High School and then graduated from North Carolina A&T in 1965. He was successful at every coaching stop, starting at W.H. Robinson High in Pitt County in…
Lindsey Linker has become known as one of the top tennis coaches in the history of North Carolina. A graduate of Myers Park in Charlotte and then the University of North Carolina, Linker began her high school coaching at Chapel Hill in 1981 and was there for 10 seasons. Coaching both men’s and women’s teams…
Jack Huss has compiled an impressive slate as a high school and college coach but also has had a stellar career as an official. A graduate of R-S Central, Huss was an outstanding football and baseball player at Lenoir-Rhyne College, graduating in 1969. He was one of the youngest head football coaches in the country…
Bobby Guthrie has excelled as a teacher and coach as well as an administrator during his illustrious career. Born in Alamance County, he attended Southern Alamance High School and then graduated from University of North Carolina in 1974, where he was an outstanding baseball player. He started his coaching career by working three years at…
Jimmy Tillman touched a number of bases during his career as a teacher, coach, athletic director and principal at a variety of high schools. Born in Mount Olive, Tillman is a graduate of Southern Wayne High School and UNC-Wilmington. During his career, he served as a teacher and coach at Rosewood, Lucama, Beddingfield and SouthWest…
