KERNERSVILLE — Bishop McGuinness High School’s soccer coach Ray Alley was inducted into the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame Sept. 17 at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex for his outstanding achievements in the sports arena.
After he worked in sports journalism, Alley became the men’s tennis and soccer coach at High Point University and was named NAIA national men’s tennis Coach of the Year in 1975. He served at Guilford College until 1988 where he won numerous conference and district championships.
He founded, edited and published the Southern Soccer Scene, a southeast regional paper, for 38 years. He also published North Carolina Tennis Today for 15 years.
Throughout his career, Alley has worked in youth soccer and last spring took over as the head soccer coach of Bishop McGuinness High. Last season under Alley, the school’s girls soccer team was one of 15 teams nationally to receive the NSCAA High School Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Gold Award.
The award is presented by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (United Soccer Coaches). The team was one of two North Carolina high school girls soccer teams honored for the 2017 spring season.
Bishop McGuinness finished the 2017 season 19-3 overall, Northwest Conference Champions (10-0), quarterfinalist in the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs and the fourth-ranked in the final 1-A MAxPreps rankings.
Alley was also named 1-A NC State Coach of the Year by the N.C. Soccer Coaches Association.
— Kimberly Knox