‘I’m at peace with it.’ Charlotte Country Day basketball coach Dwayne Cherry resigns
Charlotte Country Day boys basketball coach Dwayne Cherry said he had been thinking about resigning for several weeks.
Cherry, 44, officially announced it Thursday.
After 10 years at the school, he won’t be coaching basketball anymore. He will remain at the school as a math teacher but did inform his department head that he may look for coaching jobs at other places.
“I felt it was time,” Cherry told the Observer on Thursday night. “It’s been 10 years and I had that gut feeling, like it was time to do something different. I knew my time coaching there was wrapping up.”
Cherry, an alumnus of the school, said he met with head of school Mark Reed on Monday and athletic Abe Wehmiller on Tuesday to discuss his potential plan.
“Actually,” he said, “this is something we talked about for the last couple of weeks. I thought about it and talked to my family about it and prayed about it.”.
Wehmiller said Cherry will be missed on the coaching staff.
“Coach Cherry has been a mentor to countless student-athletes and a valued colleague and friend to his fellow coaches and teachers here at Country Day,” Wehmiller said. “I know that stepping away from this role was a tough decision for him because of how much he cares for our program and our school. But I also know that he leaves the program with a strong foundation.”
In 10 seasons, Cherry’s teams were 126-164 and made seven postseason appearances.
Country Day was 9-20 last season and 0-10 in CISAA conference play. Since 2005, Country Day has had three winning seasons. Cherry’s teams produced two of them, going 18-12 during the 2018-19 season, and 19-14 in 2017-18.
In an email to Country Day families, Wehmiller said the school would post the job next week and begin to build its candidate pool.
Cherry said he would be open to coaching again one day in public or private school. He taught in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for six years prior to Country Day and he was head boys basketball coach at JT Williams MIddle School.
His son, Brandon, is a junior at Country Day. Cherry said his son’s future would hinge on what he does moving forward.
“I feel good about my decision and at peace with it,” Cherry said.
Country Day will break ground on new athletic facilities set to open in 2021
Last month, Reed said four donors had donated more than $30 million that would allow the school to begin construction on a new natatorium and a gym.
The new pool, Reed said, will eliminate the need for Bucs’ teams to train off-campus and become a “recognizable destination for the Charlotte swimming community.”
The gym will have volleyball and basketball courts and a wrestling area. It will seat more than 1,000. The new facility will also become home to the Country Day strength and conditioning program, a new wrestling multi-purpose room and a new administrative office suite.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 1:20 PM.
