Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Coach Darryl McClure shows love and gratitude to his wife Linda who spent her career as a teacher.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
The Hayesville High School gym will forever be known as the Darryl K. McClure Gymnasium after a ceremony Tuesday dedicating the hometown hardwood to the legendary coach who led the Lady Yellow Jackets to six consecutive state championships (1987-’93).
Dozens of family members, friends, former players and assistant coaches joined the iconic coach at mid-court during the emotional ceremony between the varsity girls and boys games with Murphy.
“I feel really honored. Probably more than I should be,” McClure said Wednesday morning. “I’m truly blessed, more than I deserve.”
McClure was named North Carolina High School Athletic Association Coach of the Year six times, Smoky Mountain Conference Coach of the Year seven times and Associated Press Coach of the Year twice as he led his Hayesville girls to 462 victories and 30 consecutive playoff victories during his 22 years at the helm.
Hayesville had a winning record in 20 of those seasons.
His first state championship team was one of his best. Not only did the Lady Jackets go undefeated, five of the players went on to play Division 1 hoops.
“That doesn’t happen very often at schools of any size,” he said.
That kind of success led to multiple job offers, including a position coaching an Olympic team.
“There were a lot of job offers during the years, but Hayesville had my heart,” McClure said.
The storybook career almost didn’t happen.
“I thought I was a football coach, but when the girls coach quit, they asked me to take over. I told them, ‘I’m not a girls coach. I haven’t figured my wife out yet.’” McClure recalled.
Fortunately, Hayesville school officials persisted.
“They came back a second time and I told them ‘no’ again. The third time, they were a little more forceful. They said, ‘We think you need to coach the girls basketball team.’ That first year, we did pretty good. We lost in the playoffs over at Franklin and after the game I told the girls, ‘This is a one-year deal and I hope you get a good coach next year.’ Well, they blocked the door and wouldn’t let me out of the locker room. They said, ‘You’re the best we ever saw.’ They wouldn’t let me out.”
The legendary coach shared his moment in the spotlight at center court with wife, Linda, who was celebrating her birthday. McClure had his arm around his wife of 54 years during the ceremony and the two shared a kiss.
“They told me to go out there and it just felt strange and then I saw Linda and told her to come on out. I wanted her with me. Next to my personal savior Jesus Christ, she’s the most important person in my life. She was there with me all the way.”
Fittingly, the ceremony occurred shortly after the Lady Jackets stunned Murphy, 49-35, in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. The varsity boys then made the night complete by blasting the Bulldogs, 58-53.
“It was a great night to be a Jacket. I’m very proud,” remarked Darryl’s son, Chad, the current coach of the girls basketball team.