Corona del Sol Hall of Fame coach Hughes dies at 83
Larry Hughes, the first coach at Tempe Corona del Sol High School when it opened in 1977, a man who won state titles in football, girls basketball and boys golf, has died.
He was 83.
Shannon Hughes said his father suffered from Alzheimer's Disease.
Hughes' legacy is long and impacting in the Corona del Sol community. And his coaching versatility was impressive.
He led Corona del Sol's 1980 football team to a 4A state championship, going 12-1, beating Phoenix Gerard Catholic 2314.
His girls basketball teams won state titles in 1981, 1993, 1994, and 2001.
His 2001 team went 31-0. The next year, he stepped down following a state championship loss to Phoenix Mountain Pointe.
He was 440-128 in 25 years leading the girls basketball program.
His boys golf team won a state championship in 1982.
Hughes, who grew up in Vernon, Texas, began coaching in Arizona in 1969 as an assistant football coach under Karl Kiefer at McClintock. Hughes started a ski club there.
"All who worked with Coach knew of his great sense of humor, and his many stories of growing up in rural Texas," said Dan Nero, the former Corona del Sol athletic director who now works for the Arizona
Interscholastic Association, putting on state tournaments. "He was one of a kind, and will be missed for sure."
Corona del Sol's gymnasium in 2001 was named after Sam Duane Sr., who led the Aztecs to boys state championships in 1980, 1981, 1989 and 1994.
Three years after the gym was named after Duane, Corona del Sol did a court dedication for Hughes.
"We opened Corona together in '7778," said Duane, who turned 86 on Wednesday. "I retired after 20 years. He was my department head. He was a really good coach. He was a good football coach, too. He was an excellent girls basketball coach.
"We worked well together. We had some good times together."
Sam Duane Jr., who played for his father in the late 1990s, returned to his alma mater to lead the boys basketball program and led the Aztecs to four straight 6A state titles, before resigning after the 2014-15 season. He led Gilbert Perry to its first state title this season. He remembers how Hughes was very helpful and giving.
"He was always good to our family," Duane Jr., said. "A really memorable person who will be missed in the Corona community. He was a great girls coach. And he was an excellent football coach."
During the 1980s and '90s, Corona del Sol basketball in both boys and girls programs were among the best in Arizona behind those two coaching icons.
Hughes was inducted into the Arizona High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame in 2000 and into City of Tempe Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.