VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Hampton Roads football community is mourning the loss of a beloved mentor, coach and friend after Ray Colston, known to most simply as "Coach Ray," died Sunday at just 41 years old.
Colston, who spent his last season coaching at Kempsville High School, is being remembered not only for his football knowledge, but for the way he shaped young men far beyond the field.
“For decades, Coach Ray Colston wasn’t just building football players in our community — he was building people,” Kempsville assistant coach and close friend Daryl Cherry said. “Ray was a good guy… just a good guy with a heart for young people.”
Colston’s sudden death came after unexpected health complications, leaving former players, colleagues and families across Norfolk and Virginia Beach stunned by the loss.
Cherry and Colston coached together this past season, a continuation of a brotherhood that began years ago at Tallwood High School. Cherry said Colston was relentless in helping young athletes pursue education and opportunity.
“He had shared with me what he wanted to accomplish when he was working with young men… helping them get into school,” Cherry said. “That’s something he did all the time at Tallwood.”
Colston’s influence dates back years before his recent coaching stops. At Lake Taylor Middle School, he met a sixth-grader named Lamereon James, who would go on to play in the NFL. James said Colston became more than a coach — he became a guiding figure.
In a statement, James wrote that Colston “was a coach and a father figure to me… He believed in me during times I didn’t believe in myself, and he pushed me to become a better athlete and a better person. I will carry his lessons with me forever.”
The news of Colston’s death came on an already devastating day for local football. Cherry said he had just learned of Bayside head coach Jon White’s sudden death when he found out about Colston.
“I dialed his number… he didn’t answer,” Cherry said. “His mother answered, and that’s when she shared with me what happened. I couldn’t imagine.”
Walking the same sidelines the two shared just weeks ago, Cherry said he is holding tightly to their final conversations.
“One thing I’ll cherish is his conversations, always pushing all of us to do better,” he said. “Not just for the kids, but for the coaches too. He challenged us to be better men.”
Colston’s widow, Angela Taylor-Colston, said she hopes the community remembers the fullness of the man behind the whistle.
“Coach Ray was a great husband, father, servant for God, and mentor,” she said in a statement. “His passion for the youth was unmatched… His family will truly miss him, as will all of those he touched in the community.”
Cherry said losing both Colston and White has been a heartbreaking moment for the 757, but he hopes their legacies inspire unity.
“In this tragedy,” he said, “it’s a moment for everyone to come together and love one another
