After winning 3 state titles in a row, Chambers High’s coach is stepping down. Here’s why
After winning three straight N.C. High School Athletic Association state championships, a record for a N.C. 4A school, Chambers High girls basketball coach Donnell Rhyne will not return.
“There weren’t any issues or things like that,” Rhyne told The Observer on Friday. “I was just thinking it’s time for me to do something different.”
Rhyne, 46, plans to remain at Chambers, where he is a Behavior Modification Technician. Rhyne has been at the school for six years and has been head coach all that time. His teams have won four regular-season and two conference tournament state championships in addition to the state titles.
This season’s team had 10 new players but just one incoming freshman, Rhyne said. When nine players came from area schools, Rhyne said it led to a two-week investigation by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
“They were looking into addresses and making sure everybody was where they were supposed to be,” Rhyne said. “I had a lot of people coming back to their home school. I knew people were going to be looking. During the years, I would hear, ‘Hey man, she’s supposed to be at (Chambers),’ and they didn’t come to the school because of the stigma, because it’s rough, and they would go to another school. I guess when you win two (state titles), people say, ‘I’ll take a chance and see what happens.’ So when they came back, I knew there would be questions asked.”
Chambers was not found guilty of anything after the local inquiry and the team went on a big roll after it was done, finishing the season with a championship. And Rhyne thinks the next coach will have a shot at a fourth.
Chambers returns four starters.
“I would never want to leave when they say, ‘Oh, the cupboard is bare,’ or people say, ‘He doesn’t have anything,’ ” Rhyne said. “I wanted to leave so someone can take over and do good things. I just want to something different now.”
