Bell County High School Wrestling

09/02/2026

So thankful to the Cumberland Mountain Fall Festival for honoring our coach! 💙

Pineville Community Health Center is proud to sponsor Appalachian Mountain Wrestling at this year’s Cumberland Mountain Fall Festival in honor of Coach Ovie Canady.

For PCHC, this sponsorship is about more than bringing wrestling to the festival. It is about honoring a man who gave so much of himself to the young people of our community.

Coach Ovie spent countless hours in classrooms, on football fields and beside wrestling mats teaching, encouraging and pushing young people to become more than they thought they could be. He helped build Bell County Wrestling from the ground up, but what he truly built can be seen in the athletes whose lives he touched.

We can think of no better way to honor his memory than by bringing a sport he loved into the heart of the community he served.

This one is for Coach Ovie. May every match be a reminder that what you poured into others lives on.

08/30/2026

08/24/2026

We are excited to welcome Daniel Miracle as the new head coach of Bell County Wrestling!

Coach Miracle began wrestling alongside his brother in seventh grade at Miamisburg High School in Ohio. There, he was mentored by the legendary Coach William Wineburg, a four-time Ohio state champion and Purdue University All-American. Coach Wineburg’s leadership and influence inspired Daniel to follow in his footsteps by becoming a coach and helping young athletes grow both on and off the mat.

Coach Miracle quickly became a respected leader himself. He served as team captain from seventh grade through the remainder of his high school career, helped his program earn seven consecutive district championships, won the Freshman Buckeye Classic, and set a school record for pins in a season during his senior year.

For the past five years, Coach Miracle led the wrestling program at Claiborne High School in Tennessee. Under his leadership, the team grew from only two wrestlers to approximately 15 and produced multiple sectional qualifiers.

He also excelled academically, earning an Athletic Scholar Award, graduating with National Honor Society honors, and making the Dean’s List each semester he attended the University of Northwestern Ohio.

Coach Miracle believes strongly in leadership, hard work, discipline, and in using wrestling to show young people what they are capable of achieving.

Please join us in welcoming Coach Daniel Miracle to the Bobcat Wrestling family!

07/03/2026

Can’t leave practice without Ovie telling the kids to “break ‘em down”.

Today, they led it for him one last time. 💪🏼

Rest Easy Coach… This next season is for you!

FAMILY ON ME, FAMILY ON 3… 1, 2, 3 FAMILY! 💙

07/02/2026

Our administration and staff would like to share a heartfelt thank you to those in community, surrounding districts, our region, and schools across the commonwealth who have poured out so much love and support to the Canady family.

We will be “lighting up the region” from our football field tomorrow night at 7:30 as we show a simple sign of love and appreciation for a coach that has impacted hundreds, if not thousands of young people during his career.

Again, thank you to everyone who has shown support, and we ask that you continue in prayer and support for Coach Canady’s family.

07/02/2026

Ovie Canady, 51, of Middlesboro, departed this life suddenly on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at the Pineville Community Hospital. He was born on July 22, 1974, in Harlan County. He was a 1992 graduate of Evarts High School and had been a member of the 1991 undefeated EHS Football Team. After high school, Ovie attended Union College, where he earned his Rank 1 Certification in the Class of 1996. Later, he began teaching, and his career led him back home to EHS. While he attended Union, Ovie met and began dating Brandy Flanary. They were married on July 12, 1997, and began their life together. He was the former head coach of the Evarts High School football team and had the honor of being the final coach when the school was consolidated. The following school year was the opening year of the Harlan County High School, and Ovie was appointed Defensive coach of the Harlan County Black Bears football team. Later, he would coach the Perry Central Football team for two years as head coach and an additional three years as defensive coach. During this time, he was able to coach his son Noah. More recently, Ovie organized the Bell County High School Wrestling Program and served as coach to his son, Hayden.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Loretta Fields and Pearl Howard, and a brother, Jackie Canady.

Survivors include his wife, Brandy Flanary, Middlesboro; two sons, Noah Canady, Knoxville; and Hayden Canady Middlesboro; two sisters, Kathy Turner and Brenda Ghram, both of Harlan; his mother-in-law, Etta Flanary; two brothers-in-law, Shane (Megan) Flanary; and James Flanary; a niece, Mikayla Canady; a nephew, Salem Flanary; and a host of other family and friends.

Visitation will be held Friday, July 3, 2026, from 12 noon until the funeral hour at the Evarts Funeral Home. Funeral services will begin in the chapel at 3 pm with the Reverend Robert Amundsen officiating.

Burial will follow in the Evarts Memorial Gardens with his son, Hayden, and the members of the Bell County Wrestling team serving as pallbearers.

Evarts Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Ovie Canady.

07/01/2026

Today, the coaching community lost one of its own.

We mourn the passing of Ovie Canady.

July 22, 1974 – June 30, 2026

Coach Canady was one of the very best to ever be called “Coach.” His influence reached far beyond the wrestling mat. He challenged athletes to be tougher, work harder, believe in themselves, and become better people.

The greatest coaches don’t just build champions—they build character. Their lessons live on in every athlete they mentored, every colleague they inspired, and every life they helped shape.

On behalf of Coach Ken’s Playbook, we extend our deepest condolences to Coach Canady’s family, friends, wrestlers, fellow coaches, students, and the entire Bell County community.

Though his whistle has fallen silent, his legacy will continue through the countless lives he impacted.

Rest easy, Coach.

Thank you for showing us what it truly meant to lead.

🏆 “A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.”