Randleman girls coach resigns

RANDLEMAN — Steven Rightmyer had an outstanding year in his first season as head coach for the Randleman High School basketball team. However, it will be his last.

Rightmyer, who was named The Hub’s girls Randolph County Coach of the Year, resigned his position after his first year with the team. Citing the amount of time involved and the effect it had on his family, he said the right thing to do was resign.

“It was a tough decision,” said Rightmyer, who was also named the Piedmont Athletic Conference coach of the year. "I have two boys ages 7 and 4, and my wife sacrificed a lot for me to do this job and it put so much on everyone else.

“It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it. The girls were great. I can’t say anything bad about the experience. But in 10 years, if I looked back and said I wasn’t a great coach, it would be OK. But in 10 years, if I look back and see I missed this with my boys and that with my boys, that would kill me. I don’t want to look back and see I didn’t spend a lot of time with my boys.”

The Tigers finished the season undefeated in PAC play, going 12-0. Among those league wins were two regular-season victories over Southwestern Randolph and the PAC Tournament title win over the Cougars, who only lost a total of five games all season. 

The Tigers had plenty of questions coming into the year after losing their top three scorers from a year ago. With Gracyn Hall, Elizabeth York and Jordan Booker all graduated, Audra Petty and Gracie Beane were expected to carry the load. But Beane was injured and never dressed until after Christmas and the Tigers struggled early, going 5-6.

But Bella Bynum, Chenleigh Robinson and Kadi Green grew up in a hurry and helped guide the Tigers to the PAC title.

RHS, which finished 20-7, earned a state playoff win over Madison before falling to Lincoln Charter.

“It caught me and the administration off guard,” RHS Athletic Director Jake Smith said of the sudden resignation. “He had a great season, has some girls coming back and a lot of talent coming up from middle school. He made the best decision for him and his family and you can’t fault him for that.” 

Smith said the school is actively searching for a replacement.