Steve Ledford Gym dedicated at Canton Middle

Dec. 1—For 18 years, Steve Ledford put his all into bettering the lives of his students and players at Canton Middle School. Now, his name will forever be associated with the school and gymnasium he spent so much time and effort in.

"I really have no words to describe the feeling," Josiah Ledford said, one of Steve's three sons.

Steve Ledford served as the athletic director and head basketball coach at CMS before tragically passing away in September. Now, Josiah is in his first season as Canton's head basketball coach, picking up where his father left off.

"It's something I always dreamed of as a kid. I knew I wanted to coach at an early age, but I never thought this moment would come true and I never thought that I would get to coach for dad," Josiah said. "I didn't know it was going to be in this manner and I didn't want it to be in this manner, but I'm so grateful for the way he led me to be able to coach and to be able to come try to continue what he started."

Ahead of last Tuesday's season opener against Flat Rock, the Ledford family was honored at center court with a ceremony to dedicate the Steve Ledford Gymnasium and officially unveil the banner and logos on the court, which feature Steve's signature.

"We had a great turnout, especially with it being the night before Thanksgiving break," CMS athletic director Josh Simmons said.

The idea to name the gym for Ledford wasn't necessarily a new one, his passing just accelerated the process. Simmons explained that the school had already discussed naming the gym for Ledford after he retired in about two more years.

CMS principal Casey Kruk presented the idea to the school board at a meeting in October and it was approved.

"When you say 'Canton Middle School,' he is one of the first things that comes to mind, and will be for a long time," Kruk told the building and grounds committee at the meeting.

The committee decided to waive the usual three-year waiting period before naming a building after someone.

Ledford began his career at Reynolds Middle School in Asheville and stayed there 10 years before spending the last 18 at Canton. Ledford coached several sports at both schools but his biggest passion was basketball. In total, he went 331-101 and won nine conference championships in basketball between the two schools. His career winning percentage was 77%.

With that many wins on his dad's resume, it was only fitting that Josiah began his career with a win. The Bears knocked off the Eagles 35-24 to open the season.

"After every game I played, after every game I coached, he would always come up to me and just hug me and say 'I'm proud of you, son,'" Josiah said. "No matter what the outcome of the game was, no matter how bad I played, he always said 'I'm proud of you.' He would be just over the top right now. He wouldn't show all kinds of emotions, but he would be extremely proud of the kids he coached and the effort they put in and how they've reacted to the whole situation."

CMS eighth-grader Mason Putnam, who played for Steve Ledford the past two years, led the Bears with 15 points in the contest.

"It was emotional, definitely, especially with Josiah coming in as coach," Putnam said. "It was just all-around emotional and it feels great to win."

Putnam described Steve Ledford as a coach that was "always fired up and ready to go." Putnam said Ledford was never in a bad mood and although he was tough on players, it was all for good reason.

The community showed up in droves to see the unveiling of the new court and support the Ledford family. Canton mayor Zeb Smathers, the Pisgah High School varsity basketball team and many more folks came out and cheered.

"Coach loved it loud. He always said 'quiet teams are losing teams,' so for everybody to come out, be loud, be electric, that really meant a lot," Putnam said.

Josiah said he's always believed that if he could be half the father, coach, and husband Steve was, that he'd be in good shape. Now being able to work toward that on the very court that features his father's name and signature makes it all the more special.

"I grew up in this gym, playing in this gym, coming in on snow days with my twin brother, Micah, just having a good time," Josiah said. "To come in here now and to be able to coach on dad's gym floor and have his name there, it just means so much more. I can't stress enough how humbling it is."