About Inductee

June Seals, the ultra-successful girls basketball coach at Sparkman High School, was born in Tyhronza, Ariz. She and her parents and her five brothers left Arizona when June was just 3, moving to Winfield in western Alabama. June is a graduate of Winfield High School, where she was a cheerleader and named the school's Most Athletic female. She turned down a basketball scholarship from Mississippi University for Women, choosing instead to become a student and cheerleader at Livingston State College, now the University of West Alabama. After graduation from college, she was the girls head basketball and track coach at Clarke County High in Grove Hill from 1976-92. She coached at Bob Jones High School in Madison (1993-98), and then moved over to Sparkman in 2002. At last count, Seals' career record in basketball was 702-146, which includes four state championships and one state runner-up. In track, her teams have won 12 state championships and finished second seven times. Her track teams won the State Outdoor Championship at Clarke County in 1979, 1980, 1984 and 1986-91 and the State Indoor Championship in 1983, 1988 and 1991. Her Clarke County basketball team won the 4A state title in 1991, and she won the state 6A girls basketball championships at Sparkman in 2002, 2003 and 2007. Seals was the state 4A Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1991 at Clarke County and the 6A Coach of the Year in 2002, 2003 and 2007 at Sparkman. In 2007, she was the head coach of the Alabama All-Stars in the annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game. Many individuals have influenced and helped me achieve my accomplishments, including my family, administrators and friends, Seals said. From early on, my parents , A. P. and Marie Seals, instilled impeccable work ethics, which enhanced my abilities as an athlete and were the footings in the foundation of my role as a coach and educator. Five highly competitive brothers Bobby, Dale, Dennis, Tony and Stacy Seals also played major roles in shaping their sisters drive and her coaching style. My brothers taught me how to be competitive and how to be the best coach I could be, June said. But my support goes beyond my family to supportive administrators. Ive had the pleasure of working with some wonderful principals in particular, Gerald Stephens, who gave me my first coaching opportunity, and Billy Broadway, who brought me to Madison County. And lastly, Ive surrounded myself with lots of good people, coaches and friends. Theyve all fostered opportunities for good things to happen.