‘Enough’
- Updated: January 23, 2025
After more than three decades in coaching, including four state titles across two sports, Handley’s Strain opts to retire.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
Larry Strain said making peace with his time to retire from coaching was simple.
“Thirty-four, 35 years is enough, ain’t it?” he said with a laugh.
The Handley head coach will retire, he confirmed, and Chris White will be promoted to replace him, Roanoke City Schools announced Thursday.
The school system announced the moves via social media.
“The Handley Family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to Coach Larry Strain for his exemplary leadership and unwavering dedication to the Handley Tigers,” the system said in a statement. “Over the course of his tenure, Coach Strain guided the Tigers to two state championships in 2016 and 2020 and served as head coach of the boys’ basketball team for two years.
“Additionally, he contributed to the athletic department as the athletic director for approximately five years. His commitment to the success and growth of Handley athletics has left an indelible mark on the program. The Handley Tigers will forever be grateful for his hard work and service.”
Strain is 186-122 over 27 seasons as a head coach at Handley, White Plains and Woodland. He won two state titles at Handley and had two runner-up finishes at Woodland, in 2004 and 2006.
He also guided Woodland’s girls’ basketball team to three Final Fours and two state titles, in 2013 and 2014. Daughter Courtney Strain Screws still holds the state’s all-time career and single-season scoring records, and younger sister Leah Strain Robinson ranks second on the career scoring list and careers assists list.
Their names appear AHSAA’s individual record a combined 86 times.
As for their dad, he said it was just time.
“There’s a time in life to go do some other things,” the 62-year-old Strains said. “I really don’t know (what that will be), but just go do some work, do something else and just enjoy some grandkids.”
Strain acknowledged that coaching has gotten harder in current climate, citing “recruiting” on the high school level.
“It’s harder and harder to compete with all of these folks that’s recruiting, the way the recruiting trail is,” he said. “How can you compete? You’ve got to be better than everybody else, and you just can’t go get a quarterback, go get a linebacker or go get a running back.
“That plays a factor, in one way, but it comes back to the fact of having the same zeal that you had 30 years ago to go get it each and every day and just face the grind, and it is a grind.”
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