Carolyn Jackson coaches the Brainerd girls’ basketball team during a game against Tyner in February 2013. Jackson led the Lady Panthers to 985 wins during her career, and she also coached volleyball at the school. / Staff photoTwo former high school coaches from the Chattanooga area are part of this year’s nine-member TSSAA Hall of Fame class, which was announced Wednesday.
Carolyn Jackson, who taught for 35 years at Brainerd and coached for 40, and Bradley Central athletic director and former wrestling coach Turner Jackson will be among those inducted April 18 in Murfreesboro.
“It is quite an honor to be selected,” Carolyn Jackson said. “I’ve known Turner for many years. We even had a class at UTC together. So to be able to go in with him is pretty special, and getting to follow in the footsteps of people like (former East Ridge coach) Catherine Neely and (former Brainerd boys’ basketball coach) Robert High and so many other great coaches from our area is a tremendous honor.”
Carolyn Jackson won 985 basketball games – including the 1984 Class AAA state championship – with the Lady Panthers and also coached volleyball for 15 years. She was named the Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association’s coach of the year 16 times, and Brainerd’s gym is named the “Jackson-High Gymnasium” in honor of her and 2000 TSSAA Hall of Fame inductee High.
She has worked as a volleyball official for 29 years and twice received the TSSAA A.F. Bridges Award as an official in that sport. She is also a member of the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame and Brainerd High School’s athletic hall.