Steve Gribble has gone by a lot of different titles in his life. Husband, father, grandfather, teacher, coach. Now he has a new one – Hall of Famer.
The long-time golf coach at Fort Mill High School, Gribble has been elected to the York County Sports Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024. This is the first Hall of Fame class since 2019, as the coronavirus derailed the selection process for several years.
“It is probably one of the greatest honors I have ever had,” Gribble said. “To be even associated with the people already in the hall, is really humbling to be considered with those people, from coaches to players to administrators to media. It is very humbling.”
Gribble was one of nine people selected for the Hall of Fame this year, but the only one from Fort Mill this time around. A teacher and coach at Fort Mill High for 28 years, Gribble was in education for nearly 41 years also spending time at Chester, Hanahan and Stall High schools before coming to Fort Mill.
During his time at Fort Mill, he led the Fort Mill boys golf teams to the 1988 state golf championship as well as eight region golf titles. He started the girls’ golf program at Fort Mill High and won two region titles leading them in the process. He retired in 2015 with a 502-180 record. He also served as an assistant football coach at Fort Mill High for over a decade as well.
Gribble was nominated by one of his former players Jamie Lightsey, who spoke very highly of his former coach while nominating him for the honor.
“As a member of the Fort Mill High School golf team beginning in the seventh grade, I played under Coach Gribble for six years,” Lightsey said. “During this time, I grew to know him as a competitor and also as a person. I appreciated the motivation to succeed he provided, and also learned from him how to conduct myself in victory and defeat. Coach Gribble would go above and beyond for anyone on his team, from early mornings to late nights, and he showed through his actions that he cared for all his players and their families.”
Gribble is also a former president of the S.C. Golf Coaches Association as well as holding many other rolls in that organization. He won 10 Region Coach of the Year titles, eight of them coaching boys’ golf and two coaching girls’ golf.
Gribble said while the accolades are nice, it is the people he worked with during his career that stands out.
“Truly one of the highlights is the quality of kids I got to work with,” he said. “Both boys and girls, they were great kids and I had a great time with them. They kept me feeling young.”
Gribble added that coaching helped him to make lifelong friendships.
“The quality of people and friends I made through coaching, especially in York County, they were just great people,” he said. “And they have been lifelong friends because of that.”
Before getting into coaching, Gribble was an accomplished athlete as well. A former Shrine Bowl player out of North Carolina, he went on to play football at the University of South Carolina.
The induction for this year’s class is Wednesday, May 1 at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center. Tickets for the event are $40. Other inductees from the class of 2024 are Jim Barnes, Enzo Martinez, Barry Byers, Devonte Holloman, Karis Watson, Sherer Hopkins, Jonathan Meeks, and Cid Carvalho.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
