Long-time high school basketball coach Rodney Pile officially announced his resignation as the York Institute boy’s basketball coach.
Pile said his wife, Stacie Lynette, was diagnosed with breast cancer and will undergo chemotherapy treatment. Pile said he wanted the time to be there to support his wife, just as she supported him throughout his lengthy coaching career.
“I’ve had several former players to to reach out and you know, praying for Ms. Stacy but then also appreciating what what we were able to do and when I was coaching them,” Pile said. “And that’s been that’s been real nice to hear from them and to talk to some of them and you know, like I said, (when) you’ve been doing this quite a quite a long time and it just seems like you have many good memories. And so hopefully we can you know, cherish those memories and move forward.”
Before coaching at his alma matter in Jamestown, Pile ran the boy’s program at Clarkrange High School for two decades and also worked with the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles basketball team.
“Basketball’s been a big part of my life for over 30 years now,” Pile said. “Ever since I made the decision to step down, it’s you know, been kind of asking myself who am I, because I feel lost right now. But I think that’ll go away. I’ll find, of course, right now my focus is on my wife and hopefully helping her to recover. And then we’ll find some more things to get occupied with.”
With one foot still stuck in the coaching world, Pile said when he scrolls through TikTok, he sees mostly basketball videos.
“I’m interested in that stuff and you know, I like listening to it, looking at it, going over, thinking how I can implement it into my program and of course I don’t have a program anymore,” Pile said. “So it’s again, just gotta start thinking a different way in life. And hopefully I think it’ll all soon pass and hopefully be working on the future.”
Pile will remain as the school’s athletic director for the time being as the school mulls over new applications for the coaching position.
Answering his calling to be a basketball coach, Pile said he originally became an educator to teach ball full time. Despite lackluster seasons his first few years, He said Clarkrange and the Fentress County School Board continued to stick by him and ultimately it paid off.
Throughout his tenure in Jamestown and in Clarkrange, Pile coached multiple teams to state tournament births in addition to regional championships.
“Overall it’s been a great process, a great journey for me and you know, I got a lot of good memories of players and relationships and and all that and so… hopefully we’ll think back on them,” Pile said.
