Woolbright ready to make his mark as head coach at North Myrtle Beach

By David Shelton

Staff Writer

Little River – Despite their best efforts, long-time high school football coaches Cecil and Marty Woolbright were unable to convince Perry to avoid the life of a coach.

Perry Woolbright is following in the footsteps of his grandfather (Cecil) and father (Marty) and is embarking on the life of a prep head coach. Woolbright is the new head coach at North Myrtle Beach High School, his first head coaching position.

“This is what I have always wanted to do,” said Woolbright earlier this summer. “Growing up in the family that I grew up in, going to football camps from the time I was three years old, and then playing for my dad, coaching was my dream. It really is in my blood. I remember my grandfather telling me I was too smart to be a coach, that I should go get a real job and make a lot of money. I respect his advice but this is something I have always wanted to do. I don’t think there was ever a doubt that I would coach.”

After playing quarterback for his father at Clover High School, Woolbright walked on at Appalachian State in 2000. He eventually earned a scholarship and ended up as a graduate assistant coach on Appalachian State’s first national championship team.

After college, Woolbright spent a year as the offensive coordinator at Fort Dorchester High School, then moved to Chowan University for a year as offensive coordinator. A head coaching change forced Woolbright to leave Chowan and he landed at Gaffney High School. He spent the last two seasons coordinating the Gaffney offense before deciding to try his hand as a head coach.

“ I knew I was ready to be a head coach and this job is the first one I applied for,” said Woolbright. “I have been very fortunate to prepare myself at all levels and I’ve worked for some great people in my short career. But I had set goals. I wanted to be a coordinator in high school and I wanted to coach in college. The next step was to be a head coach and I’m excited about this new chapter in my life.”

Woolbright looked at a few other head coaching openings around the state but felt North Myrtle Beach was the right place at the right time for him.

“One of things that stood out for me was the level of support and commitment from the administration and community,” said the coach. “They want a successful program here. Just down the road there is a program (Myrtle Beach) that is enjoying a great deal of success and these people want that here. They are willing to provide the resources that we need to win. It’s a hungry community and I wanted that type of situation.”

Woolbright is thankful to the Gaffney administration for allowing him to leave during the school year to that he could set up his foundation at North Myrtle Beach. He has hit the ground running and is looking forward to the start of preseason drills.

“We had a great spring and we’ve accomplished a lot in a short time,” said Woolbright. “We have a good idea of our personnel and what type of team we want to be. I can’t wait to get started.”