I graduated with pride from a small 4A high school in northeast Alabama. After going to another school my scholastic career, i transferred to Alexandria High School to play football my senior year. Well I didn't get to play, but did go through summer workouts and such. I met the greatest coach of my generation there by the name of Larry Ginn. He is loved by many in the "Valley" and disliked by a few there but by thousands in the surrounding counties that must lace em' up and face the man. They respect him, but do not look forward to playing him. I once heard another coach say, "When you play one of Ginn's teams it tells you one thing, where your weaknesses are, and what you need to work on. If you have a thin spot he will show it to you." I have seen this firsthand. My senior year he took us to Auburn , in the BLIZZARD of 1993, to win his second straight state 4A basketball title. And he did it with a team that included some junior college players but nothing spectacular. That was the way he did it. I heard Ryan Brown say today, he could take players, and make them play way beyond their potential. He would convince them to play harder than their talent level. Coach Larry Ginn stepped down as coach of the Valley Cubs Monday afternoon. After being diagnosed with skin cancer, he stated it as time to spend more time with family, and his church. A standout player at Alexandria and Gadsden State he can still shoot the jump shot. But he taught you fundamentals. Preached fundamentals. A man that won 195 times, with two state titles in football in 2o years of being the head coach. He also logged over 600 wins and three state titles in basketball. The Gym at the Valley is named in his honor. It is expected that long time assistant coach Frank Tucker will be his successor. He will be missed. Greatly.
