News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Clay County’s rich history of marbles dates back generations to names like Dumas Walker or Bud Garrett, and continues with marbles coach Brian Cherry.
In Clay County whether you call it “three holes”, “rolley hole” or just “marbles”, odds are your ancestors played the same game. This fact is not lost on Cherry, who said the game of marbles is woven into the fabric of life in Clay.
“A lot of the kids who do play now, like I said, their parents, their grandparents and their great-grandparents have all played,” Cherry said. “And they probably heard from their parents and stuff say, ‘Hey, my grandpa played,’ or ‘My grandmother played.’ And they kind of hands down and once they learned that they have played this game, most of the time, like when they get ready to shoot and stuff, it’s just in their blood to play good.”
Like most in the area, Cherry has familial ties to the game. His parents taught him how to play and in 1994 his uncle began coaching Clay County kids the game. Cherry took over that role in 2004.
“And once I took it over, I really enjoyed the game myself, playing it,” Cherry said. “And both of my daughters have played and then I’ve taught a lot of the kids through the school system, which I really do enjoy getting kids involved in this.”
Earlier this year, Cherry and his student, 9-year-old Myles Lacy, traveled to Wildwood, New Jersey to compete in the 101st National Marble Tournament.
Cherry was proud to see his pupil make his way through the four day tournament against older competition with a maturity rarely seen in a 9-year-old.
“It’s a pretty awesome feeling myself,” Cherry said. “He’s pretty calm and collected. He really didn’t get too high up or too down. He just played marbles.”
