White Hall boys basketball Coach Marc Stringer spent his entire high school athletic career battling for the Bulldogs.
When he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2016, he fought the disease the same way he fought opposing teams until he couldn't fight any longer.
"I tell you what, he was truly a fighter," White Hall Athletic Director and football Coach Bobby Bolding said of Stringer, who died Friday. "He was a really good person and fought it head on. He's really going to be missed."
Stringer, 37, spent the past nine seasons as a coach for the Bulldogs, including the last three while dealing with the disease. He also coached ninth-grade football, which Bolding noted is rare nowadays.
The cancer went into remission in May 2018 but returned months later. He restarted bouts of chemotherapy while still finding the time and energy to coach the team, but he took a turn for the worse in December.
Bolding said as Stringer's condition worsened, the school district essentially began preparing itself.
"We could kind of see how things were deteriorating and kind of knew what was coming a little bit," he said. "Yet it still was a shock when it happened.
"[Friday] afternoon, we visited with our boys basketball team and had our counselors there. Some of them were pretty upset. But those kids are resilient and in time, I think they'll be OK."
Assistant coach Dustin Powell will assume head-coaching duties for the Bulldogs, who decided to play last night's game against Watson Chapel. White Hall lost, but that was the last thing the team was concerned about.
"He was a great, great guy," said White Hall assistant superintendent of transportation and maintenance Cedric Hawkins, who led Stuttgart to a Class 4A state basketball championship in 2009 with Stringer as his assistant. "Marc was with me for one year before he left and came back home, but he did a fantastic job. I've been at White Hall a couple of years now, so I obviously got a chance to work with him again.
"He was a good coach, but an even better person."
Bolding said Stringer's family is "devastated" and dealing with the situation the best it can.
"His wife, Lauren, is a true soldier," he said. "I've known her and her parents for years because they're from Stuttgart and I coached there. They're hurting, but they're strong people.
"As for the team, Dustin has stepped up in a big way over the last few years. Marc was having to get treatments and things, and was understandably out sick sometimes. Dustin has been a guiding light for the kids."
A visitation for Stringer will he held Monday from 5-7 p.m. at Bulldog Gymnasium. A special memorial service will take place Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Bulldog Gymnasium.
Sports on 01/26/2020