CHAPEL HILL – Natalie Tribble of North Iredell High School and Scott Braswell of Hoggard High School in Wilmington are the recipients of the 10th annual Toby Webb Coach of the Year Awards given by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
                  The two outstanding coaches will be recognized at the NCHSAA’s Annual Meeting on May 7 at the Smith Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina.
                  The Webb Award is made possible through the generosity of gifts from individuals and companies through the NCHSAA Endowment and annually recognizes an outstanding male and female coach. To be eligible for the award, a coach must be nominated by school personnel at the NCHSAA member school where he or she coaches, to have coached for a minimum of 10 years, and have made major contributions to the success of high school athletics at the school, in the community and beyond.
                  Tribble has completed 14 years as a head volleyball coach at North Iredell, transforming a program that had a long drought of conference titles and state playoff appearances into a perennial contender and one that draws excellent crowds. The North Iredell team won the NCHSAA state 3-A championship in 2008, posting a perfect 26-0 record, and finished as runner-up in both 2010 and ’11, with Tribble earning six North Piedmont Conference Coach of the Year honors over the past 15 years.  This year the Raiders were 21-4 and advanced to the third round of the state playoffs.
                  She is known for setting high standards both on and off the court for her players, but is also very much a players’ coach. Many of her former players weighed in on the impact Coach Tribble had on them as they wrote letters of support for the Webb Award, citing how the lessons they learned playing volleyball had helped them in so many ways.
                  Tribble also helps the team get involved in service projects, such as Relay for Life and Dig Pink, and during the holidays the team has sung Christmas carols in nursing homes and hospitals.  This year the team packed shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse.
                  Braswell has served as the head football coach at Hoggard since 1997 and has guided what has become one of the state’s top programs under his leadership. Hoggard won the NCHSAA state 4-A championship in 2007 and went 13-1 this fall, losing in the Eastern finals to eventual state champion New Bern. He has earned the Mideastern Conference Coach of the Year honor 11 times and has posted an excellent 168-51 mark as a head coach.  In 2013 the stadium at Hoggard was named Scott Braswell Stadium in his honor.
                  The Hoggard coach is very supportive of other teams at the school, even driving the bus to away games for other programs.  He has been active in his church and the community in Wilmington, with such organizations as Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Habitat for Humanity, and recently was named “Inspiration Hero to Kids” by the Wilmington Children’s Museum.
                  Braswell also has showed remarkable tenacity as he battled health issues.He had surgery at the Mayo Clinic in August to remove a rare mass on his spine, with the operation taking 25 hours over a two-day period. Despite the intrusive surgery, Scott was back on the sidelines just five weeks later, with one of his players noting that “Coach has the dedication that even cancer couldn’t deter.”
                  "Natalie and Scott are dedicated professionals who epitomize in many ways the role of coaches and the far-reaching impact they have," said NCHSAA commissioner Davis Whitfield. "They are most deserving of this recognition and receiving the prestigious Toby Webb Award is a credit to their service and dedication to young people."
                  The awards are given in honor of Toby Webb, a member of the NCHSAA Hall of Fame who was an outstanding coach as well as a principal and superintendent. He helped turn Albemarle into a football power and posted a brilliant 103-18-6 mark as a head coach there.