She has won eight career state titles and just led Spring Valley to back-to-back titles. However, Anne Long will not be coming back to lead the Viking program.
Long is stepping down after eight years with the Vikings where she won a total of eight 4A titles. She has not decided on her next step and doesn't know if it will involve coaching. But she told Spring Valley officials that she felt now was the right time to make this decision. In leaving, Long will have state titles in her first and last seasons at Spring Valley.
Long is a former coach at Wilson, Boiling Springs, Lower Richland, Union County and Dutch Fork. She won four state titles at Union while finishing runner-up once at Wilson and three times at Dutch Fork.
The Newberry High and Winthrop University graduate was at Dutch Fork for 16 seasons before taking over at Spring Valley.
She is the winningest active coach in the state and currently has a record of 851-198. At Spring Valley, her record was 199-24 in that eight year span.
After 41 years as a varsity coach, Long says she can still make a difference but wants to explore some avenues that she hasn't been able to because the time demands of coaching.
A member of the SC Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame and SC Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Long was a head coach in the 2012 McDonald's All-American Game.
With Debblie Stroman moving into her new role as Lower Richland's Athletics Director, the Midlands two most successful girls basketball coaches will not be returning for the 2016-2017 season.
Coincidentally, Long and Stroman were colleagues when Long was the head basketball coach at Lower Richland. Stroman coached volleyball. When Long left for Dutch Fork, Stroman took over the basketball program. Now both coaching icons will be leaving the coaching profession at the same time.