Strain inducted in AHSAA Hall of Fame class of 2026

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Former Woodland and Handley coach Larry Strain was one of 12 people inducted into the AHSAA Hall of Fame at a ceremony Monday night at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery.

Each inductee walked into the room one a time and was introduced to the gathered crowd. The inductees walked from the back of the room, down a red carpet to the front of the room where the honored guests were seated on the main stage. Each inductee was preceded on his or her red carpet walk by a flag bearer, someone of importance from that person’s past.

Former Handley football and baseball player Nate Pike carried the flag ahead of Strain. Pike suffered a mid-game medical emergency during his junior year on the Handley football team in 2020, and Strain was hands on throughout the process of making sure Pike was taken care of and received the treatment he needed.

The honorees were presented alphabetically, so Strain was the last of the 12 to be recognized. He had a large group of family, friends, former coaches and co-workers on hand to support him and witness his big night.

Each honoree had a video presentation talking about their careers. Those videos included comments from other people who were instrumental in Strain’s life or were positively impacted by his work as a coach and teacher. In the video former Woodland assistants Eric Dye and Dustin Snyder spoke about the impact that Strain had on their lives. Snyder also played under Strain in Strain’s early days at Woodland.

Former superintendent of Roanoke City Schools Chuck Marcum – who hired Strain at Handley after Strain spent a year at White Plains – spoke about Strain and his accomplishments during the Handley portion of his career. Former Roanoke quarterback club president Benji Whaley also appeared in the video speaking highly of Strain’s influence on the Handley program.

Strain is the first coach who spent a significant portion of his career in Randolph County to be inducted into the Hall of Fame since his predecessor at Handley, Mike Battles, was inducted in 2014. Former RCHS head coach Ron Watters received his hall of fame invitation in 2010. Other coaches with Randolph County ties who have been inducted since then include Danny Horn in 2017 and Steve Giddens in 2023.

Strain won a total of four state championships as a head coach – two in girls basketball at Woodland, and two in football at Handley. He retired from coaching in January of 2025.

The video honoring his induction can be viewed below.