Walter (Wallie) Earl Culbreth III

Born: January 2, 1955 Died: July 21, 2016

Culbreth ‘was Farragut soccer’ Ex-coach who won four state titles dies by Mike Strange

Wallie Culbreth, title-winning Farragut High School soccer coach, died Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 61.Mr. Culbreth’s Farragut boys won four state titles in his 14 years as coach. Culbreth retired after the 2015 season.“Wallie was Farragut soccer,” Donald Dodgen, Farragut athletic director, said Friday. “He was the man that turned the soccer program around.” The Admirals won state titles in 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2009 under Mr. Culbreth. A number of his payers went on to play in college. The 2004 team finished 24-2 and was declared national champion by Studentsports.com. A year earlier the team was 25-1 and ranked No. 2 in the country by the same website and Mr. Culbreth was selected national coach of the year.

He earned multiple PrepXtra Coach of the Year honors, and was named national high school coach of the year by ESPN in 2010. Culbreth’s son Bradley, who played his senior season at Farragut and was an assistant with the Admirals from 2005-11, said his father’s goal was always to challenge the boys.“His focus was a lot on teaching the boys life lessons,” said Bradley Culbreth.” An sometimes it made no sense because of their age, but I have had other former players reach out to me to tell me they understand it now.”

Mr. Culbreth was succeeded by Ray Dover, a former Admiral player.“He gave everything he had to Farragut soccer,” Dover said “He was a great coach and a leader of men.”Dover played at Farragut before Culbreth took over, but as a new coach benefited from the culture Mr. Culbreth had built.“The transition was about as smooth as transitions like that can go,” Dover said. “I felt the program was and is doing well. A lot of the guys I coached this year as seniors played for him two or three years. “The big thing I feel is they don’t remember people that just receive. They remember people that gave and he gave everything he had.”

Farragut was Mr. Culbreth’s first coaching job on the high school level. He teamed up with John Craven as coach of Arsenal for the Smoky Mountain Soccer Club and won numerous state championships at the club level from 1999-2001 after moving to the Knoxville area in 1995 from Coconut Creek, Fla.Culbreath was also a State Farm Insurance Agent in Oak Ridge and was a lifetime President’s Club member with 30 years of service. He is survived by his wife Dionna (Dee Dee), his first wife, Donna Palmer, and two sons, Walter and Bradley. He was preceded by a daughter, Brooke.

Funeral services will take place from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday at Martin Oak Ridge Funeral home in Oak Ridge.Burial and graveside services are 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Pleasant Forest Cemetery in Farragut.Phil Kaplan contributed to this report.

REMEMBERING WALLIE.....

Sometimes in life you meet that one person who will change it forever! Whether you were family, friend, soccer family, State Farm family, or just an occasional acquaintance you knew automatically Wallie was one of those rare people. Wallie Considered his children and grand children to be his greatest blessings. Born January 2nd 1955 to Walter Earl Jr and Peg Culbreth, he entered this world as a force to be reckoned with. He was born with a sense of humor and a wonderful caring nature that will surely be missed. His greatest joys were spending time with his family and ordering his “BOYS” around the soccer field. Being the Farragut High School Boys Soccer Coach was to him one of the greatest honors. .