A legendary figure in our region is being mourned in athletic circles around both Warren and White counties while friends, colleagues and proteges celebrate a storied coaching career.

Bobby Haile, who coached the 1979 Lady Pioneer basketball team to its only state championship to date, passed away Tuesday at 83. A member of both the Warren County and White County Sports Halls of Fame, Haile spent four decades coaching football and basketball, beginning at McMinnville Central High School in 1967.

“Coach Haile made such a tremendous impact on the lives of all of his players over the years,” former coach and principal and current Warren County School Board member James Bennett said. “Bobby instilled the belief that hard work always pays off. His players loved and admired him, and still do to this day.”

Many of those players, including members of the 1979 champion squad, joined Haile at both his Hall of Fame inductions, showing their appreciation for the man who helped shape their young lives and led them to so many accolades.

“I was up at the podium giving a speech when I looked up and I saw them,” Haile told the Southern Standard  after his 2013 White County induction. “That’s when I started to get choked up.”

The tradition continued upon Haile’s induction into the Warren County Hall in 2018, when his alumni once again gathered to watch their mentor collect his well-deserved recognition.

During that ceremony, former player Jane Eaton Pryor told the Standard, “Hardly a day goes by that our teams, even 40 years later, doesn’t come up in some way. Basketball is what made us a team and we always know we can call on each other and we’ll be there. We’re thankful for what he did for our lives, for what he did for the community and all the things he did for us.”

Marla Davenport Cantrell, who played under Haile at the end of his tenure with the Lady Pioneers and went on to a collegiate career at MTSU before serving her own long-term career in education, expressed her appreciation to her former coach, as well as her sadness on his passing.

“My basketball career was shaped by Coach Haile,” Cantrell said. “He taught me the meaning of teamwork, as well as a love for the game. I was a member of the last team he coached in Warren County, the 1985-86 season. He will always hold a special place in my heart and I offer my condolences and prayers to all those who loved him.”

After graduating from college, Haile spent 40 years as a football and basketball coach. After school consolidation in 1969, Haile spent two years as an assistant basketball coach under Joe Stewart before becoming the girls head coach in 1972 when Stewart became school superintendent. In all, Haile coached in Warren County from 1967 to 1985 before continuing his career in his hometown of Sparta.

“He was a great man, and a dear friend to me,” Bennett added. “When we coached football together, I quickly learned that he wanted all of his players to be successful, whether that was in sports, the classroom or after graduation. The respect that Bobby’s players and coaching staff still have for him today speak volumes about his character.”