Former SP Soccer Coach Gregg To Be Inducted Into County Sports Hall of Fame

On October 16, longtime Severna Park boys’ soccer coach Don Gregg and four other area sports figures will be inducted into the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame.

Gregg’s coaching career at Severna Park lasted 30 years, from 1974 to 2003. He coached the boys’ soccer team to state championships in 1983 and 2001 and led the team to the state final seven other times during his tenure.

Gregg, who now is an assistant coach of the boys’ soccer team at Wakulla High School outside Tallahassee, Florida, is the first male soccer coach to be inducted into the county hall of fame. Gregg said he was honored to be mentioned alongside so many great Anne Arundel County coaches, giving a nod to one of his primary counterparts at Severna Park.

“There’s a lot of great names and a lot of quality people in there, most of all to me is [20-time state championship-winning Severna Park field hockey coach] Lil Shelton,” said Gregg. “So it’s nice to get in. It’s an honor.”

A graduate of Glen Burnie High School who played soccer and ran track at Penn State, Gregg also coached girls’ track and field during his time at Severna Park and was head coach of the girls’ outdoor state championship team in 1978. He noted that he was the third Glen Burnie graduate to be inducted, along with former Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Wayne Fowler (a 1997 inductee) and former Houston Oilers, New England Patriots and New York Giants safety Bill Currier (a 1998 inductee).

Gregg recalled the 2001 season with Severna Park boys’ soccer as one of his favorite memories from his time coaching the Falcons.

“The ’01 region semifinals is probably the game that was key,” said Gregg. “We beat River Hill, 2-1, at their place. They were the favorite team in the state at that time in our classification, if not all classifications. That one was really good…And then winning states in ’01, I think that was a key too.”

Gregg, who compiled a .744 record at Severna Park (he noted with a laugh that although Shelton’s .910 career win percentage was astounding, it was not better than UNC women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance’s .935 career win percentage), said one key to his coaching style was to channel the kids’ work ethic and make sure they continued to have fun.

“You’re kind of like the director,” said Gregg. “If you don’t alienate them—sometimes you can alienate the players—they’ll listen. They’re the ones who play. I never scored a goal…You have to have fun. If you work hard in practice, then games are more fun. If you get beat by someone superior to you and you give a good competitive effort, then that’s the way it goes. But if you lose to teams you’re capable of beating, it goes back to practice.”

Gregg will be inducted at the 23rd annual Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame banquet at Michael’s Eighth Avenue along with former Northeast wrestling coach Al Kohlhafer, lacrosse standout and Severn graduate Josh Sims, former South River football player Mitch Suplee and multi-sport Annapolis athlete Charlie Coker.